Up for a cruise? Fun in the sun in Ventura County!

[Beezer]

Up for a cruise? Ventura County is such an awesome place this time of year! There's not a lot of buggying in the dirt around here, as most of the great trails are private. However, we have a really fun cruise night in Santa Paula the first Friday of every month - mainly muscle cars and the like, but the whole downtown is blocked off and full of cars and people, and thought it would be fun to bring a bunch of buggys together for cruise night (cars are stationary - the people cruise) as a way to start a great weekend of buggying. Saturday I propose doing the most awesome posie sniffer run - from Santa Paula (where there's a good group campground about 2 miles away) to Ojai through miles of orchards, then meander around Lake Casitas, run over the hill with great views of the ocean, and head into the foothills around Montecito. End the run with lunch at a park right on the beach in Santa Barbara. You can bring your own lunch or enjoy the great "Fish House Restaurant" with one foot in the restaurant and the other in the sand. Great ?dog beach? too for those of you who like to bring the family pet. On Sunday, we could do a run we discovered recently from Santa Paula to Fillmore and up to the trailhead of the Condor Santuary in the Los Padres National Forest. This run is pavement through beautiful orchards for 18 miles, then pavement/gravel for a few, then dirt for about 7. An easy run for street buggies, but still dirty enough for a medium run. No rough rider stuff in our area, unfortunately. Cruise night is May 1, so it's coming right up! Could also be a June 5th event, but that's getting kinda close to Big Bear. Anyway - just a thought some of you might be interested in seeing what Ventura County has to offer. I've attached a weblink (you may have to cut & paste) with some pictures of the run to the condor sanctuary trailhead (and a couple bad ones of cruise night). Any interest? Which date would be preferable? http://s735.photobucket.com/albums/ww352/PRINCIPIAB/ Lynn & Connie Breedlove Member 1634 Santa Paula, CA 805 933-6647 principiab@aol.com

[manx1111pla]

Hi Beezer, there are probably 5 or 6 of us in Simi and a few more in Camarillo and Ventura County so it would be fun to have a local run. Last year a group of us had a run up to the Condor Santuary and it was alot of fun. I'm sure we could get a good group together for a run and it sounds like you have a nice run planned. We can't go May 1st we will be up north at clearlake but i'm sure we could make it sometime in June maybe Sat. June 6th or the 13th.

[Beezer]

The 6th is probably a good date for more people as I was late posting to the forum, and it's a good date for us too. Weather might not be quite as good, as we can get some fog in early June that we don't have in May (usually). For those coming from further away and possibly staying in the area, we could attend cruise night if anyone's up for it. I think it would be fun to have a nice showing of buggies - kind of like a "show & shine". If I knew in advance that people wanted to do this, I will contact the event coordinators and have a location set aside for us - otherwise it's strictly first come / first parked and our cruise night it getting bigger every month. My thought was people can come and do the entire weekend or any part of it. I didn't know a group had gone to the Condor Sactuary previously. We've been looking furiously for places to go "off road" around here - not much as everything is gated. Anyway - we'll officially change the date to June 5 - 7 - come for any or all: Friday - 6/5 - Cruise night "show & shine" Saturday - 6/6 - Awesome "posie" run to Santa Barbara Sunday - 6/7 - Condor Sanctuary Connie & Lynn Santa Paula, CA

[5150bossman]

We'd be in for at least one of the runs. A month away from Big Bear is fine. Were you also suggesting some camping for those that aren't in the area? Also, there are a couple of runs in the Off-Road Adventures - Southern California book that go either side of the top of San Marcos Pass just North of Santa Barbara. One to a couple of springs, the other to the ocean. Just a thought. I've been wanting to do both those runs for a while now. Should be fairly easy as it is a combo of street and light off-road. You could even combine both and have lunch at the either Cold Springs Tavern or the springs at the end of the one trail, then come home by way of the trail to the ocean down to the 101 and then back. Just a suggestion.

[Beezer]

Sorry - been busy. There is camping at Far West RV Resorts (don't use their website to make reservations - call them instead) for anyone coming from out of the area. So far, don't see anyone mentioning it on the forum, so will probably just be "us locals". We've done the Cold Springs Tavern Run - it's fun, but some people don't like to do the 70mph "dash" up San Marcos Pass in a buggy, so we thought we'd head down to the beach this time instead. Very interested in hearing about the other runs you've found with light off road. I know there are a couple, but we've been told you have to get special permission from the Ojai Ranger Station and they only let so many in during any one weekend. We'd probably have to coordinate that pretty well in advance. We've found the same possibility off Sisar Road in Ojai - but the ranger has to give you the combo to the locked gate to get onto the trail - again, only so many allowed at any one time. Will look into it for a future event, cuz it's only up the hill from us about 6-7 miles. I think, if approached as a Manx Club "event", we'd probably get permission as a group. Looking forward to meeting everyone! Though the forum says we're "newbies", we've actually been in the club for several years and have gone to many events. We're just new to the forum since they changed the format. Used to post all the time. Bye for now - Connie

[Beezer]

MEETING PLACE ON SATURDAY, JUNE 6 An easy place to meet is at a big parking lot just catty-corner from the Santa Paula train depot - next to the church (immediately after the train tracks and on the right side of the road going towards Ojai). The depot is on the corner of 10th Street (Highway 150) and Santa Barbara St. We can assemble and have a drivers meeting and then it will be a straight shot over the hill. I think if we leave about 10:00 a.m., it will put us at the beach in time for lunch. There is also the potential for a great Italian dinner at the end of the run in Ojai at Boccallis - the BEST strawberry shortcake in the world! The rest of the their food is good too! I'll post later about the Sunday run to the Condor Sanctuary. Some may want to start in Santa Paula and take the scenic South Mountain Road part of the run with us, and some may want to meet in Fillmore and just do a short run up the hill. Let me know your thoughts. Easiest to email directly to principiab@aol.com - just put something in the subject line about buggies so I don't think I'm getting "spammed". I will post final info on the forum closer to the event. Thanks! Connie

[Beezer]

Due to the Jesusita Fire, we were afraid the roads would be closed for our run next Saturday. We did a pre-run today and all areas we'd intended to visit in Santa Barbara are open. Certainly evidence of the fire - which is sad -but no routes are closed. Weather was not as beautiful as in late April and early May, but still a beautiful run if you "layer up". I would love to get a head count for Saturday. I'm thinking Friday night cruise night & Sunday to the Condor Sanctuary don't seem to be of much interest. We'll definitely be at cruise night with our new street buggy. Hope to see you this next weekend! Connie & Lynn Member #1634

[BuggyBob]

Connie & Lynn, I wont be able to make it there but thank you for keeping the local buggy running alive. See you in Big Bear. Bob

[manx1111pla]

Beezer, We are planning to make it to the run on Sat.

[Beezer]

Will be good to meet you! Connie

[Beezer]

Look forward to meeting everyone! #5 [-] Posts: 3 (06/04/09 19:38:27) Reply Quote Edit MoreMy Recent Posts Weather's been warm / chilly / warm / foggy / drizzly / warm. Should be pretty nice in the inland parts - could be a little cool at the coast. Will be a fun run regardless! Anytime you get a group of buggies together is a blast! We haven't determined a meeting place or time for Sunday - my thoughts are probably the same time / place as Saturday, since it will be a known location - 10:00 at the Santa Paula Train Depot. We will probably go to our favorite restaurant - Hozy's - for breakfast about 8:30 on Sunday if anyone would like to meet us there - 1760 Lemonwood Drive. Reservations strongly recommended, so let us know if you'd like to join us! Anyone wanting to only do the Fillmore to the trailhead run - we should be in Fillmore between 10:45 - 11:00. The Von's shopping center would be easy access for everyone. The town is small, Vons is on the main drag and right adjacent to the back road we'll be coming off of. A good place to get drinks, etc., for going up to the trailhead. There's nothing between the town and the trailhead, so stock up! Give a call or email me: (805) 798-1493 cell; 933-6647 home - principiab@aol.com Connie & Lynn

[5150bossman]

I would like to thank everyone who put this run on. We had a blast! We were unable to make the cruise night (it rained the entire day, and we thought the event would have been rained out. It wasn't. Along with an assortment of other motorized transport, my understanding is that 6 buggies made it to show off). Saturday started out cool and dark. When we loaded up, the clouds were very menacing. A few bouts of drizzle didn't dampen our spirits as we drove to Santa Paula to meet. Once we got there, most of the group was already there and ready to go. We departed just before 1030 with 6 buggies. Ran in to a brief period of rain, and then it was dry for the remainder of the day. On our first stop, the shop owner said that he had an awesome Toad he was selling. He only wanted $12,500.00 for it! Site unseen, we drove off, ever wondering what that amount would have gotten us... We saw some pretty awesome sights as we wound out way through the back roads of the county, passing through Ojai, and past a serene Lake Casitas, quickly ending up in Carpenteria. Before we knew it, we were in Santa Barbara. We did get in to some of the fire areas, and saw at least one burned down house. I was surprised at how much green was still around in the areas that burned. Not at all what I expected. As we wound our way through SB, it was interesting to see all the people in their big fancy cars, and out in their back yards playing tennis, or at the Polo Club playing....... all briefly stopping to see what that throaty sound approaching was, only to discover it was our little buggies rambling along. I could see the look of jealousy on their faces as that thought, now why can't WE do that?... That being said, it was amazing at how many people did stop what they were doing just to watch us go by. Young and old alike, some with cell phone cameras, others with video cameras. They smiled and waived at us, and we smiled and waived right back. As we passed the Earl Warren Show Grounds, there was a small car show with some nice classic cars. It was funny to watch those attending to actually run toward the road so they could take pictures as we drove by. I wished that we had pulled in to look at the cars, but I guess it was for that best that we kept going as I wouldn't want those that paid to show their cars to get mad at us interlopers. We finally made it to the beach and had a nice lunch. Talk of buggies and past experiences, it was great. We then loaded up and headed for home mostly the way we came. The end of the day brought a wonderful barbecue before we had to head off to another event for the evening. Sunday brought another great run. This time, a bit of off-road antics (seems like one of the rangers didn't like a rear passenger riding without a seatbelt, and spent the next 20 minutes espousing the virtues of their use before finally letting our intrepid travelers go without a ticket). After a minor mis-communication, we met up with the group. Four buggies this time. Once we all arrived at Dough Flats (the trail head to the condor sanctuary), we again discussed the finer points of buggying, trains, the weather, geography, and so on... An hour later, it was time to head back down. Shortly after hitting the road, Mel pointed up the mountain and asked it there was smoke, or just clouds? I initially didn't see anything, but then I did see what could be smoke. It seemed out of place way up in the high country. We went another mile or so and as we came around a corner, we could see that indeed it was a small 2-3 acre brush fire! A couple of us were able to get out on our cell phones to alert the authorities. A short time later, we passed several fire trucks and oil company trucks coming up the other direction (much of the land is old oil company land with active and derelict oil wells). Now this was excitement that we weren't bargaining for, so we got off the mountain before anything else could happen. The rest of the journey for us was uneventful. When we got home, I pulled up the Ventura County Fire Department Fire line web site and found the incident communications described as follows; ______________________________________________ COMMENTS: looks like this is in the lp - Jun 7 2009 1:50PM lpfe54 grand ave in the anomaly over sqaw flat - Jun 7 2009 1:50PM Utl91 made contact confirm fire is on grand 3021 1 1/2 miles north - Jun 7 2009 1:55PM e91 in the area staging on grand / smoke showing at the end of goodenough possibly 2 fire - Jun 7 2009 1:57PM utl92 made dco 3061 Grand fire he was reporting was off of goodenough / e81 on goodenough 2 miles out is off of goodenough / best access off of goodenough - Jun 7 2009 2:00PM only 1 fire / off of goodenough road - Jun 7 2009 2:01PM PER CPT7 FIRE IS AT 10 ACRES S/W WIND AT 10-15 MPH..BURNING N/E OF THE GEO-THERMAL..CREW 1-1 WORKING THE RT FLANK..SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONTAIN FIRE AT INITIAL ATTACK - Jun 7 2009 2:30PM LINE AROUND FIRE..FIRE CONTAINED..1HR TILL FIRE DECLARED OUT.. - Jun 7 2009 3:43PM fire out - Jun 7 2009 5:06PM LPE54 and MRE126 Remaining o/s all addtl clearing - Jun 7 2009 5:25PM Approximating address: SQUAW FLAT RD & GOODENOUGH RD Fillmore (Ventura County), CA ______________________________________________ We did see a sign talking about a near-by "Thermal Anomaly", but this was an actual fire. Here is an article on the anomaly. http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/th ... es-experts My picture posting site is down for the moment. I will post some pics of the runs as soon as I can.

[Beezer]

Thanks for the nice post. Glad you had a good time - I know we had a blast all weekend! Thanks to all who participated in our first - hopefully annual - Fun in the Sun Run! Norm & Linda Wilkinson took us by surprise with their generous BBQ after Saturday's run - food was great and so was the company! Here are pictures of Saturday loaded in Photobucket - I didn't take the camera on Sunday, so these are just a few from the "posie sniffers": http://s735.photobucket.com/albums/ww35 ... ne%202009/ I have to say - we've done that run many times - in our buggy and even in our truck - we never tire of it. What back country roads should be - slow, scenic and ever-changing. Hope somebody can post the Sunday pictures, complete with the added level of excitement of the fire! Boy! That was a LOT of response from all the fire personnel throughout the area, including a helicopter! Nothing like having big old fire trucks flying at you on a single lane road! I was less worried about them than the crazy guy in the Jeep Cherokee tho! What in the heck was THAT all about! One of the locals said he ran off the road 3 or 4 times once he was off the mountain. Crazy! Looking in to Sisar Canyon - a major dirt run - for next year, along with a trip up south mountain to see the most beautiful scenery around! Connie & Lynn Beezer & Jesus (HeySuus!)

[manx1111pla]

We were really looking forward to going and meeting all of you but Rocky had other intentions so hopefully we will make it next time. Glad you all had fun. See you all at Big Bear.

[5150bossman]

Here's the link to our pictures (The site is finally up and running again!). http://www.manxgallery.org/gallery/album687 I will add commentary whenever I can get a chance.