Morgan Hill, CA

Here we are in Morgan Hill again. Our daughter Chris had 5 days off so we decided to drive the 500 miles from Salome, AZ to see her again while we are in the west. Isn't retirement nice? We traveled the same route that we took when coming here in Nov. It was very interesting to see the change from fall to spring. As we were coming west across the desert in Calif. we could see snow covered peaks in the distance. AS we came down into the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs area they were a sharp contrast to the green in the valley and really quit a pretty sight. Going north on I-5 in the area before we stopped for the night in Lost Hills the alfalfa was green and several of the fields had green wheat?? growing in them. There was an occasional herd of sheep grazing in them. This morning going west on 46 the fields of grapes were all barren of leaves and the workers were busy pruning the vines. The rolling hills to the east of Paso Robles had turned green and were dotted with cattle. Nancy made the comment that it seemed so peaceful in that area and that she really liked it. The fields in the Salinas valley were either being prepared for planting of vegetables or some had some new vegetable already showing down the row. I wonder where our vegetables come from during the winter months when they aren't grown in this area.

We stopped at Mission San Miguel Archangel just north of Paso Robles. It is one of the old Spanish missions built in the 1700's. It is one of the 11 most endangered historical sights in the nation. Due to the 2003 earthquake the church part has been condemned. The only part that was open the the public was the original side built in 1797 that served as living quarters. Those rooms still have the old baking ovens and sparse furnishings from that time. Also a couple of windows have the sheep stomach linings that served as glass in the windows. The other 3 sides are in use by the Franciscan Padres for retreats, meetings and training of young Franciscans. It also serves as the local parish.We learned to day that what is now Rt 101 is what was originally the El Camino Real. This is the trail that connected all of the missions back when then were in their early times. The trail was marked by crosses that were attached to trees.