Exploring Hollister California and Beyond

While we were staying at Casa de Fruta we had plenty of opportunities for exploring Hollister California and beyond. So each day we went somewhere different.

Exploring Hollister California and Beyond

Gilroy

One day we were driving to nearby Gilroy and as we approached we noticed the heavenly (or stinky depending on your point of view) scent of garlic. Gilroy is known as the Garlic Capitol after all. There was garlic for sale everywhere!

San Juan Bautista

Another day took a drive and found ourselves in a charming, quaint little town called San Juan Bautista. When I say little, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles. It is primarily an agricultural town. And, according to the 2010 census, has a population of 1,862.

Driving down Main Street revealed how quaint the town was. So we dove a little deeper into our exploration and found the Old Mission at San Juan Bautista. The more we wandered the more we enjoyed having found this tiny treasure of a town.

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area around San Juan Bautista was populated by the Mutsunes, a branch of the Ohlone Indians. The Mutsunes lived in villages made up of thatched huts built of willow and grass. Since they lived the simple hunter-gatherer lifestyle common to California Indians they left little mark on the land.

In 1797, the Spanish Franciscan priest fray Fermín de Lasuén founded Mission San Juan Bautista to facilitate the conversion of the native people to Catholicism. In the process, he claimed the land for the Spanish Empire. Lasuén chose the site because of the area’s fertile cropland, steady water supply, and sizable Indian population. At its height, the Mission had over 1200 neophytes living within its walls. The mission churchyard holds the remains of about 4500 Indians. Construction of the current mission church began in 1803, and has served the community continuously since 1812. The mission was located on the Camino Real which connected the California missions and which remained well-used until the 19th century.

In 1821, Mexico revolted against Spain, winning independence for itself, and making California a province of the newly independent Mexico.

Not too long ago, with the help of old photographs and eyewitness accounts, researchers were able to estimate that the location of the hypocenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake as offshore from San Francisco, or near the city of San Juan Bautista, confirming previous estimates.

Hollister and Paicines 

Our last day of exploring Hollister California and beyond was spent driving through Pinnacles National Park. Since Steve and I have the lifetime pass we take advantage of visiting as many National Parks as we can.

To get to Pinnacles National Park we drove through the town of Hollister and then lots of farm land in Paicines before arriving at the park. Hollister was a bustling small town with lots of markets, boutiques and restaurants. As we got closer to Pinnacles there were virtually no stores, just lots of rolling hills and farms or ranches with cattle and sheep. There was even a vineyard or two.

The herds of black cattle were huge. Many were grazing and some were napping. There were adorable little calves and proud mamas. But the most fun were the few that high tailed it to the fence to say hi to us when we pulled the car off the road. And they were quite vocal with their loud Moooooos!

We also loved the pasture with a huge herd of sheep. At least we thought they were sheep. We honestly could get close enough to them to be sure. They also could have been pigs or hogs. But for now, we are sticking with sheep. LOL

Pinnacles National Park

The forces of beauty are quite apparent at Pinnacles National Park. Rock spires, ramparts and crags that don’t look anything like the nearby foothills dominate the landscape. Massive monoliths, sheer walled canyons and boulder covered caves define millions of years of erosion, faulting and teutonic plate movement.

This area rises out of the chaparral covered Gabilan Mountains which are just east of central California’s Salinas Valley. This is the spectacular remains of part of an ancient volcanic field. It’s part of the story of the San Andreas Fault Zone which runs just east of the park. It’s the story of heat, frost, water and wind wearing away rock.

Fault action and earthquakes also account for Pinnacles’ talus caves. These caves were formed when boulders fell into deep, narrow gorges and lodged between the rock walls. Those boulders form ceilings and areas of darkness, enticing visitors and bats.

Unlike many of the National Parks we had already visited, most of Pinnacles consists of rolling hills that range in elevation from 824-feet along Chalone Creek to 3,304-feet atop North Chalone Peak.

Pinnacles was declared a national monument in 1908 and has been a national park since 2013. The park includes over 26,000 acres, much of which is designated wilderness.

Pinnacles is a place for rejuvenation. A place to come and appreciate the unspoiled wilderness where wildlife is protected in their natural habitat.

Meanwhile back at Casa de Fruta

The sun was beginning to set by the time we got back to our campground. And we were greeted with a gorgeous, colorful sky, a large flock of peacocks and peahens