Back Road to Salinas
San Juan Grade road heading down towards Salinas
We decided to take a drive to Salinas today. Instead of taking 101, we drove down Monterey Road all the way to Gilroy. Now Monterey Road can be a bit of a pain, but early in the morning, with the lights mostly in our favor, it was a pleasure to drive along. Admittedly the road is a bit rough in places but there was a lot of things to catch our eye.
At first, it was urban sprawl but before long we were driving through the countryside and although 101 was close by, it seemed a million miles away. Tom said that back in the late fifties and early sixties most main roads in the valley were like this. Along the way we passed a few orchards and lots of businesses associated with farming.
Driving through Morgan Hill we were on the look out for somewhere for breakfast but were unsuccessful. Morgan Hill looks an interesting little place and the hill itself stands sentinel over the town. Must check to see whether there is a way to get to the top.
South of Morgan Hill we passed several properties which intrigued us. One was obviously some sort of attraction for children as there was a sign which said ‘Pumpkinville Railroad’. Of course I checked online when I got home and discovered it was a huge pumpkin patch which is only open during October every year. It is situated at Uesugi Farms. The other place had a couple of wooden archways, an old tractor and other assorted antique machinery in its grounds.
After breakfast we hit 101 down to Highway 156. It seemed strange not to turn left into San Juan Bautista. Instead we turned right at the first traffic signal and took the back road to Salinas.
We took the same route which we took in January this year when we visited Dimitri and Kitty Fridman. Their coffee shop in San Juan, which will be called Vertigo, is not quite open yet. They have been held up for floor problems but hopefully it won’t be long before we will be able to pop in there and say hi.
The road we traveled on is called San Juan Grade Road according to my map but we saw no signs at all en route. We passed through green pastures
Typical peaceful scene on the back road to Salinas
and ranches with cows and horses grazing. One ranch had cattle that looked like Texas Longhorns.
When we started to climb up hill the views opened out and we looked down on a large housing development. Tom commented on how old the road was. He could tell because of the concrete sections between the many patches of tarmac here and there. Lo and behold a vintage Model T appeared around a bend ahead of us and drove by. An elderly couple were inside. It was if we were back in the ‘good old days’. The moment passed very quickly. It would have been a great photo to capture but of course Tom was driving and his camera was in the trunk.
It is beautiful countryside. Rolling green hills, some heavily wooded, rise and dip all around. Occasionally there is an outcrop of rock. Red wing blackbirds are busy and their song fills the air. Wildflowers are in bloom along the edge of the road. Tom stopped several times to take photos.
The road twisted and turned, rose and fell, for several miles. At one point we turned a corner and suddenly there was a distant view of Salinas nestled in its own valley. If it had been a clear day, we would have been able to see the ocean as well. The sun attempted to shine but it was still a bit hazy.
There was a roadside sign saying this is the Juan Bautista de Anza Historic Highway. Juan Bautista de Anza was a lieutenant-colonel in the New Spanish army and found the overland route to San Francisco in 1776, presumably riding along this very road. At this point, a whole procession of old Ford cars and one truck passed by. A lot of the cars were well preserved ’67 Mustangs. We concluded there must be a meet somewhere for vintage and classic Fords.
Tom spotted another historic landmark. This time it was a bronze plaque marking the site of the Battle of Natividad in November 1846 between combined American forces and the Californians.
Now we were down into the Salinas valley and passing both houses and crops. The houses were on one side and fields of lettuce and strawberries on the other. As we did not want to drive into Salinas, we turned left on Borondada Road and skirted around the top of the town, turning left on Natividad Road and further on another left onto Old Stage Road. This eventually brought us back to San Juan Grade Road and we headed back the way we came into San Juan Bautista.
May 09 2010 01:23 pm | Special Places
