Loving the Back Roads

Riding a motorcycle or scooter is a great way to enjoy the back roads of San Benito County. Pedaling a bicycle is truly fun, too. Okay, so is driving a car.

Giggle. And, a big smile. 

It's Getting Green!

This is the view from the corner of Union Road and Highway 25. Hurrah!

See you tomorrow.

Sunday Morning on Monterey Street

Anyone else have that song "Morning Has Broken" by Cat Stevens going on in their head?

See you tomorrow.

Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs

Some of you may recall picnicking, hiking trails, dipping your toes in the mineral springs, or swimming in the freshwater pool at the Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs in the eastern foothills outside of Gilroy. The resort closed its gates to the public in the 1980s. Today, it is part of Henry Coe State Park.  

A couple of weeks ago the Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs celebrated its 20th year as a historic landmark. It's a California Historical Landmark as well as on the list of the National Register of Historic Places. 

The resort has an amazing history that dates back to 1865 when Francisco Cantua stumbled upon the mineral springs while seeking lost sheep from his flock. He claimed the area and turned it into a campground, but shortly afterwards sold the property to George Roop. He, in turn, with the help of partners, developed the hot springs into a big-time resort. By, 1874, a large hotel and 18 cottages were built, which could house up to 300 visitors. 

And, people did come. Locally as well as from far away. Many, including the rich and famous, such as Adolph Sutro, James Phelan, and Claus Spreckels, from San Francisco took the three-hour train ride to Gilroy, stayed overnight at a hotel, then, the next morning, jostled for three hours in a horse and buggy on 12 miles of dirt paths to the hot springs. Visitors often stayed for one or two weeks. The springs was considered the best in California, and until the mid-1930s, it was a popular destination place. 

In 1938, Harry K. Sakata, a well-known lettuce grower in Watsonville, bought the property and changed the name to Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs. Yamato is the word for Japanese. Sakata's goal was to develop a retreat for Japanese Americans.

Then came the U.S. entry into World War II and the internment of the Japanese American population in very remote locations. Sakata's Caucasian business partners took over the management of the hot springs, returning the property to Sakata after the war. In the postwar years, Sakata invited interned families to live on the property as a place to transition back into American society. 

The famous hotel and clubhouse are no more, nor the soaking pools or the freshwater swimming pool. Many of the cabins are still on the grounds in various stages of disrepair, which are being renovated by volunteers known as the Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs (GYHS), formerly known as the Friends of Gilroy Hot Springs. GYHS is a subgroup of the Pine Ridge Association, the nonprofit group that provides interpretive programs for Henry Coe State Park. GYHS' goals are to protect, preserve, and restore the site and its historic buildings, as well as to re-establish the landmark for public use.

The public can visit Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs when GYHS hold guided tours, which are usually the 2nd Saturday and 4th Sunday of the month. To ensure one is available, call GYHS at 408-314-7185 or send an email to info<at>gilroyyamatohotsprings<dot>org. 

By the way,  GYHS is seeking a campground host, with his or her own trailer or motor home, to live on the site. For more information, contact GYHS. 

Check out these websites to learn more about the Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs

• GYHS
• Gilroy Hot Springs History (The Valley of Hearts Delight)
• Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs (Wikipedia) 

For more of my photos and a bit more story about the Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs, please click here. 

The once-upon-a-time swimming pool

Delicious and Cool Stuff in Tres Pinos

I took this photo yesterday afternoon when the Husband and I went to pick up BBQ plates at the annual fundraiser that the Immaculate Conception parish in Tres Pinos held.

Talk about yummylicious! It was the parish's 77th year, I believe. And, the cooks, chefs, bakers, and assistants certainly gave the touch of love to their barbecue chicken, pasta (rigatoni with marinara sauce), wedge of lettuce with Thousand Islands dressing, garlic bread, and a piece of pie. My lunch came with a slice of cherry pie, the Husband's, apple pie, and the Mama's, apricot pie.

If you haven't gone to this fundraiser yet, try it next year. If you're from out of county, you can tie it in with some other splendid activity, such as skydiving, hiking at the Pinnacles, wandering around San Juan Bautista, checking out the Swank Farms corn maze, doing the wine trail, or simply pedaling or driving the back roads on a Sunday autumnal day. The last three years, this BBQ fundraiser took place the day after the San Benito Olive Festival. Hint, hint.

Speaking of Fall, notice the sprouts of green on the top of the hill on the right. Cool, huh?  These hills are across from the Immaculate Conception Church.  The photo was enhanced with Photoshop art filters, in case you're wondering.

See you tomorrow. Maybe with photos from the San Benito Olive Festival.

See Dar Tree?

Okay, a bad pun. Seriously, have you ever noticed this very, very tall and beautiful cedar tree on Fifth Street?

Bertha Briggs (as in the Bertha Briggs Memorial Youth Center on Memorial Drive) planted the tree as a sapling in her front yard in the 1900s.  Sharlene of the San Benito County Historical Society said Mrs. Briggs brought the cedar sapling back from a trip to Lake Tahoe.

A Hollister native, Mrs. Briggs lived from April 3, 1874 to August 13, 1962. Her parents were Hollister pioneers William and Delia Johnson. Mrs. Briggs was known for her many wonderful community deeds, including donating generously to Hazel Hawkins Hospital and organizing the Girl Scouts and Women's Club in Hollister. You can read a bit more about Mrs. Bertha Briggs in the book Hollister by Joseph M. McMahon and Peter Sonne.

This is a Western Red Cedar tree, which is indigenous to Western North America. Experts say that this species can live over a thousand years old. Mrs. Briggs' tree is a baby. Wowza!

The Soon-to-Be Memory of a Fair View

The first of the 1,100 houses are going up in the Santana Ranch above Fairview Road, between Hillcrest and Sunnyslope. Enjoy the open-space view while you can.

The View from Ridgemark

In 2010, Ridgemark had a population of 3,016, according to the U.S. census. I had no idea that this private, gated community, a few miles south of Hollister, is a census-designated place until I read Wikipedia. Never too late to learn something.

See you tomorrow.

Irrigation Sprinklers

Irrigation sprinklers make a field happy on Cienega Road. Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck. That's how they—the sprinklers—sound to me.

Enjoy your Saturday! See you tomorrow.

Handsome Old Oak Tree

This handsome oak tree—a blue oak, I think—hangs out in the parking lot in front of the Bolado Park Pavilion.  It's one of several mature oak trees throughout the park. I wonder how old it is.

Looking down into the oak tree.

Looking up the oak tree. 

See you tomorrow.

Character and Beauty

This old metal structure sits on the hill above Highway 25 across from Bolado Park.  Its character caught my eye, as well as the beauty of it alone on the hill.

Beautiful Clouds

Yesterday afternoon the clouds were very impressive and much expressive in the brilliant blue sky. They gave us quite a show.  This view is of the hill above Enterprise Road.

To see more cloud photos from yesterday, check out my "Clouds over Hollister" album at the Take 25 to Hollister Facebook page. You won't need to log on or even have an account to see it. 

Until tomorrow. 

Rain Delivered!

These grey clouds yesterday afternoon multiplied and intensified to give us rain last night! Whooo-hooo! 

It rained through the night. Yaaay!

We even had some rain this morning. Who knows, we may have more today. Hurrah!

The Diablo Range from Highway 25

The other afternoon, while driving back from Bolado Park, I managed to get a clear shot at Santa Ana Mountain and Three Sisters.

See you tomorrow.

Another View of Hollister

Yesterday afternoon while rocking out to the Moondance Band with friends in Dunne Park, I turned and saw this sight.  For a moment, I thought I was in a Swiss Alps village or some place like that.

That's the church on the corner of Monterey and Sixth street. The peak? Santa Ana Mountain.

See you tomorrow.

A Few Rock Faces of the Pinnacles

See the faces in these rocks at the Pinnacles National Park. Happenstance of nature or did some people of long ago start carving the faces?  Interesting ponder, no?

Have a great Sunday. See you tomorrow.

Enjoy the Day!

Hope you're all having a great three days off from work! You deserve it.

See you tomorrow.

A Garden of Delight

Should you take the nature trail from the parking lot to the Visitor's Center at the San Benito County Historic Village, you'd come across the caretaker's delightful back garden. Flying among the flowers, vines, bushes, and assorted statues and knick-knacks are various butterflies. I saw small brown ones, which slightly resemble Monarch butterflies, that I haven't seen since I was a kid. The caretaker's front garden is equally magical.

Another Interesting Sky

This was late afternoon while walking in the neighborhood across from Sunnyslope School. Amazing sky, don't you think?

The Other Clock Tower

Clock tower in Hollister?

I immediately think of the 106-year old clock tower on the corner of Fourth and San Benito Streets. But, that may not be the one that someone is seeking, especially if a person is looking for the pet store, car wash, or ale house that's by the clock tower.

Yup. That clock tower in the picture, which is in the Clocktower Plaza on McCray Street, near Meridian Street.