Saturday, September 23, 2017

2017/9/23 Parma Park, LPTR

     










Parma Park is a 200 acre oak woodland open space in the foothills above Santa Barbara. It has 6 miles of trails that vary from jeep tracks to heavily overgrown single-tracks.
The City of Santa Barbara manages it, and details can be found HERE.

Today seven members of the Los Padres Trail Riders took a stroll in the park,  two big loops across the trails, covering 4.2 miles in 100 minutes. The day ended with a lunch in the shade and plans to meet up again soon to explore more of the beautiful local trails.


The equestrian staging area is quite big and even has a water trough, but it is kept locked up by the City and the gate will only be opened by reservation. So most riders park on adjacent streets and use another entrance. We gathered with our friend who organized the ride but was medically unable to participate today, and then we set off.


A lot of the trails are jeep service roads, and overlook the surrounding neighborhoods full of high-end houses.



This park and much of the surrounding area burned in the Tea Fire in 2008.
It burned 1,940 acres and 210 homes in 5 days.
The oaks and olives are making a strong come-back now.



The beauty of the park is that it is just below the mountains, giving constant vistas of the peaks above, while being immediately accessible from the city below.
It is quiet, and no bicycles are allowed, so equestrians and hikers walk confidently.




At an overlook we stopped for a view of the ocean below, with a massive cruise ship showing an entirely alternate way to travel, while our trail boss pointed out local landmarks.

Sometimes the trail is a road, and then you drop off into a track that is so overgrown with weeds the mule must bash a way through. 
And then dipping down into the canyons the old oaks provide shade in the dappled light.
The Parma family who donated the property to the City in 1973 made their fortunes with olive oil, and the park used to be filed with magnificent old specimen olive trees. Now they are slowly returning after having burned 9 years ago.

                                                       Me and my shadow.
When you travel on a mule you're never alone, and you can count on a sure-footed ATV creature who is constantly observing the environment.
                                                                                                                                                                      



Like this amazing massive boulder with a tree growing next to it.










This IS Earthquake Country, so it is easy to imagine that this huge rock tumbled down from the mountains above.






 And finally it was time to trek back around to the staging area.


Passing lovely succulent and cactus gardens that border the park, the edges of the estates that form the civilized rim around the wild acres.










A lovely ride, a pleasant day for all involved. No one fell off, no animals had issues, just a chance to see this beautiful landscape I am privileged to call home from the back of my equine.
So here's to the LPTR for hosting the ride, and Tobe Mule for being my legs.

As the great Olympian equestrian Ian Millar once said:

"The minute I put my leg on a horse and say "Come on, let's go," I absolutely believe that the horse and I can do it.... If the analytical mind ever overrode that optimist in me, I'd be in some serious trouble."

                                                                  ###  FIN  ###
The minute I put my leg on a horse and say, 'Come on, let's go,' I absolutely believe that the horse and I can do it and that we will do it. And I am always shocked when we actually don't do it. If the analytical mind ever overrode that optimist in me, I'd be in some serious trouble.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=horse+legs&fuzzy=no
Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/legs.html
Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/legs.html 
Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive. Mel Brooks
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/legs.html
Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive. Mel Brooks
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/legs.html