This next post focuses on wildflowers and the Encinales ranch.
I think this is Chinese Houses again
Yellow lupine
And purple, apologies for the lack of focus
A cool red one that didn’t show up very well
There was a pond with nice clear water from the springs
The creek was quite refreshing since it was a hot spring day and everything else was pretty dry
So lush! A few cows were chilling out in the area
You could really see the drought’s effects on the trees
But the rocks were unaffected
These were really cool sandy hills that were reminiscent of the wind-shaped stone from the previous post
It really felt like an amphitheater, each of the ledges were sitting-distance apart and the bowl-shape had nice acoustics
A little closer
There was a spring near here as well, where the old Encinales ranch was built
Their landscaping is largely gone, these plantings are from later residents
But the old adobe house is still here, although it has much modern construction and repair
The old pools are drained and fenced-off
But can you imagine the views and relaxing summer nights out here
This is an ancient oak shading the old house
There was a plum tree and a few other stone fruit struggling to still survive, along with the redwoods and other landscaping. I’m not sure if anyone comes out to maintain any of it, but it looked very well preserved for being in the middle of nowhere
You can see inside it has lots of materials that are at least from the 1960’s, so this property was probably added to the forest service late last century
One side exposes the adobe
But hard to tell what is original here
This old room was very bare, look at the rocks on top of the door frame
Likely under restoration, the ceiling was not happy, but I think the tin roof is keeping things OK for now
An old well
This side barn is definitely newer, and I think used to keep things up around here, like mowing the grass
Lots of historical artifacts on display. Please respect these items and leave them for others. If they start disappearing, they will be taken in so no one can view them anymore
Generations of hikers have found bits and pieces of the past
I really liked that pottery, wish I knew what the spike was for
The ranch includes an old, very sparsely populated cemetery
You can just make out the gate and cross at the top of the hill. The former owners and a few others are up there, but not much of a destination with few monuments
Next up, a spectacular cave with ancient art
