California, as with most states in the union these days, is having budget problems, some of our State parks are scheduled for closure, this one, Fort Tejon State Historical Park is one of them.
Lycra man and I have thought of stopping often on our trips through the Grapevine, this time we did.
Fort Tejon is situated in the Tejon Pass, the major north south route.
See the truck on I-5? its that close, in fact I-5 runs through the middle of what was the fort.
At one time camels were used as pack animals at Fort Tejon, it was a short experiment lasting about 5 months. The fort was established to protect the Indians from the settlers and the settlers from the Indians, and cut down on the cattle rustling problem.
There are only 2 buildings left on the fort site. All the buildings were made of adobe, which dissolves in the rain over time.
I love visiting historical parks, seeing how people lived in a time gone by. I always think of the women, the wife's, and mothers...
The barracks
Notice how thick the walls are, see the door jamb above and the window below. Adobe walls are thick , helps keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It was 90 degrees when we visited, last weekend they had snow and the pass was closed.
The parade grounds outside the barracks.
Bracing the walls
Cistern
Captains Quarters
20 years prior to the forts founding, a trapper was killed by a grizzly and buried under a huge oak tree , the details carved into its trunk.. this marker shows what was originally carved into the tree.
I am glad we stopped to visit. I am sad it may be closed.
What a live it must have been.
I've alwasy wanted to stop there, but like you we just pass it by. Do you know when it's going to close. I want to go too!
ReplyDeleteSherry, it is open until the end of June.
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