Another Look at the Conejo Valley Before and After the Rainstorms of 2017

Last week's highlights of scenes around the Conejo Valley before and after the winter rains of 2017 were so popular that I went back to the photo archives to find more photo duos to share. The temperatures are starting to heat up, so we have to enjoy this green while we can!

OVER 50 LOCAL AREA TRAILS AND HIKES

Rancho Sierra Vista, behind the Satwiwa Native American Culture Center.

Rancho Sierra Vista after the rainstorms of 2017.

Nearly 50 things to do in Thousand Oaks

A view towards Newbury Park from the Rosewood Trail / Angel Vista Peak.

Rosewood Trail./ Angel Vista Peak views after the rainstorms.

View of Mountclef Ridge from Tarantula Hill.

A greener view of Mountclef Ridge after the rains.

The former Olympia Farms property in the Rancho Potrero Open Space in Newbury Park.

Greener times in the Olympia Farms area.

Los Robles Trail looking east from "Space Mountain."

Fueled by months of steady rain, it is looking green here in the Los Robles Trail System.

View of Boney Mountain Range from Rancho Potrero Open Space last fall.

Green foreground after the rains in Rancho Potrero looking at Boney Mountain.

Wildflowers in Bloom in the Conejo Open Space

We are already seeing these beautiful orange poppies blooming throughout the open space surrounding the Conejo Valley after two months of steady rains. Here is a patch of them in the North Ranch Open Space, west of Lindero Canyon Road up in the hills. 

These yellow wildflowers appear off of the Westlake Vista Trail adjacent to the Las Virgenes Reservoir each year in the March time frame.

Great hikes and trails in and around Ventura County

The Ojai Valley Sign and Rotary Club of Ojai Plaque on State Route 150

The Ojai Valley sign on California State Route 150 at 6462 Santa Paula Ojai Road.

California State Route 150 runs 36.4 miles, from State Route 126 in Santa Paula at 10th Street (where it is called Ojai-Santa Paula Road), through Ojai (where it is called Ojai Avenue), then co-signed with State Route 33 (Maricopa Highway) until unincorporated community Meiners Oaks, then Baldwin Road between Ojai and Lake Casitas, then finally, Casitas Pass Road until it ends at U.S. Route 101 in Carpinteria.

If you are driving the section between Ojai and Santa Paula (which you WILL have to do sometime to experience the beauty back there), at roughly 6462 N. Ojai Road you will see a large "The Ojai Valley" monument.

Park the car, check out the views of the Ojai Valley and take a look at the Rotary Club of Ojai plaque dated 1990. The plaque shows various prominent mountain peaks in the Ojai Valley, including:

• White Ledge Peak (4,640')
• Matilija Twin Peaks (4,485')
• Three Sisters Peaks (5,378')
• Nordhoff Peak (4,485')
• Chief Peak (5,334')
• Topatopa Peak (6,244')

The plaque also highlights the canyons in view - Matilija Canyon, Gridley Canyon, Senior Canyon and Horn Canyon.

VISIT THIS PAGE FOR A BUNCH OF FUN THINGS TO DO IN OJAI

As you can see, the view is awesome. The tallest point ahead is Chief Peak.

This photo was taken in January 2017 after storms dusted snow on the Topa Topa Mountains. We can see this snow from the Conejo Valley but it is fun to see it closer up from Ojai.

A Look at the Conejo Valley Before and After the Recent Rainstorms

As Tom Jones said, "It's good to touch the green, green grass of home." We're seeing green hills throughout the Conejo Valley after several months of rain. We're enjoying it now, but we know it will only last so long, as evidenced in the "before and after" photos below.

OVER 50 LOCAL AREA TRAILS AND HIKES

Autumn Ridge Trail in the Lang Ranch Open Space last May.

Autumn Ranch Trail in Lang Ranch in late February 2017.

Horsing around in the Rancho Potrero Open Space, Newbury Park, last December.

Horsing around again in Rancho Potrero; this time in late February 2017.

Hidden Valley Overlook in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa last July.

Hidden Valley Overlook two days ago.

Boney Mountain Range in the Santa Monica Mountains from Dos Vientos early last November

The same view of the Boney Mountain Range, with the Rancho Potrero area in the foreground, on Friday, March 3, 2017.

A view of Lizard Rock in Wildwood Park from the Mesa Trail in late September 2016.

The same view towards Lizard Rock in Wildwood Park on February 24, 2017.  

My, oh my, do we love the green, green grass of home or what!? Enjoy it while you can!

Green As We've Ever Seen After Recent Rainstorms in the Conejo Valley

The hills are alive with green throughout the Conejo Valley after all of the recent rainstorms. The photos below are just one small glimpse at one can be seen out there. For a compilation of local area trails, visit THIS LINK.

Mountclef Ridge at Wildwood Park

Rancho Potrero overlooking the old Olympia Farms property in Newbury Park

Trail off of Lindero Road in Westlake Village

Cheeseboro Canyon in Agoura Hills

Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa in Newbury Park

Hillcrest Open Space in Thousand Oaks

Views of Newbury Park from Angel Vista Peak

Los Robles Trail East in Thousand Oaks

Deer enjoying the green in Hidden Valley

The Smallest Post Office in the United States Used to Be in Wheeler Springs, Near Ojai

We were in Ojai for some activities and decided to drive up Maricopa Highway to check out the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center for the first time. It is a cute little building that provides information about the Los Padres National Forest staffed with volunteers who sell maps, trail guides, Adventure Passes and other items. Located at 17017 Maricopa Highway, about eight miles from the "Y" intersection where if you continue right you are headed into Ojai. The Wheeler Gorge Campground is nearby.

More on local campgrounds in and around Ventura County at THIS LINK.

About a mile and a half before reaching the Visitor Center, at 16850 Maricopa Highway, we stopped at a small structure, shown above, that says "U.S.A.'s Smallest Post Office - Wheeler Springs, California."

There's quite a bit of history behind that structure and others in the area. According to OjaiHistory.com, the Wheeler Springs Post Office was installed by Webb Wilcox next to his Webb Wilcox Cafe in the mid-1930s after the Maricopa Highway was built, connecting Ojai to Kern County. The "glorified shack" was was designated by Ripley's Believe it or Not as the smallest Post Office in the U.S.A. until Wilcox died in 1962 and Wheeler Springs lost its status as a U.S. Post Office.

Webb Wilcox was the son-in-law of Wheeler Blumberg, who founded Wheeler's Hot Springs in 1891. Wheeler's Hot Spring Springs for awhile was a successful resort, with 14 guest cabins, swimming pool, fishing, camping, hot springs-fed swimming pool and more.

Blumberg went a bit crazy in May 1907, locking himself in a room and shooting holes through the walls. A posse was able to capture Blumberg, sedate him and place him in a straitjacket in a padded cell in Ventura. He continued screaming and straining until he died "from utter exhaustion" the next day at age 43. Wilcox, who previously married Blumberg's daughter, Etta, took control over the resort and renamed it Wheeler Hot Springs.

Wheeler Hot Springs went through a number of ownership changes over the years, including radio/TV personality Art Linkletter at one point, who opened a "Kiddie Land" attraction, who did not do well financially there. Over the decades, the resort survived and was rebuilt after multiple fires, and the "great flood of '69" but finally was completely closed down in 1999.

Visit THIS LINK on the OjaiHistory.com website for a much more detailed, fascinating account of Wheeler Hot Springs' ownership challenges over the years..

The Wheeler Hot Springs property is located at 16825 Maricopa Highway and according to Zillow.com was most recently sold in October 2016. It is privately owned and not open to the public but you will get a small glimpse of it as you drive by. According to the Zillow listing, Wheeler Hot Springs is 84.5 acres and has five known natural hot and cold mineral springs and a year-round creek. There is a large farmhouse occupying the center of the property.

Water Flows at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in Newbury Park After 6-8 Inches of Rain

The river is back again near the Wendy and Potrero trailhead to the Wendy Trail in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. It was here a month ago, dried up quickly, and of course now is back. This and other water flows near the Satwiwa Center, "Lake Satwiwa" near the parking lot and more captured here. Best to stay off the trails until they dry up a bit though I did tiptoe down the side of the Wendy Trail to capture the water flow. 

More on local hikes and trails around Ventura County at THIS LINK.

Seasonal pond next to main parking lot at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. I like to call this "Lake Satwiwa" though there is no official name for it to my knowledge.