Jogging and biking past the historic adobe ranch house in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.
The second oldest residence in San Diego County can be found inside Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. The adobe ranch house was built in 1824 by Captain Francisco María Ruiz, who was Commandante of San Diego’s presidio. He built two small adobe buildings on Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos, his large 8,486-acre Mexican land grant north of the Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá. It was the first land grant by the Mexican government in this area. The grant was made in 1823, just two years after Mexico became independent from Spain.
The historic adobe ranch house has been modified, enlarged and restored by various owners over the years, and today is a popular destination for visitors to Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. People often bike or hike through the picturesque ranch, and motorists can park in a nearby lot. Picnic tables are plentiful; there are goats and chickens to captivate children; and guided tours are available on weekends.
I toured the ranch recently and took photos of its various features. There are a variety of interpretive exhibits within the adobe house. Please read these informative displays (click to enlarge the images) to learn more about this fascinating place’s long and colorful history.
(What is the oldest structure in San Diego County? You’ll be completely surprised! I blogged about that here.)
The Los Peñasquitos Ranch House is open daily from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Guided tours are at 11:00 am on Saturday and 1:00 pm on Sunday.The ranch house is nestled among some shady trees. Two small adobe buildings were originally built in 1824. The house was enlarged by Captain George Alonzo Johnson in 1862.Plaque describes the establishment of the Johnson-Taylor Adobe Ranchhouse in 1862. The residence and later additions were used as a hotel, bunkhouse, and quarters for a working cattle ranch into the 1960s.A sculpture inside the courtyard, located on the east side (rear) of the ranch house. The planters were probably used by the residents to grow herbs and flowers.Part of the ranch house’s long porch beside the courtyard.Inside a living room that today contains museum-like exhibits, looking north out a window at various small structures on the ranch, including a chicken coop and goat pen.The Californio Period, 1821 to 1850, included vaqueros (cowboys) living at Peñasquitos. The American Rancher Period, 1850-1970, began after California became a state.1823-1834 timeline of the Mexican land grant of Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos, that was made to Captain Francisco María Ruiz.In 1859 Captain George Alonzo Johnson married Maria Estéfana Alvarado, daughter of Francisco María Alvarado, who bought the ranch from Ruiz in 1837.A hand blown and painted glass pitcher and drinking glass that belonged to Maria de Jesus Alvarado de Sepulveda, daughter of Francisco María Alvarado.The large earthenware olive jar was found under the ranch house floor during an excavation in 1983. Used for food storage, it was probably made in Spain or Portugal in the early to mid 1700s.Captain George Alonzo Johnson, a pioneer and businessman, came to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. He became a rancher and horse breeder.Historical newspaper articles describe the ranch house, outbuildings and grounds of George Alonzo Johnson’s ranch.Floor plan of Rancho Peñasquitos from 1975 HABS survey.A drawing of the Los Peñasquitos residence of Colonel Jacob Shell Taylor, who purchased the property in 1882. He raised Durham cattle and thoroughbred horses and would found Del Mar.Various branding irons on display in the adobe house that were discovered around the ranch. Included are early Spanish irons used by rustlers.Rancho Peñasquitos courtyard photo taken circa 1889, showing ranch employee H. T. Sandford and his family.Photo of the San Diego-Escondido Stage Line circa 1906. In the mid-1800s, Peñasquitos was a way station on the wagon road between San Diego and Warner’s Ranch.Porch along the front (or west) side of the adobe ranch house, which faced the so-called Road to Yuma.I spotted someone riding a horse past the ranch house. Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is an ideal place for those who love to ride down peaceful trails.Looking west at a meadow north of Peñasquitos Creek. I posted photos of those sycamores in the distance a few weeks ago.An artificial pond south of the ranch house was filled with water from the adjacent spring house for irrigation of a nearby citrus grove.The rock Spring House was constructed around an artesian spring. Water from the spring was used by the Native American Kumeyaay for as many as 12,000 years!The Mohnike Barn was constructed in 1912 of adobe and wood. Charles Mohnike, a rancher who purchased the property in 1910, was the builder.The Mohnike Barn is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with other ranch structures.An octagonal concrete reservoir to the north, uphill from the ranch house. Photographic evidence shows water might have been pumped up here by windmill.More ranch structures just west of the barn.These friendly Nubian goats like to greet hikers and those on bicycles.These chickens were wondering what I was up to.The southeast corner of the adobe ranch house.One last photo of the courtyard, a focal point of the ranch house, which has seen many lives, much history.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
A Wells Fargo stagecoach takes a turn around La Plaza de Las Armas in San Diego’s historic Old Town.
Here come photos from today’s Trades That Shaped the West event, which took place in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
A wide variety of demonstrations drew curious visitors to a cluster of tents in the park’s grassy plaza. Early San Diego in the 1800’s was completely different from our modern city of gleaming skyscrapers. In many ways, life back then was both simpler and more difficult. Many household objects that are manufactured today were crafted using raw muscle and sweat. Most ordinary tasks were neither easy nor automated.
One hopes that historical reenactments like this continue for generations, so that people don’t forget the unique and meaningful lives of our ancestors.
You might notice this isn’t the first time I’ve blogged about this annual event. I’m so fascinated by San Diego’s history, I decided to experience Trades That Shaped the West again!
Stagecoach Days is celebrated every Saturday in Old Town during the summer. There’s a different themed event every week!
Aspects of frontier life were reenacted today in Old Town San Diego. Visitors watch as a stagecoach passes by!History comes to life during Stagecoach Days in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. There’s a different theme each Saturday in July and August.Many fascinating demonstrations could be viewed by the public at the Trades That Shaped the West event today.Young and old alike watched two blacksmiths at work with an anvil and small forge.A wheelwright explains his craft. To make wagon wheels required great skill. Like cars today, wagons were an important part of life in the 1800’s.The bent metal band tyre would be expanded with heat, then contracted using cold water once carefully placed around the wooden wheel.We take laundry machines for granted today. Years ago in the Old West, cleaning clothes required a whole lot more work!Irons, washboards and other objects from daily life generations ago were on display.These ladies were weaving baskets. Basket-weaving is said to be the oldest of all human crafts.The local Native American Kumeyaay would use willow baskets to protect their gathered acorns and other food from insects.This portable green forge is being used for the first time. The handle turns a belt which operates an air blower. I recognized this blacksmith from the Fall Back Festival in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.Local blacksmith hobbyists created all the items you see here, including the ornamental snake (which took about an hour and a half to make) and the huge padlock!This crafty gambler tried to entice me into playing a game of chance. Nice try!A gentleman had a table containing old tintype photographs. He also had antique cameras on display that were used for daguerreotype photographs.A new wheel is being produced by several wainwrights, trades people who craft and repair wagons and carts. These guys belong to the California Historical Artillery Society.A variety of useful tools on their table. Many look familiar today.The members of the California Historical Artillery Society were attending the annual Trades That Shaped the West event for the first time.Sign shows average blacksmithing prices in the mid 1800’s. The prices were much higher in Northern California during the Gold Rush.These guys also had a traveling battery forge, used by the Army long ago. Today they are often used in Civil War reenactments.I noticed that a snake oil salesman had drawn a crowd!An old lady with a bad case of lumbago was eager to try Dr. Montbank’s Tonic Elixir.I’m not sure it helped much.A guitar, a fiddle, and a bottle. These frontier musicians were getting themselves ready to provide a bit of Western entertainment.Visitors to Old Town were walking in front of the Colorado House and enjoying a sunny San Diego weekend.Look what’s coming! These pack animals have transported the mail all the way from San Antonio!The Overland Mail Delivery arrived exactly at one o’clock!I guess this would qualify as Ground Mail.The small Old Town encampment excitedly greets the four-legged mail carriers.Mail is handed out to many of the event participants!These creative young folk are too busy writing their own letters to notice.An educational reenactment of history was enjoyed today in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
If you’ve followed my blog for some time, you probably know that I love Tuna Harbor. It might be my favorite spot in San Diego.
Today, a little before sunset, I had another magical walk down the G Street Pier. Sunlight sprinkled stars upon the water. Slanting light reflected from a jumble of fishing boats; it silvered the downtown skyline.
After taking many photos of interesting stuff on the working pier, I headed around Tuna Harbor into Ruocco Park.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
This evening around sunset I took a short walk through Marston Point, which is located in the southwest corner of Balboa Park.
Trees were gradually darkening. Directly to the south, Cortez Hill–the part of downtown San Diego where I live–gleamed like a shining paradise in the sky.
To the west, buildings near the bay and on Bankers Hill were crowned with streaks of pale gold.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Fonzie’s motorcycle and leather jacket from Happy Days is on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park!
There are lots of good reasons to visit the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. They’ve got all sorts of one-of-a-kind cars that you won’t find anywhere else. They also have a very cool motorcycle that you might have seen on television. That is, if you’re an old-timer like me.
Remember the classic show Happy Days? Remember how The Fonz would appear on his motorcycle, wearing his 50s-style leather jacket? During the 1970s and early 1980s, Fonzie became one of America’s greatest cultural icons. Today, by visiting the San Diego Automotive Museum, you can see a motorcycle and leather jacket that actor Henry Winkler used while portraying The Fonz!
I visited the museum last weekend and took a few photos. Check it out!
This 1949 Triumph Trophy TR5 Scrambler is one of three motorcycles used by The Fonz in the classic television show Happy Days. You can see the motorcycle up close at the San Diego Automotive Museum.Photo of Fonzie’s cool 1949 Triumph Trophy TR5 Scrambler from a different angle.Leather jacket worn by Henry Winkler, who played cultural icon Arthur Fonzarelli–The Fonz–on the very popular American television show Happy Days!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
In the morning I took the trolley down to Chula Vista and walked to the harbor. I’ve blogged on several occasions about Bayside Park and the adjacent Chula Vista Marina, but I had never explored Chula Vista Bayfront Park on the south side of the harbor, near the boat ramp.
I found a peaceful, grassy place with inviting paths, wide views of the South Bay, and a couple fascinating works of public art. And some wildlife, too!
Come with me as we walk from the tall ship Bill of Rights around the south end of the California Yacht Marina and finally to Chula Vista Bayfront Park.
The schooner Bill of Rights, based in Chula Vista, can be chartered for fun adventures. It often participates in San Diego’s annual Festival of Sail.Relaxing by the picturesque marina on a quiet, peaceful morning.Flags fly near the California Yacht Marina, located at the south end of Chula Vista’s pleasant harbor.The California Yacht Marina building appears inviting.Circling around the marina toward the boat ramp and adjacent grassy park, where you can see some trees.A quiet morning walk in San Diego’s South Bay.A person sitting on a bench in Chula Vista Bayfront Park enjoys some shade. Nearby boats float gently on the water.A boater heads into the marina, toward the tall ship Bill of Rights.The fishing pier of nearby Bayside Park lies to the north across Chula Vista Harbor’s entrance. I see the Coronado Bay Bridge and downtown San Diego in the distance!These three abstract sculptures on the grass near the walking path are titled Konoids, by Kenneth Capps, 1984.An osprey in its nest out on San Diego Bay.Sign in Chula Vista Bayfront Park describes the osprey, a large raptor.Ospreys like to dive for fish. They are year-round residents of San Diego Bay.An unusual sculpture. Powering the Arts, by artist Micheal Leaf, 2015. It stands next to the blue water at Chula Vista Bayfront Park.Sign describes how Powering the Arts was once a cylinder atop the now demolished South Bay Power Plant.A cool, unexpected sight in San Diego’s sunny South Bay!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Please forgive me. I’m taking it easy this weekend after all that wonderful Comic-Con insanity. So my walk today was slow and simple: meandering through Balboa Park.
I lingered a long while in the Casa del Prado, where the San Diego County Orchid Society is having their summer show and sale. (It continues on Sunday.)
I discovered amazing beauty everywhere.
Feeling lazy, I didn’t take notes. Just photos of a few blooms that caught my eye.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Girl jumps rope. Street art on a utility box in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
Here’s another batch of colorful photos! These capture works of art that I’ve discovered while walking around downtown San Diego.
Enjoy!
A lion’s head decorates the Star of India’s cathead.Painted flowers inside a downtown window.Old sculptural figures surround a planter at San Diego High School, near Park Boulevard. They depict academic and athletic endeavors.This winged doughnut was painted about a week ago at the Donut Bar.Artwork on outside wall of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum Extension.A space invader made of tile near a Horton Plaza escalator!Beautiful sculpted relief panel above door of the 700 1st Avenue building.Art that I spied on a parked car in downtown San Diego.Artwork near west entrance of San Diego’s cool House of Blues.Colorful shoes like flowers on the ceiling, at the west entrance of House of Blues San Diego.Plein air painter Paul Strahm creates a beautiful work of art near the USS Midway Museum.Street art in the Gaslamp shows child making a secret painting.
…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
A fun, upbeat music video featuring Estelle was videotaped this afternoon in San Diego during 2017 Comic-Con! And hundreds of super enthusiastic people–young and old–came out to sing along!
Many in the crowd dressed like their favorite Steven Universe characters or held up signs containing messages of optimism and love!
The crowd sang along and enjoyed every second of it. I’m still feeling elated as I write this blog! Even though I’ve never watched a single episode of Steven Universe or heard the song before.
Estelle is a Grammy-award winning musician. She also voices the character Garnet in Cartoon Network’s super popular animated TV show. It looks to me like Steven Universe rocks!
The guy in charge of the production announced to the crowd that the video, titled Stronger Than You, should appear on Cartoon Network in a couple days.
Let me share a few photos…
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 