Dear Caravaners, if you enjoyed the setting of our March caravan, then you will enjoy April's as well. Lots of trees, a store, a fishing pond, hayrides, swimming, horseshoes, volleyball, hiking trails...and best of all, your fellow Caravaners! Remember to check out the Tucalota Springs website for more information.
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Things to do around Tucalota Springs RV Park
There's no shortage of things to do right at Tucalota Springs RV Park. but if you start to get antsy, you might want to consider some of the following options: wine tasting, exploring Old Town Temecula, golfing, the many restaurants in Temecula, the Pechanga Casino and wildflower viewing in anza borrego Desert State Park. Please scroll down for a few details on all of the above.
Wine Tasting
Temecula Valley's vineyards currently supply over 25 wineries in the area. In addition to producing award-winning Chardonnay, Merlot and Sauvignon blanc, Temecula wineries are known for Mediterranean varietals such as Viognier, Syrah and Pinot Gris. The hard working folks of the Temecula Valley Wine Growers association have brought recognition to the Temecula Valley as a world-class wine growing region.
Guess what that means, dear Caravaners? It means there just might be some good wine out there in Temecula Valley!
Click here to visit the association's informative website, and click here to download a map to all the wineries.
Did you know that you can find some very interesting bits of Temecula Trivia when you combine a love of history with a love of wine? For example, in early 1964, the Vail Ranch (see optional history lesson below) hired Richard break, a University of California trained specialist in agriculture and viniculture, to conduct a crop feasibility study on the east side of Vail Ranch to determine the range of acreage that could be planted in citrus. break's study found that the land's growing conditions were more suited for wine grapes! and in 1969 (after Vail Ranch had been sold), Rancho California's first commercial harvest of premium wine grapes was harvested by brookside Vineyard Company.
Old Town Temecula
Located in the heart of Temecula is the cultural and historic focus of the community. Flanked by stone and ironwork archways that depict life in the Old West, Old Town Temecula mainstains its historic past and invites visitors to wander along the timber-planked sidewalks and explore 150 year old buildings that still hold stories of old Temecula.
but there's more to Old Town Temecula than its history. There's shopping! and restaurants! and shopping! and the Temecula Valley Museum (okay, that's more history). but guess what? There's also...more shopping! In fact, according to the Temecula Valley's Convention and Visitors bureau website, besides specialty boutiques and art galleries, there are over 640 antique stores!
Yes, 640 antique stores. Is that even possible?
a couple more notes on Old Town Temecula...there IS a walking map of Old Town on the internet (click here), but you might wish to begin your visit with a stop at the Old Town Visitor Center at 28690 Front Street and get yourself a fresh map.
One more recommendation for Old Town Temecula: the Temecula Valley Farmer's Market is held every Saturday from 8:00 a.M. to 12:30 P.M.
One of the ironwork archways that marks the entrance to Old Town Temecula.
The Pechanga Resort and Casino
Dear Caravaners, I'm thinking there's probably not much I need to tell you about the Pechanga Resort and Casino...it pretty much speaks for itself. but I will throw in a few bits of information...
- It's open all day, every day
- The 188,000 square foot casino features 3,000 slot and video machines and 132 table games and a separate 54-table poker room
- It has a state-of-the-art air filtration system and offers extensive non-smoking areas
- It is currently California's biggest casino
- There are eight restaurants and a hotel with 517 rooms
- You'll find all this fun and frivolity at 45000 Pechanga Parkway in Temecula
The Pechanga Resort and Casino has a very nice website that will give you much more information, including very helpful info on their restaurants (menus included) and on their RV Park. You'll find the website here.
Golfing in Temecula
For our fellow Lazy Daze Caravaners who are golfers, click here for a link to nearby golf courses. The photo above is of the Cross Creek Golf Club in Temecula.
Restaurants in Temecula Valley
Recommending restaurants can be rather risky, so instead, I suggest that if you're interested in sampling some of Temecula Valley's food fare, click here for a comprehensive list of restaurants found in the area.
In addition, some of the area's wineries have restaurants right on the winery grounds. Click here for a list of restaurants recommended by the Temecula Valley Winegrowers association.
The photo at right is of the Vineyard Rose Restaurant at the South Coast Winery.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Dear Caravaners, how does this sound?
- Rock art
- Palm groves
- 600,000 acres
- bighorn sheep
- 200 species of birds
- archaeological sites
- 500 miles of dirt roads
- Fascinating rock formations
- 110 miles of riding and hiking trails
- Elevation ranges from 6,200 feet to 150 feet
If any of this sounds good to you, and you're ready and willing to invest some time, then head on over to anza-borrego Desert State Park, approximately 60 miles from our campground (to the anza-borrego Visitor Center in borrego Springs). Click here for directions, courtesy of MapQuest.
Because the park is so vast (it's the largest state park in California), it is highly recommended that you start with a visit to anza-borrego's very unique Visitor Center, located two miles west of borrego Springs at the end of Palm Canyon Road, just off Highway S-22. The Visitor Center is situated below ground, except for the natural rock wall that serves as its entrance. Inside, you will find exhibits that explain the human and natural history of the park and a special 16-minute, 3-screen, 9-projector presentation that focuses on the changing seasons of anza-borrego. Outside the Visitor Center is a desert garden and a pond with live pupfish, and a short stroll leads to a panoramic view of the borrego Valley.
PLEaSE NOTE: If you're going to explore the park on your own, please make sure to get a map, take lots of water with you and let someone know where you're going.
FYI: The park name is derived from a combination of the name of the Spanish explorer Juan bautista de anza and the Spanish word "borrego" which refers to bighorn sheep.
Wild Flowers
Abundant autumn rains and warm winter temperatures got the wildflower blooming season off to a good start. However, recent freezes have had an unfortunate effect on some plants, specifically the desert sunflowers and the sand verbena. but there are still blooms in some areas. a good dose of rain could help. Check for updates here or call the Wildflower Hotline at 760-767-4684.
and folks, remember those cameras!
Barbara Berggreen's history lesson: Temecula, California
Many of you are already aware of barbara's passion for history. If you share that passion, then you may be interested in the following history of Temecula.
According to "The Journal of San Diego History" (a publication of the San Diego Historical Society), one of the most interesting and dramatic eras in the history of Southern California is the nineteenth century. Since it encompasses periods of Indian, Spanish, Mexican, and american occupation, the nineteenth century saw the creation of many of Southern California's communities, including Temecula. Temecula has a very, very rich history...what follows is just a brief glimpse back into the past of this very interesting town.
The Luiseño Indians were the first inhabitants of what we now call Temecula and it is believed they settled in the valley sometime between the eleventh and the fourteenth centuries on land approximately two miles south, south-east, of the present town of Temecula.
The name "Temecula" comes originally from the Luiseño Indians' legends of their origin. The Luiseño say they came from the north to a place they named "Ekva Temeko," said to mean "the place where the sun breaks through and shines on the white mist." This name was then changed during the Spanish occupation of the area to Temecula.
According to the official website for the city of Temecula, Father Juan Norberto de Santiago, a Franciscan padre, was the first white man to enter the Temecula Valley (in October of 1797). He was on an expedition out of Mission San Juan Capistrano and was seeking a site for a new mission.
In 1798, Mission San Luis Rey was founded in Oceanside, and in the early 1800s, the Temecula Valley became a rancho of Mission San Luis Rey and the Luiseño Indians were placed under the jurisdiction of the mission's padres. The rancho was used for grazing the mission's large herds of cattle and sheep and included a large granary.
In the 1830s, Mexico (having taken California from Spain 10 years earlier), secularized the missions and began giving what had been mission holdings to "political favorites". The 1840s marked the granting of the Pauba, big Temecula and Little Temecula Ranchos. all played very important roles in the history of Temecula. The passing of the ranchos into private ownership ushered in the era of rancheros and vaqueros and contributed to the later dispersion of the Luiseño who were forced to either accept the rule of the rancho owners or leave the area.
On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. In addition to ending the Mexican-american War, it also was the proverbial "beginning of the end" for the golden age of the ranchos. (as an interesting side note, the terms of the treaty called for Mexico to cede 55% of its territory (present-day arizona, California, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Nevada and Utah) to the United States in exchange for fifteen million dollars in compensation for war-related damage to Mexican property).
On September 9, 1850, Calfornia was admitted into the union as the 31st state (Temecula, part of San Diego County at that time, joined Riverside County when it was established in 1893). In 1858, Temecula became a stop on the butterfield Overland Stage Route and the stages brought new settlers to the area. The Temecula Valley began to grow...and grow...and grow. but then in 1888...
Oh, there's so much more history of the Temecula area that I could share, but time, space and practicality (I have been told that not everyone is as nuts about history as I am...) prevent me from going into much depth here, so I encourage any fellow California history buffs out there to read about it on your own. Just Google any of the following words to discover more about the history of Temecula: Pablo apis, Louis Wolf, the Treaty of Temecula, Pechanga, the California Southern Railroad, the Pauba Land and Water Company...that ought to get you going!
