44 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JULY 2015
May weather (not the fighter) was schizophrenic this year,
making planning for hikes chancy. And, taking a chance we did
open the right door on our hike at the Santa Rosa Plateau. Eight
Take a Hikers enjoyed perfect weather for a morning jaunt on
a trail with little shade but great vistas. The vernal pools, our
first destination, had disappeared into their subterranean
caverns leaving only an outline of the lake that had spawned
wildflowers in April.
The trail was dry and mostly level until the descent to the
Adobes, a nineteenth century rancho that once served as a
magnet for cattle barons during the Californinios period of our
local history. For several weeks each year families gathered here
to round up cattle, eat like kings, engage in sporting events with
their animals and dance fandangos. Today, artifacts of those
carefree days are preserved under giant oak trees that serve as
a resting place for hikers and students of nearby schools.
The return trip through fields of waving native grasses and
up the rolling hills offered hikers a sense of what life once was
a scene of vaqueros chasing long horned beeves and growling
bears, preening their horses to coquettish señoritas, and
relishing a life they thought would never end. And, lost in this
history, our hikers could not help but wonder if one day future
hikers would look back on these times with similar thoughts.
Keeping with the theme of the day, lunch could only be at a
cantina. Our choice was Los Vaqueros in Hemet for tortillas,
frijoles, carnitas and flan.
To find out where else we are hiking, call or email Lynette
at (951) 377-0392 or lynette.simonson@gmail.com. ~ Len
Tavernetti
Take a Hike
Left: Although it was a Cinco de Mayo day, the red, white and blue
were still evident.
Above: Coming through the rye.
Taking a break.
Front row: Will
Von Klug, Tony
Ramu, Lynette
Simonson and
Len Tavernetti;
Back row: Patty
Bushnell, David
Kershaw, Bev
Webster and
Chris Ingram.
