Leo Carrillo’s Hacienda

For this morning see yesterday. A coffee at Peet’s and a lunch time sandwich from Sprouts.

This afternoon was different. We visited the Leo Carrillo Ranch in Carlsbad: https://www.carlsbadca.gov/departments/parks-recreation/explore-the-ranch, a place we’ve been to last time we were here.

Those of you of the right age may have heard of Leo Carrillo, a well known Hollywood celebrity, who appeared in many films and is best remembered for playing Pancho in the Cisco Kid.

He bought the ranch as an rural escape from the pressures of life in Hollywood. At that time it was run down, he restored and rebuilt parts of the ranch to what it is today. The City of Carlsbad and volunteers now maintain this fascinating place.

The original occupants of the land were the Lousino people over 10,000 years ago. First Nation people were pushed off the land by advancing Spanish who created huge cattle ranches. Leo’s ranch was once part of an enormous ranch called Rancho Agua Hedionda which at over 13,000 acres corresponds to the modern city of Carlsbad.

By the 1800s this ranch had been subdivided with one portion being known as Rancho de los Quiotes or the Ranch of the Spanish Daggers in reference to the spiky yuccas that grow here.

After several owners a small section of the this ranch was purchased by Leo in 1937 and he set about restoring the run down ranch and its buildings to their former glory in honour of his Hispanic roots. Today’s blip is of the main hacienda built of adobe and the heart of the ranch when owned by Leo.

Today, this small portion of land represents a small remnant of this part of the Southern Californian landscape and the traditional buildings that have almost all been swept away by rapid and continued development over the last 30 years. Indeed, the roar of traffic can be heard and homes glimpsed through the trees.

It is indeed, a haven, a wildlife oasis, a retreat and a monument to one man’s dream which has saved a morsel of old California for people in the 21st Century to see and appreciate.

We were back in time to collect Landon from daycare and spend a little time with him this evening. We will be responsible for his entertainment tomorrow.

In other news we learned that the chairman of Bearsted parish council had resigned at the Annual Parish meeting last night. Where will this leave Project A?