Carmel River Sport Fishing

Rainbow Trout Caught May 1, 1933

Carmel River and tributaries above Los Padres Dam:     Last Saturday in Apr. through Nov. 15. No rainbow trout less than 10 inches or greater than 16 inches total length may be kept. Only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used.     5 trout, no more than 2 of which may be rainbow trout allowed.

Carmel River below Los Padres Dam:
(A) Carmel River tributaries below Los Padres Dam and main stem from Los Padres Dam to the bridge at Robles Del Rio/Esquiline roads (Rosie’s Bridge).     Closed to all fishing all year.
(B) Carmel River main stem below the bridge at Robles Del Rio/Esquiline roads (Rosie’s Bridge). Dec. 1 through Mar. 7, but only on Sat., Sun., Wed., legal holidays and opening and closing days. Only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used.  2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead allowed in possession  

Text From: 2013-2014 Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations
Photo from: http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/ebayseller33/B0577.JPG

Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area

Carmel Bay

Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area in Carmel Bay established in September 2007. The  area covers 2.12 square miles. This designation allows some recreational and/or commercial take of marine resource.

MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT of 2004
(c) Coastal development, water pollution,and other human activities threaten the health of marine habitat and the biological diversity found in California's ocean waters. New technologies and demands have encouraged the expansion of fishing and other activities to formerly inaccessible marine areas that once recharged nearby fisheries. As a result, ecosystems throughout the state's ocean waters are being altered, often at a rapid rate.
(g) Despite the demonstrated value of marine life reserves, only 14 of the 220,000 square miles of combined state and federal ocean water off California, or six-thousandths of 1 percent, are set aside as genuine no take areas.
Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area
MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT of 2004

Veeder Pond: Carmel Valley Vernal Pool

Veeder Pond in Garland Park

Vernal pools are seasonally flooded depressions found on ancient soils with an impermeable layer such as a hardpan, claypan, or volcanic basalt. The impermeable layer allows the pools to retain water much longer then the surrounding uplands; nonetheless, the pools are shallow enough to dry up each season. Vernal pools often fill and empty several times during the rainy season.
As winter rains fill the pools, freshwater invertebrates, crustaceans, and amphibians emerge.

From: California Wetlands Information System
Picture from the NatureID Blog

Anaxyrus californicus

The Arroyo Toad, Anaxyrus californicus prefers sandy or cobbly washes with swift currents and associated upland and riparian habitats.
Status: Endangered as of  16-Dec-1994.
Photo by: Andrew Borcher 

The Green, Surging Arroyo Seco River

Arroyo Seco River Swimming Hole

200 feet above the green, surging Arroyo Seco River, the mountainside reveals a striking juxtaposition of fire-swept death and spring’s wild resurgence.

Starting from the gorge parking area above the campground, the river winds narrowly for about 10 miles. Hiking upriver is the purest way to fully immerse oneself in the Arroyo Seco’s cool waters, but the Indians Road also offers easy access to several killer swimming spots.

The best swimming hole – though by no means the most secret – is about a 45-minute hike from the parking lot. The trailhead is uphill from the first creek crossing next to two trashcans. A steep walk through scorched chaparral lands you on a small beach where a deep and wide channel surrounded by smooth granite offers the perfect reprieve from the dry south county air.

From: Monterey County Weekly

The Padron [mounted horseman]

The clearest and most significant expression of Spanish fears of French interference appears in a 1751 series of memoirs by Don Fernando Sanchez Salvador, a captain of the Sonora and Sinaloa cavalry. Sanchez Salvador argued that France was eagerly seeking the Pacific. He warned that, in their exploration of the mountains around New Mexico, French scouts might find and descend the Colorado River.  He contended that the river divided into two branches, one called the Carmelo River which he believed emptied into the Pacific Ocean on the coast of upper California.

From: The Elusive West and the Contest for Empire: 1713 - 1763 By Paul W. Mapp 2011

Oil painting by JamesWalker: http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf3q2nb43s/?layout=metadata&brand=calisphere

Toxicodendron diversilobum

Poison Oak

Western poison oak occurs only on the Pacific Coast of North America, where it is common. The plant toxin produced by members of the genus Toxicodendron, called urushiol, is known for causing an uncomfortable, and sometimes painful, skin reaction. The active components of urushiol have been determined by Billets (1975) to be unsaturated congeners of 3-heptadecylcatechol with up to three double bonds in an unbranched C17 side chain. "Leaves of three, leave them be. Leaves of four, eat some more."

Text from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_diversilobum
Picture from: http://bapd.org/hamilton-gulch-long-sequence.html

Ohlone Dancers, 1815

Danse des Californiens [at San Francisco, from a drawing ca. 1815].
From: The Bancroft Library

Experience Carmel River on the the South Bank Trail

The Big Sur Land Trust announced the opening of the South Bank Trail, a 1.5 mile long pedestrian and bicycle path located on the south side of the Carmel River.

The South Bank Trail begins at the intersection of Rancho San Carlos Road and Valley Greens Drive in Carmel Valley. The trail starts on an existing paved private farm road and heads west, meandering off road onto a path that includes a beautiful view of the Carmel River, native vegetation, and a gentle grade that makes for an easy walk or bike ride. The trail gently climbs onto pasture land where it eventually meets the boundary of Palo Corona Regional Park.

While no permit is required to use the South Bank Trail, a use permit is required to pass through the trail’s west gate into Palo Corona Regional Park.

http://www.bigsurlandtrust.org/media/pdf/bslt-carmel-river-project-sept-7-2010.pdf

Steelhead migrate up the Carmel River

Mature Steelhead enter the river from the ocean at the rivers' "Mouth" otherwise known as Carmel River Lagoon. In late November through May, depending on winter storms, small schools move steadily against the flows upriver. The adult Steelhead that migrate up the Carmel River to reach Finch Creek must first jump over "Old Carmel Dam" about 18 miles up the river from the ocean, then pass over "San Clemente Dam" via a rickety old narrow fish ladder until they come to the spot where Cachagua Creek meets the main Carmel River. That "confluence" as it is called is about 5 miles above San Clemente Dam and just below Los Padres Dam by the village called Cachagua.

Text from: http://www.carmelriversteelheadassociation.org/
Photo from: Michael Carl's photostream

The Los Padres Dam’s future is uncertain

The Los Padres Dam, Carmel River

Six miles upstream of the San Clemente Dam... the Los Padres Dam creates a reservoir pretty enough for a painting, but one that’s a prison for steelhead fish whose hearts beat for the sea.
 South Central California steelhead are what biologists call a “distinct population segment,” with unique DNA among the planet’s steelhead. 


The Los Padres is an earthen dam with few hard parts. Rather than tumbling 100 feet, the water slips unassumingly over the dam’s lip and down a concrete spillway, then falls back into the river. 

The Los Padres Dam’s future is uncertain. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants it to come down, while the state Department of Fish & Game and MPWMD unofficially support dredging it and leaving it up. 


http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/may/31/river-tamed/

Carmel River Being Sucked Dry

The river’s most serious and expensive challenge, though, is that it’s being sucked dry to supply the Peninsula. With 12,000 acre-feet per year diverted for human use – more than three times the legal limit – many of the river’s tributaries wither in the summer, stranding steelhead and parching a lower watershed that depends on it.

 The San Clemente Dam, built in 1921, is a 106-foot-high, reinforced concrete arch bolted into bedrock on both sides, a powerful and imposing structure with an art deco grace, originally holding 1,425 acre-feet of water at the confluence of the Carmel River and San Clemente Creek, in the steep, pine-encrusted ravines southeast of Carmel Valley Village. 
 The San Clemente is now so silted in it holds less than 60 acre-feet of water; the state declared it obsolete in 2003.

Twenty years after the state water board’s order to do something about the dam, its removal is finally poised to happen. The California Coastal Conservancy, which is leading the planning and design, expects road work to begin in late summer. Construction on the river reroute should start in spring 2013

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/may/31/river-tamed/

California Condor

The California Condor is the largest land bird in North America. An adult can weigh as much as 31 pounds, stand as tall as 4.5-feet, and have a wingspan up to 10 feet. Thousands of these great birds once called California home. The population all-time low was 22 birds in 1982.

Photo From: http://www.levalleyphoto.com/gallery/omw.php
Text From: http://www.ventanaws.org/index.htm

San Clemente Dam removal project may be delayed

Carmel Valley, California

Delays caused by the switch to a new access route could postpone the start of the San Clemente Dam removal project past summer and even into next year, said a county planner.
But a California American Water spokeswoman said the company is hoping to begin the much-anticipated project by summer.
Work on the $83 million project, which includes removing the dam and re-routing a portion of the Carmel River along with removing the old Carmel River dam, was supposed to start last year.

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_22726079/san-clemente-dam-removal-project-may-be-delayed

Photo from: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/lvibber/sets/72157622590664819/with/4097774150/

Remove the Chinese Dam

Finally, the project currently includes notching the Old Carmel River Dam (OCRD) located
approximately 1800 feet downstream of San Clemente Dam. The OCRD is a 32-foot high structure built in 1893. Notching it would improve fish passage. However, SCC and NMFS are working on plans to remove the OCRD as part of the Reroute and Removal Project because it would provide even greater benefits to fish passage and river function.

The 400-acre-foot Chinese Dam, was built by immigrants working 24 hours a day in 1883 to supply Monterey’s first tourist attraction, the Hotel Del Monte.
 Today the Chinese Dam (more politely called the Old Carmel River Dam) is a relic, a modest wall of stones and cement above an inviting jade-green pool. 

From: Coastal Conservancy http://www.scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sanclemente/san_clemente_large.pdf
Picture from San Clemente Dam Removal: http://www.sanclementedamremoval.org/?page_id=407

Carmel Valley Geologic History

"Carmel Valley is intimately tied to the Carmel River.  Starting from the bottom of the outcrop, two distinct types of rocks are evident. First, the lowest layer is the Monterey Formation seen throughout the area. This layer forms in deep marine basins far from continental shelves.
The following layers, the large cobbles with a sandstone like layer separating the individual repeats, gives us clues about the origin of these rocks. Being well rounded and having a variety of sizes, we can compare these cobbles to those that we might currently find in the Carmel River."

From: Geocaching Carmel Valley
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=6de6d451-ab37-4268-b29f-74f4acc7c056

El Encino de Descanso

Carmel Valley Live Oak

During the mission era a coast live oak, El Encino de Descanso, or "The Resting Oak", offered shade for Indians passing down Carmel Valley. It was also called La encina de las cruces, or "Oak of the Crosses" due to the reputed 200 or more crosses carved into the tree. A memorial was located on Carmel Valley Road near Via Mallorca.
From: Carmel Valley by Elizabeth Barratt (Author), 2010

The Del Monte Milk Barn

The Del Monte Milk Barn, located in today's Carmel Valley Village, dates to 1890 when William Hatton built an auxiliary dairy, which included the milk barn. The ventilation tower atop the roof allowed fresh milk to cool rapidly.

From: Carmel Valley By Elizabeth Barratt, 2010

Finch Creek

Hastings Natural History Reserve

Arnold Cabin

Arnold Cabin Oct 2010

High on Hastings is a cabin built by Henry Arnold in about 1895. He also built the stone hotel that was at Tassajara Hot Springs from about 1893 to 1940 when it burned down. Henry married Sarah Wallace Church and one of his children, Tom Arnold, eventually married Fanny Hastings.

from:

Hastings Natural History Reserve

San Clemente Dam removal meetings set today at Cachagua General Store

Carmel Valley

Earlier this month, the Monterey County Planning Commission delayed its review of the project until next month to allow Cal Am and other proponents to conduct additional public outreach after Cachagua residents protested a proposed change in the construction traffic route to include Cachagua and Tassajara roads.

The $84 million project includes the removal of the 90-year-old, 106-foot dam and rerouting of the Carmel River to resolve seismic safety concerns and improve steelhead habitat. The old Carmel River Dam will also be removed as part of the project.

http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_21621988/meetings-san-clemente-dam-removal-be-held-cachagua?source=most_emailed

Rancho San Carlos

The 20,000 acres that comprise the Santa Lucia Preserve were originally part of two Mexican Land Grants.

The first, El Potrero de San Carlos (Pastures of Saint Charles), was given by Governor Juan Alvarado in 1837 to Fructuoso del Real, a Mission Indian. He cultivated a portion of the land and kept about seventy horses and five or six hundred head of cattle, along with some sheep and a few milk cows. About 1838, Fructuoso built an adobe house where he lived with his wife, Ignacia and three daughters.

The other grant, San Francisquito (little St. Francis), was made to Dona Catalina Manzanellide Munras, wife of Esteban Munras, in 1835. Munras arrived in Monterey in 1830, served as alcalde in 1837.

Rancheros Potrero de San Carlos and San Francisquito went to Bradley Sargent in 1876. He called the ranch San Francisquito y San Carlos.

In 1924, George Gordon Moore purchased the ranch, which he called Rancho San Carlos, from the heirs of Bradley Sargent.

In 1990, after a half-century of ownership, the Oppenheimer family sold Rancho San Carlos and the Santa Lucia Preserve was created.

These 31 square miles of oak woodlands, savannas, grasslands, wetlands, redwood forests and stands of Monterey pine rise from 100 to 3,000 feet above sea level. They hold 54 distinct habitats virtually hidden from outside view by the surrounding ridges of the Santa Lucia Range, which plunges into the sea at Big Sur.

http://www.santaluciapreserve.com/

http://www.carmelrealtycompany.com

Euphilotes enoptes smithi

Smith's blue butterfly, Euphilotes enoptes smithi is a small butterfly with a wingspan no greater than 2.5 centimeters. Males manifest dorsal wing color of a bright lustrous blue, while females exhibit brown dorsal coloration. Both sexes have with orange-red band markings on the hind dorsal wings.

Smith's blue butterflies have a lifespan of approximately one week. Their single week of daytime-only flight is further limited to temperatures above 60°F and to times and locales where wind velocities are quite low. Within that one week, they must do sufficient feeding to sustain, they must avoid predation, find and court a mate, and copulate. Then the female must lay the resulting eggs.
This taxon is listed as Endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith%27s_blue_butterfly
Photo by Don Roberson

Mexican Land Grants

It was the year 1840, and today was a great day in the lives of the Borondas. They were on their way to occupy their land grant from Governor Alvarado, the 6,625-acre Los Laureles.

The only dwellings along their route were occasional shacks in the
Indian Rancherías. Dispersed by the secularization of the mission, many of the Indians had suffered great hardship and few had been able to keep their allotments of mission property. Men like José Antonio Romero,the first of the Carmel mission's civil administrators, were ambitious and more than ready to exploit the Indians. Romero had also tried to get Los Laureles for himself a few years earlier, but Governor Alvarado had given the land to Boronda, son of the retired corporal.

There had been other land grants bestowed in the Carmel Valley. In 1839 the 4,367-acre Rancho Cañada de la Segunda, through which the Borondas were passing, had been granted to Lazaro Soto. And mounting the wild reaches of the Santa Lucias to the southeast was the 4,307 acre Rancho Potrero de San Carlos, granted to Fructuoso del Real in 1837, as well as the 8,814-acre San Francisquito, given in 1835 to Doña Catalina Manzanelli de Munrás. But none of the grantees had chosen to occupy their land.

At the eastern end of the valley, beyond Los Laureles, Rafael Gomez had built a two-story adobe on the Rancho Los Tularcitos, granted him by Governor Figueroa in 1834.

Source: “Monterey County The Dramatic Story of Its Past
Monterey Bay, Big Sur, Carmel, Salinas Valley”, by Agusta Fink, 1972.
Western Tanager Press/Valley Publishers, San Francisco, California.
Copyright 1972.

The Church Homestead

The Church Family and their Homestead (1884 to 1907)
Thomas William Church was born in Londonderry, Ireland, in September of 1836. His father died when he was about ten years old, and soon afterwards he emigrated to North America with his mother, first to Canada and then to the state of New York. He made his living as a farmer during the summer and in the lumber industry during the winter.

In September of 1888 Thomas Church filed a preemptive claim to 120 acres on and to the south of The Mesa, and in December of the same year he filed a claim to 160 acres of land that included The Caves. Mr. Church purchased a patent to The Mesa property in June of 1891, and in July of 1897 he was awarded a homestead patent to The Caves property.¹⁰ The original boundaries of both properties were displaced half of a mile to the north of the land Mr. Church had intended to claim. Mr. Church almost certainly based the locations of his claims on their relationship to Tassajara Hot Spring.

From Double Cone Quarterly

The Caves ranch house in 1920. It is presumed that this is the structure built by Andrew Church after the original house burnt down in 1902. The photograph was taken L. S. Slevin 73 days after Fred Nason sold the property to William Lambert. Photo courtesy of the Monterey County Public Library.

Vocabulary of the Rumsen language

"Vocabulary of the Rumsen language of the Indians of Carmel. Obtained from the Indian Ventura or Buenaventura, the blind Indian of Carmel who was born at Carmel in 1809. Monterey, July 27, 1878. Alph. Pinart"

English............Spanish..................Costanoan IV
my friend........mi amigo...................ka-ius; kaaius
shaman ..........hechicero medico...........oss
a just man .......hombre justo..................misissinanuikkiam
a false man ......hombre falso..................onponciauanuikkiam
knife..................cuchillo.............................thip
bow ...................arco..............................la huan haras
arrow ...............flecha...............teps, karroc (with flint)
temescal ..........temescal ........uet
sun................sol.......................ismen
moon .................luna.................orpeto ismen
star ...................estrella..................pakararkt;pakerrar (stars)
flash of lightning......relampago..............uexokp; selp (plur.)
Carmel River.............rio del Carmel..................tirus ua corx

From: ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS 15:1
CALIFORNIA INDIAN LINGUISTIC RECORDS
THE MISSION INDIAN VOCABULARIES
OF ALPHONSE PINART
http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/anthpubs/ucb/text/ucar015-001.pdf

Ohlone hut made of tule reeds from: http://learning.berkeley.edu/ut/history.htm

Ambystoma californiense

The California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) is an amphibian native to Northern California growing up to 8 inches long. California tiger salamanders migrate at night from upland habitats to aquatic breeding sites during the first major rainfall events of fall and early winter.

The California tiger salamander eats earthworms, snails, insects and fish.

Its numbers have dropped due to habitat loss, predation from crayfish and bullfrogs, being hit by cars during migration and interbreeding with the non-native tiger salamanders.

The California tiger salamander spends the summer underground in ground squirrel burrows. After the first few heavy rains in the fall, they come out of their burrows and migrate to breeding pools.

http://wsipsunolvalley.blogspot.com/2012/01/calaveras-critters-california-tiger.html
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/californiatigersalamander.htm

Arroyo Seco River

The relatively little known Arroyo Seco River drains the eastside of the Ventana Mountains in California's scenic central Coast Range. The Arroyo Seco sustains a small population of the threatened steelhead trout, a federally protected species that migrates all the way from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the clean riffles and deep cold pools of the river.

The Arroyo Seco River is the only major tributary of the Salinas River that remains undammed. The river flows east from the crest of the Santa Lucia Mountains, then north along a major fault line, and then east again into the Salinas Valley.

The lower Arroyo Seco River flows through solid bedrock smoothed by water, tumbling over numerous cascades, and forming deep pools that invite swimming.

The upper Arroyo Seco River takes you past a spectacular sandstone formation known as "The Rocks" and up a scenic canyon with several cascades and pools.

Friends of the River

Neotoma fuscipes luciana

The Monterey dusky-footed woodrat (N. f. luciana), a subspecies which occurs in coastal central California, is also considered a California Species of Special Concern.

Unlike the Old World rats, the dusky-footed woodrat is native to North America. From Washington state southward to California, they live in dense vegetation, preferably among oak trees (Quercus spp.). Dusky-footed woodrats have the unusual habit of collecting and accumulating woody debris and most any available small object into piles or nests which serve as living quarters, hence, the name packrat.

A Species of Special Concern (SSC) is a species that is experiencing serious (noncyclical) population declines or range retractions that, if continued could qualify it for State threatened or endangered status.

"Species of Special Concern" is an administrative designation and carries no formal legal status.

From University of Califonia Oak Woodland Management

The Republic of California 1846

The California Republic was never recognized by any nation, and existed for less than one month, but its flag (the "Bear Flag") survives as the flag of the State of California.

1846 June – About a dozen Americans seized a large herd of horses from a Mexican military commandant. Another group of Americans captured Sonoma, the chief settlement north of San Francisco. Led by William B. Ide, the Americans issued a declaration of independence and hoisted a flag, its white ground emblazoned with a grizzly bear facing a red star. On June 25 U.S. Capt. John Charles Frémont arrived at Sonoma and gave his support to the Bear Flag Revolt. And on July 5 the insurrectionists elected Frémont the new President of the “Republic of California.”

A few days after the Bear Flag was raised, William Ide issued a proclamation setting forth the goals of the new California Republic: "...to establish and perpetuate a liberal, a just and honorable Government, which shall secure to all civil, religious and personal liberty; which shall insure the security of life and property; which shall encourage industry, virtue and literature...relying on love of Liberty and hatred of Tyranny. And further promises that a Government...must originate among its people: its officers should be its servants..."

Garland Ranch Regional Park

Garland Ranch Regional Park

This 4500 acre park ranges in elevation from 200 feet along the beautiful Carmel River to about 2000 feet at Snively's Ridge overlooking the entire valley.

Garzas Creek gently bisects the park and provides a peaceful, shaded trail that reaches a secluded side canyon of redwoods.

Projectile Point Types

Projectile Point Types, National Parks Service

San Clemente Dam

San Clemente Dam
Follow Carmel River Road about two miles east of the Village.
Turn right on San Clemente Drive.
Becomes San Clement Road as you keep going upriver.

San Clemente Dam

Los Laureles Lodge

The popular Los Laureles Lodge dates back to the early 1830s when it was deeded to Señor Jose Boronda by the Mexican government. It was one of the largest of those early land grants, roughly 7,000 acres.

The Pacific Improvement Company built the Del Monte Hotel in 1879 and also acquired several thousand acres of the Rancho Los Laureles area. At that time, and even after Del Monte Properties bought the property in 1915, the Rancho Los Laureles was the place for many visiting dignitaries from other countries.

From: http://loslaureles.com/index.html

Historic Carmel Valley

Among the first European immigrants to settle and farm the fertile valleys of the Central Coast were Englishmen James Meadows and Edward Berwick, the Irishman William Hatton, and the Scottish William Martin. Hatton became a dairy manager for the Carmel Valley operations supporting the Hotel Del Monte and rose to become manager of the extensive Pacific Improvement Company operations in Carmel Valley, with his headquarters at a rebuilt Los Laureles ranch house. Chinese labor ditched and piped water from an early dam at Los Padres to the Hotel Del Monte and Monterey Peninsula cities.

From: The Guide to Historic Carmel Valley
http://www.thehistorycompany.com/carmelvalleydiningguide/guide_toc.html

Eschscholzia californica

The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.

Eschscholzia californica was the first named member of the genus Eschscholzia, which was named by the German botanist Adelbert von Chamisso after the Baltic German botanist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, his friend and colleague on Otto von Kotzebue’s scientific expedition to California and the greater Pacific in mid-1810s aboard the Russian ship Rurik.
From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_poppy

the "Chinese Dam" constructed ca. 1880

The oldest dam on the river, which was used as a turnout for a water pipeline, is located approximately 2,000 feet downstream of San Clemente Dam. This first dam and associated pipeline was constructed ca. 1880 by Charles Crocker and the Pacific Improvement Company with a labor force that included approximately 700 Chinese workers. This small dam, which has been referred to as the "Chinese Dam" and "Old Carmel River Dam," was built using hewn and mortared granite blocks.
From wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmel_River
Picture from San Clemente Dam Removal http://www.sanclementedamremoval.org/

the Penutian language family

The Ohlone languages comprise one branch of the hypothesized Penutian language family, within which they form a subgroup with the Miwokan languages (Central Sierra Miwok, Coast Miwok, Lake Miwok, Northern Sierra Miwok, Plains Miwok, Saclan, and Southern Sierra Miwok). Penutian also includes Klamath-Modoc, the Maiduan languages (Konkow, Maidu, and Nisenan), the Wintuan languages (Nomlaki, Patwin, and Wintu), and the Yokuts languages.

The Rumsen language was spoken on the Monterey Peninsula and along the lower Carmel River, around Salinas and Fort Ord, near Castroville, and from Carmel Valley to Point Sur. During the mission period, it was spoken at Mission San Carlos de Borroméo in Carmel.

http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~survey/languages/rumsen.php

when large-scale pumping actually began, the river started running dry

Back in 1973, Cal-Am asked the PUC for permission to increase its pumping in Carmel Valley, from a rate of about 4,500 acre-feet per year, to 6,000 acre-feet per year. The PUC refused. After reviewing the available evidence, they found that the aquifer could only sustain pumping of 4,500 acre-feet of water per year.

This wasn't the answer that developers or the political leadership of the Monterey Peninsula wanted. They wanted enough water for unconstrained growth, and pumping it out of Carmel Valley was the easiest and cheapest way to get it. They needed help and, less than a year later, the State Department of Water Resources came riding to the rescue. Water Resources released a scientifically dubious report contradicting the PUC's finding and estimating that a whopping 15,000 acre-feet of water per year could be sustainably pumped from Carmel Valley. The PUC quickly capitulated and granted Cal-Am permission to pump more than 11,000 acre-feet per year.

But when large-scale pumping actually began, the river, embarrassingly for Cal-Am, started running dry right next to the pumps. This wasn't just an environmental problem; it was also a legal problem. It demonstrated that Cal-Am was capturing river water which they did not have a legal right to divert.

From: http://ventana.sierraclub.org/conservation/carmel_river/index.shtml

Picture from: GusC.A's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/38029403@N03/

Los Padres Dam

Drive up Carmel Valley Road, turn right onto Cachagua Road. Climb steeply over Tularcitos Ridge, then descend steeply to the Carmel River and Cachagua Creek valley. Near the bottom of the hill after 5.9 miles, turn sharp right onto Nason Road. Cross several speed bumps to County Park on the right, where the good pavement ends. Continue uphill past the ranger station and park in a dirt lot where there is a fence with locked vehicle gate. Enter the unlocked hiker's gate and walk on a dirt road .5 mile to Los Padres Dam.

From Rafting the Upper Carmel River: http://cacreeks.com/carmel3.htm
Photo of Los Padres Dam Spillway from tsallam's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/annevoi/with/4855467583/

Carmel Valley Ranch School

Nestled among the Sierra del Salinas of the upper Carmel Valley, is the site of the former Carmel Valley Ranch School, founded by Helen Lisle and Celinea "Bunny" Wells. Miss Wells and Miss Lisle were school teachers from New England, with an innovative approach to teaching. Their ideas was to start an eastern private school on a western ranch.

The plan was for the school to run from October to May, with the teachers accompanying the student by train from the east to California and back, allowing for special stops along the way, with their routes varying through the northern and southern United States. The parents liked this program because of the travel education it provided the children.

The first school sites was located near the present-day Carmel Valley Manor. In 1929, a new location was found. Mr. Russell Hastings had just purchased a ranch in upper Carmel Valley.

From: Hastings http://www.hastingsreserve.org/HistoryWebHNHR/CVRHistSun.html

Rumsen Ohlone

Rumsen is a member of the Costanoan, or Ohlonean, language family. Recognized as a distinct language family by the linguist Albert Gatschet in 1877, the Costanoan
languages are considered part of the broad Penutian family, which also includes Miwok.

Rumsen, now dormant, was one of eight distinct but related Costanoan languages spoken in north-central California in the region of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.
Rumsen was spoken in the Monterey-Carmel region down the coast to Big Sur in the south and Soledad in the east. The last known native speaker of Rumsen, Isabelle Meadows, died in 1939.

From: Some Observations of Rumsen Ohlone Grammar http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/handle/1808/5719

Picture of Rumsen Indian mortar hole from: tsallam's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/annevoi/

The Boronda Adobe

Following the general trend after secularization, during the large Cattle Ranch Era, the José Manuel Boronda family acquired the 6, 625-acre Rancho Los Laureles in Carmel Valley.
The Borondas were not the first grantees. The tract had first been bestowed on José Antonio Romero in 1835.
But, four years later, in 1839, it was re-granted to José Manuel Boronda and Vicente Blas Martinez, along with José Manuel’s son, Juan de Mata Boronda, who was about age 18 or 19 at the time.

The Boronda family, including José Manuel, his wife, Juana, and their 15 children, came to settle on the rancho. Thus, the Boronda family became the first permanent settlers in Carmel Valley.

From: www.nelshenderson.com

"The Boronda Adobe" -Carmel Valley- By Percy Gray (1869-1952)
http://www.trottergalleries.com/soldinventory.asp?new=&At=PercyGray&InvNo=451

Rancho Tularcitos

Rancho Tularcitos was a 26,581-acre Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Rafael Gomez. Tularcitos means "place of the little Tule thickets". The grant was in the upper Carmel Valley, along Tularcitos Creek, and was bounded on the west by Rancho Los Laureles.

http://en.wikipedia.org

Picture from: www.cavette.net
/wiki/Rancho_Tularcitos_28Gomez29

Rosie's Cracker Barrel

"Life in the Valley was a blast. I don't think I wore shoes. I'd spend a lot of time at Rosie's Cracker Barrel. We'd come in to buy breakfast and wipe the dust off the cereal box. We'd sit on the bench with Rosie; he was blind, so we told him what we were buying and how much money we were handing him.

"Sometimes we'd pull lemons from my mother's tree and then buy sugar and cups from Rosie on my mother's account, so we could set up a lemonade stand. It was the perfect upbringing."

It was built in 1927 as the real estate office for Robles Del Rio, the first subdivision in the valley. Rosie bought the structure in 1939, sold crackers out of the barrel, beans out of sacks, posted neighbors' mail between the shoestrings and pocket knives, stocked comics for kids, and ran a 6-stool bar in a back room for their parents.

From: http://montereypeninsula.blogspot.com/2008/11/rosies-cracker-barrel.html

From: http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_18903094?IADID=Search-www.montereyherald.com-www.montereyherald.com

Robles Del Rio Lodge 1928 - 2010

80-year-old Robles Del Rio Lodge in California's Carmel Valley Destroyed by Early Morning Fire

May 24, 2010--The landmark Robles Del Rio Lodge that had stood on its oak-shaded hilltop in Carmel Valley for more than 80 years burned to the ground early Sunday morning.

The lodge was built in 1928 by Frank Porter and had been the center of the community -- Carmel Valley Village was then called Robles del Rio -- and was the first lodge in Monterey County to feature a heated swimming pool, golf course and liquor license.

Bill Wood, a world-renowned hotelier, bought the lodge in 1939 and made it more exclusive. Visitors included Arthur Murray, Red Skelton, Doris Day and Tippi Hedren.

The Gurries family purchased the lodge in 1985 from Wood. In 1997 they won county approval to add 24 units. Financing fell apart, however, and the lodge was closed in February 2000.

Monterey County Herald http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2010_2nd/May10_Robles.html

Photo from: mas'sma1's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/36826169@N06/

Los Robles

Quercus lobata, commonly called the Valley Oak, grows into the largest of North American oaks. It is endemic to California, growing in the hot interior valleys and foothills. Mature specimens may attain an age of up to 600 years

Photo from Dry Crik Journal: http://www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/dofflemyer/2009/03/valley_oak.html

Rumsen Ohlone from San Francisco to Carmel to Pomona

In 1776, life changed drastically when the Hispanic Empire established the Mission in San Francisco. Within six weeks, all of the Ohlone that were living in what is now San Francisco were decimated, scattered, or brought into service at the Mission. The approximately 20,000 Ohlone people who had been living in the Bay Area at this time were reduced to less than 2,000 by 1810.

Their numbers continued to decline and in 1834, Mexico ended the Mission system and most of the remaining native people in San Francisco, including ancestors of the Rumsen Ohlone Tribe, moved south to Carmel.

When the United States defeated Mexico in 1848 and took control of California, the Ohlone were never recognized by the government. At that time, the murdering of native people was common and the Rumsen Ohlone fled to Southern California.

From Civic Center Blog: http://sfciviccenter.blogspot.com/2011/06/ohlone-tribe-returns-to-san-francisco.html

Scott Cabin & Scott Barn on Hastings Ranch

Historically a cattle ranch, much of the land was donated by the Hastings family. Most of the present buildings still in use were built between the 1860s and 1950s.

Hastings is a part of the UC Natural Reserve System... and has been a biological field station of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), University of California Berkeley since 1937.

Located about 26 river miles upstream of the Pacific on the Carmel River watershed, Hastings includes the confluence of three seasonal creeks that feed into Finch Creek, and then the Carmel River. Immediately adjacent to Hastings are a complex of vernal pools and springs that support the endangered Red-legged Frog and one of the few coastal populations of the federally listed, endemic California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) that have not hybridized with tiger salamanders introduced from Texas and other western states to much of the Sierra de Salinas. Most of Hastings has not been grazed for 60 years, and the reserve is home to several rare, unplowed native perennial grasslands. This area is of high conservation interest focused on the vernal pools and oak woodlands.

The Tack Room and Scott Cabin are historic buildings, dating from the 1860's and continue to be used for storing historic ranch items and field equipment.

From: Hastings Natural History Reservation http://www.hastingsreserve.org/HistoryWebHNHR/OverviewHNHR.html