Rancho Oso

 

Last Tuesday we left Acton and traveled about 140 miles to the Thousand Trails Resort “Rancho Oso” . It is located about 25 miles north of Santa Barbara and is in the Los Padres National Forest.

The campsites are tiered and have some space between the rows. The picture above is looking out from behind our rig.

This one from our other side

The trip here was very scenic. We traveled along Highway 101 through Ventura along the coast and then headed up over the San Marcos Pass. The truck normally does a pretty good job pulling the rig on mountain passes, however this time when I needed the power most, it went into exhaust clean mode.

When it goes into this mode the engine rpm’s pick up and it heats the DPF filter in the exhaust system. This cleans the particulates out and keeps the emissions at the current EPA guidelines for diesel engines. The down side is it sucks all the power and torque from the engine while it regenerates. This can be a 30 minute process.  Needless to say I did not think I was ever going to get over the pass. I had quite a line behind me as I started down the other side.

The road into Ranch Oso is winding, narrow and mostly one lane. The trick here is to come in after 12:00 noon when the departures for the day have come down.  This way your chances of meeting someone on the road are minimal.

This is a working horse ranch with an RV park, Cabins etc..On Saturday they are going to have a bull riding and dog herding demonstration.  That should be interesting.

This Appaloosa looks just like Maxine’s old horse Hercules.

Plenty of horses

It is certainly beautiful here in this high valley and we have seen several wild turkeys. Yesterday morning, we had one wake us up as it was gobbling just outside our camper . All I could think about was that the last time a turkey woke me up, it was Thanksgiving and I could smell it cooking. Maybe a little turkey revenge?

I also spotted a Doe feeding

 

The stone lodge here is the oldest building on the property. It was built in 1911 and it is used for a kitchen and family rec area.

This is the E.W Alexander spring house. He purchased the property and built Rancho Oso. He was also a friend of Henry Fords. It was built over a spring which keeps the interior cool. This is where all the perishables were kept, such as bear and dear meats.

The bars on the window are axles from a Model T

Friday, we plan on riding highway 1 along the coast south to Malibu and check out some of the beaches. Hopefully we can get in some hikes in the Los Padres Forest and some sight seeing in Solvang, a small touristy town just north of us.

Enjoy Your Day!