Happy Face Hill in Simi Valley Looks Happy Again After the Recent Rainstorms

Happy Face Hill, the icon seen off the 118 freeway in Simi Valley, is looking quite happy and green after several months of above average rainfall.

The Happy Face has been there since 1998. Sonny Klamerus created it and other residents and community groups have kept this 150 foot wide icon well-groomed over the years. 

Recently 60 to 70 townhomes were built adjacent to Happy Face Hill, but you can still see it. And on the other side of the hill is a heart - not quite as prominent as the Happy Face, but you can see it driving eastbound on the 118.

And here's a comparison shot from March 2015, prior to the addition of the townhomes.

And in drier times...this one taken in October 2015.

Sam Donaldson Speaks at Ronald Reagan's Birthday Celebration in Simi Valley Today

Every year, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library hosts a celebration to commemorate the February 6 birthday of our 40th President. The event is free and open to the public. 

Today marked the 106th birthday of President Reagan, who passed away in 2004. This was the first celebration that took place without the First Lady, Nancy Reagan, in attendance, who passed away exactly 11 months ago -- March 6, 2016.

The keynote speaker at today's event was former journalist and White House Correspondent Sam Donaldson. 

The Reagan Library's Executive Director John Heubusch introduced Donaldson as the perfect person to reflect on Reagan's ability to reach across the aisle and use humor to achieve such remarkable success; "...while looking through President Reagan's speeches, I found over a dozen references to Sam Donaldson as the punchline to a joke."

Donaldson was in great form, today, speaking for over 20 minutes, bringing many fun anecdotes and stories to the appreciative crowd.

"Perhaps the most important of Reagan productions came at Geneva, Switzerland*, on the day when the man who called the Soviet Union an evil empire, met for the first time, a maximum leader for that empire -- Mikhail Gorbachev" Donaldson started. "We'd asked the President back in Washington whether he was nervous about meeting this leader, Gorbachev." "Reagan responded <panned by Donaldson in Reagan voice> 'Oh no, I once co-starred with Errol Flynn'" to the laughter of attendees. It was an entertaining and informative keynote and you can see it in the video below. (Donaldson begins at around 17:30 into the video.)

* The Geneva Summit was held on November 19 and 20, 1985. It was the first meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev to discuss international relations and the arms race.

More on the Reagan Library at THIS LINK. And check out the Reagan Ranch Center Exhibit Galleries in Santa Barbara at THIS LINK.

Statue in Recognition of CLU Football Founding Father Bob Shoup at William Rolland Stadium

Many if not most residents of Thousand Oaks will visit California Lutheran University from time to time, be it for events open to the public at the university, sporting event, a visit to the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art, the community pool at Samuelson Aquatics Center, or Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, or just a walk around the campus.

Next to the Rolland Gallery in University Plaza is a statue dedicated to Bob Shoup, the founding father of CLU football. The bronze statue, "Champions," was unveiled on October 18, 2014 in homage to Shoup's Kingsmen football team that won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship in 1971.

Bob Shoup was CLU football coach from 1962 to 1989 as well as Athletic Director from 1969 to 1977. He was inducted into the NAIA 2008-2009 Hall of Fame. Shoup now lives in San Marcos, California.

Pacific Coast Highway Was Originally Called the Roosevelt Highway

The 1400 mile stretch of road called the Roosevelt Highway (U.S. 101) in the 1920s was re-named Pacific Coast Highway in 1941.

This postcard, from back in the days when it cost only a penny to mail a postcard (the 1930s) indicates "the varying scenery, such as oil being drilled out of the ocean, makes motoring an interesting pastime in California." It shows an image of the Roosevelt Highway between Ventura and Santa Barbara.

Bob then indicates to his dear friend Jane, "Just dropping a line to say all is well in Calif. There's lots of strange things to see in this state. You should be taking your Sunday rides out here."

Now what does Bob mean by that? Well, never mind. Speaking of Ventura and Santa Barbara beaches, visit THIS LINK for public beaches spanning from the Ventura Harbor through Carpinteria and THIS LINK for Santa Barbara area beaches.

The Calleguas Creek Watershed in Southeastern Ventura County

The Calleguas Creek Watershed covers approximately 343 square miles in southeastern Ventura County. The Watershed includes Conejo Creek, Arroyo Santa Rosa, Arroyo Simi, Arroyo Las Posas, and Calleguas Creek, as well as Revolon Slough and Mugu Lagoon.

Calleguas Creek Watershed Map (from Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County)

The northern boundary is formed by the Santa Susana Mountains, South Mountain, and Oak Ridge Mountains. The southern boundary is distinguished by the Simi Hills and Santa Monica Mountains.

About half the watershed is open space, 25% is agricultural and 25% is urban land use. 

The watershed ultimately drains to the Pacific Ocean through Mugu Lagoon.

Learn more about the Calleguas Creek Watershed at www.ventura.org/wcvc/calleguas.htm.

Here is the Calleguas Creek in Camarillo, along side the Calleguas Creek Bike Path, after some significant rains in January 2017.

The Pond is Back Near the Rancho Sierra Vista - Satwiwa Parking Area in Newbury Park

After weeks off and on rains in the area, the pond is back next to the main parking area at Rancho Sierra Vista - Satwiwa in Newbury Park, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Having lived in the Conejo Valley for over 20 years, I remember years ago when the pond seemed to fill up most every year and gradually dry up by early summertime. But this hasn't been the case over the last five or six years.

Based on how it looked today, and with another big storm on the way on Sunday, this pond is looking good to go for awhile.

And this means other ponds in the area are filling up, like Twin Ponds in Dos Vientos, as well as the waterfall in the Boney Mountain Wilderness.

The Waterfall in the Boney Mountain Wilderness earlier this week (Photo Credit Vanessa C.)

Rare Images of Ventura County History on Display at CSUCI Beginning January 26th

Ladies in feathered hats boarding the first train from Oxnard to Hueneme; a Model T Ford clattering through a beet field and the opening ceremony for the Conejo Grade are some of the images available in a newly-digitized collection at CSU Channel Islands’ John Spoor Broome Library.

About 40 historic photos of Ventura County from the collection will be on display in the John Spoor Broome Library art gallery beginning Jan. 26 in “Ventura County: Places, Voices and Histories,” a series of photographs, penny post cards, and posters that show Ventura County over the last 100 or so years.

The opening for the exhibit will be Thursday Jan. 26 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the gallery at One University Drive in Camarillo.

Professor of Art and Broome Gallery coordinator Irina D. Costache, Ph.D., curated the show, which is organized in collaboration with CSUCI’s Head of Unique Collections Matt Cook and Professor of Chicana/o Studies Jose Alamillo, Ph.D.

The show will be organized into sections that highlight different aspects of Ventura County’s history such as cars and roads, people, places, fields and farms.

Historic “voices” in the show will be in the form of a video of Ventura County’s “braceros,” a term to describe Mexican laborers who worked in the fields on a seasonal basis. 

Cook said it took staff and student volunteers several years to digitize all 1500 images in the collection, much of which was housed at the E.P. Foster Library in Ventura.

Limited parking is available on campus with the purchase of a $6 daily permit; follow signs to the parking permit dispensers. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the CSUCI Vista Bus to the campus; the cash-only fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CSUCI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CSUCI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CSUCI’s Social Media.