Every now and then, Gary and I have to try something that takes us a bit out of our comfort zone and a scenic drive along a ridgeline where you can see down into valleys on both sides of you is just that for us flatlanders. Santa Barbara is nestled between the ocean on one side and the Santa Ynez mountains on the other. We are camped on the other side of the mountains and every time we head into town we need to go over them. One way is along Hwy 154 which winds up to the San Marcos Pass but more gently with turn-offs, 4-lanes at times and smooth pavement. The other route is along El Camino Cielo, which is not quite so gentle, winds up higher, plummets down more steeply and is not so well paved. But, we knew that there must be such marvelous views along it, we needed to go into Santa Barbara for some errands and so we took the ‘long’ way into town.
There are homes along the first quarter of the road up into the mountains so it is nicely paved. However, we were glad that we had 4-wheel drive on one steep switchback. We certainly enjoyed the views from both sides of the mountains but one side but could see the damage that the drought has wrought on California. Most of hills were brown, screaming for rain. We could also see some areas that had burned in a fire several years ago. On the other side the coast was covered by the marine layer and, though we could see some of Santa Barbara, we couldn’t see the coast. We could see the Channel Island poking up through the whiteness of the layer.
Then a large van with a logo for a Paragliding Company pass us on the road as we were taking one of the many turn-offs to check the ‘new’ views. About 5 minutes later we saw it parked along the road with no one around. We couldn’t think of anything better to do than park behind it, climb up the short hill and try to find where they were going to take off. We rounded a corner and there we saw them, on the edge of a cliff, sitting on the ground with their hand-held devices checking for the wind, the sun, the pressure, etc.
It didn’t look as if they were going to sail soon so we stayed and talked with a young woman named Rose who was with several of the others but not sailing herself. After 45 minutes, it looked as the perfect conditions might not happen for a while and we decided that we had to hit the road and get those errands done. We did however, look over the cliff to pre-plan some places to stop to get a good view should they take off soon.
And, sure enough, one brave soul took off about 20 minutes later, we saw his colorful para sail coming over the cliff heading down into the valley below.
We stopped to watch his graceful gliding and expert maneuvering to get those updrafts as he sailed over the valley. Beautiful and he had the whole sky to himself. He wove through the updrafts, and we watched them lift him up to extend his flight. Finally, after we had admired his flight for a while, he was a small speck and we moved on.
We continued on the road which by now was much narrower and only one lane curving around the mountain ridges. We came to Cumbre Pead at 3985’, stopped at the turn-off and walked up to the overlook. The marine layer was lifting and we could see more of the Santa Barbara coastline. We could see the Municipal Wharf and the marina where we had walked several days ago.
Now, it’s time to head down and ‘plummet’ is the word I would use. To saw we went down the mountain faster than we went up is an understatement. However, just as we had seen homes along our trip up to the ridgeline, here we saw home on our way down. Here’s one perched on the side of a cliff that is for sale, and the price has been lowered to $3,999,999.
Then we drove through the area that was burned in what was called the ‘Tea House Fire’ in 2008 in which 220 homes were burned. We could see new homes in this area and lots of places where foliage had been planted to try to hold the hills from becoming mud slides.
In town, we mailed some letters, replaced some bad printer ink at Office Max, walked to Wells Fargo and noticed a marvelous building along our route. It said County Courthouse on the outside and we walked in. What a beautiful building.
There were paintings on the walls, mosaics throughout, a wonderful terrain map where we could see where we had just been, tiles on the floor and painted half-beams in the ceiling.
Then we walked upstairs and found this: the Mural Room with murals painted on all 4 walls depicting the history of Santa Barbara. Gorgeous and so detailed.
Awesome. But, we’re not done.
We walked up 2 more flights and found the clock tower where we stepped outside and walked around for 360 degree views of the city. My. There is also a clock room with a click that is about 7’ x’ 7’ x 7’ with arms that reach out to all 4 sides to move the hands of the clock on the outside of the clock tower. This clock is not being used now but was for at least 100 years.
As we walked back to our car, we also saw this unique building: beautifully painted with detailed vignettes all over the front and garage alcove.
Back at the car, I wrote down some things that we needed to see the next time we are in this area and the Courthouse certainly tops the list. We also did not have enough time to visit the History Museum and that is 2nd on the list.
But we have one day left here and we need to spend some time on administration and maintenance.
Love the sunset on the hills across the valley.
No comments:
Post a Comment