Old Writing: Spotted Beast Of The North (flies again)

[Lumpy Darkness]

What do we do to stay sane during times like this?  I hike and bird in more remote places near the south bay to get exercise and be outdoors.  I was on a newly opened trail at Calero County Park yesterday.  Saw a bald eagle on a small island in the reservoir, along with many other interesting birds including Clark's Grebes doing some of their famous mating dance on the water.  I've been hoping to hike at Pacheco State Park's rugged back country, but it is closed for public safety right now, during virus mitigation.

Today I was reminded of the Pacheco area, reading this Bay Nature article (a worthwhile read), which contains descriptions I recalled from my own past writing here:

https://baynature.org/article/the-spine-of-california/?fbclid=IwAR3nseq5XuwXKr-m_mSaJAEbfXTh-8TuSjYrF1auexUxKtkFiHXb46nWUpc

I love California's rich history, especially the gold rush era.  Virtually every time we go observing, we're in famous areas.  Michelle Stone's property in Bear Valley, near Mariposa is gold country, where we'd go for dark sky trips, has hidden treasures such as an early location of Ghirardelli chocolate in Hornitos, nearly a ghost town today.  Part of his old building still stands there.

Thanks to Jeff Gortatowski for reminding me yesterday of some of my old astronomy writing. That and the Bay Nature article made me recall something from 1998 when I wrote about observing at the then new Pacheco State Park.  It contained some bits about that very same California history.  I thought I'd post it here.

This was a two night trip.  I wrote an OR called "Spotted Beast Of The North" - which refers to observing in Camelopardalis in mid-October.  Here is the history part of the report. When you observe at Dinosaur Point, you are in this exact area:

"Saturday was a pleasant day. There was a mild breeze and temperatures hovered around 80 degrees fahrenheit, with not a cloud in sight. Ranger Clark Dooley stopped by several times. At one point, a few of us were using binoculars to check out the higher peaks to the north of highway 152, when the ranger pulled up. I asked about access "over there" and after a while he suggested that maybe we'd be interested in seeing what else was available in the rest of Pacheco park. Two of us took him up on the offer.... I rode in the cab of the 4X truck with Dooley, and we had a passenger in the back.

Dooley took the truck up a horse trail along the ridge-line forming the northwest border of the park. Highway 152, Casa de Fruita, Pacheco and Fremont Peaks were all easy to identify from the 2,000 foot vantage point. But, aside from one small flat area that I consider inaccessible by passenger car, there are no good observing sites. The views, of the unspoiled wild land laid out before us, were spectacular. I found myself traveling back in time, knowing what the early settlers saw when first viewing this part of California. To our east lay San Luis Reservoir and a wind farm. Dooley told us there were flatter areas over in that direction. Now, you may think "wind farm"... what a terrible place to observe! But, the wind season at Pacheco ends in October, and conditions stay relatively calm until about April.

We drove back down the horse-trail, exited the park, and headed down toward Dinosaur Point a few hundred yards. There, on our right, was a locked gate. Dooley unlocked it and we proceeded up a well maintained gravel road toward the wind-farm. This area looks quite good for observing, being further away from the highway, I doubt we'd hear any traffic, and we would not have any unexpected light intrusion from the neighbors. This area will need to be looked at in more depth, and perhaps a proposal sent to the Park Service regarding astronomical use.

On the way out, I noticed across a ravine, an old road cut into the hillside (maybe 20 yards from us), leading toward the reservoir. I have lately been enjoying learning a bit of California history in the new places I go observing, and pointed the road out to Dooley. He told me it was from the 1870's, and built by a man named Firebaugh (a town in California's central valley is named after Firebaugh). This was the old county road that lasted until the 1920's when the current Pacheco Pass road was built. The old county road had switch-backs, and began down in the area where now sits the San Luis Reservoir. The reservoir also hides the old Rancho de San Luis Gonzaga, owned by a wealthy family in the 1820's. The daughter of the land owner was named Fatjo (not pronounced Fat Joe, but "facho")... and her photograph is shown in a display at Pacheco Park. Fatjo is a hauntingly beautiful woman, who died recently (1992). I found myself imagining her life on the old Rancho, before civilization made Pacheco Pass a main automobile thoroughfare. Her beauty oddly reminded me of a line in the Monty Python movie about the quest for the Holy Grail, where the prince's father talks of marriage to the wealthy princess who had "great tracts of land" (those who saw the movie will recall the scene, and where the hands were located when the line was said). Fatjo certainly had land. She is also responsible for the park today, and as such, for our enjoyment in using her land (Dinosaur Point). Thank you, Fatjo.

Dooley finished the story of the old road by parking the truck and letting us look into the ravine. There, down in the bottom, were large rocks built into a curve. It was the old stagecoach trail, from the time of the California gold rush. I heard how Joaquin Murieta, a gold prospector from Mexico, who was mistreated, became the feared leader of a group of desperados, and would commit some of his crimes in this area. One could well imagine all these people, living their lives in the Pacheco pass area, under the same daytime sun, and night sky skies (albeit darker) we enjoy today. What a wonderful place to enjoy this hobby.

We returned to camp, ate dinner, welcomed our friends who were arriving for the night, and prepared our telescopes."

If you didn't follow the link to the Bay Nature article, here is some incredible information from the first paragraphs:

"The folk hero stars in John Rollin Ridge’s 1854 novel The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit—the first novel published in California, the first one published by a Native American, and a source text for future stories of masked avengers from Zorro to Batman." 

[Lumpy Darkness]

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Adventures-Joaqu%C3%ADn-Murieta-Celebrated/dp/0143132652

[Steve Duffy]

I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing. 

Steve D

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[Jeff Gortatowsky]

I have most of them. I think most are still online. This is just one of many. 

His enthusiasm and love the sky and area come through.