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Santa Margarita Road

Small boulder next to the dirt road in the Santa Margarita river basin.

Santa Margarita Road Turn-around Point

Santa Margarita Road starts out as a paved road, becoming a dirt road spur, then a trail before disappearing completely.  The map doesn’t differentiate this progression which might explain all the traffic we saw recently.  Also, a turn-off onto the dry riverbed appeared recently closed.  The drivers of the four-wheel drives may have been used to making their way through the area in the past.  This day they drove in and soon after drove back out, the drivers looking apologetic.  Further on, several trucks passed us although the road was rocky and washed away in parts.

We encountered a pick-up truck turning around in this section.  The driver asked if we’d seen his dog.  We heard the dog later but didn’t see him.  Hopefully that meant they found each other, especially since we didn’t see the dog wandering around later.

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Shadows across the Santa Margarita Road

Shadows dapple the road not because the trees had lost their leaves in autumn.  They are oaks with lots of dead branches.  Otherwise, they looked quite healthy, just wild and unpruned.  Perhaps this is typical of live coast oak in drought conditions.  What this means to the health of the trees or the forest is unclear.  The dead branches did make photogenic patterns.

 

Black and white image of shadows across Santa Margarita Road.
Shadows across the Santa Margarita Road.

Small Boulder on Santa Margarita Road

More obstacles on the road that didn’t deter the truck traffic.  Honestly a very small boulder but visually arresting and something for little ones to practice their balance.  The terrain was just ragged enough to keep us on the road and amplified the impact of everything located on it.  The boulder was now a real point of interest for the kids, both having to jump on it walking each direction.

Black and white image of a small boulder next to Santa Margarita Road in the Santa Margarita river basin.
Small boulder next to Santa Margarita Road in the Santa Margarita river basin.

 

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Santa Margarita River basin flowers

Wild fennel

Santa Margarita River basin flowers still abound even if it is mostly dry right now.  Walking through the river basin showed a variety of foliage, even as dry as it is right now.  Besides the trees, grass and cactus, I found many kinds of flowers.  It wasn’t my thought I would find arid flowers, but it was surprising what appeared.  The tall, fragrant, yellow stands of fennel dominated the landscape in some areas.  While these are considered invasive since they are not native to southern California, they are pleasant smelling, add a welcome splash of color and apparently are good for cooking.  Might be something to try…

Wild fennel growing in a bend of the road, one of the many Santa Margarita River basin flowers.
Wild fennel growing in a bend of the road, one of the many Santa Margarita River basin flowers.

Chalk LiveForever (Dudleya)

A rather unusual-looking plant was the chalk liveforever, perched on cliffs next to the road.  This native plant has the subtle color and texture that blends it into the landscape.  The glowing rosettes looked like part of the cliff-side and I almost missed it at first.  The papery outer leaves contrast with the cooly smooth interior.  Earlier in the summer they also had stalks with small chains of flowers.

Dudleya or chalk liveforever makes a rosette flower and is native the the southwest US,, one of the many Santa Margarita River basin flowers.
Dudleya or chalk liveforever is native the the southwest, one of the many Santa Margarita River basin flowers.

White sage

Another native plant is the white sage.  It disappears as well into the landscape, its smooth, silvery leaves glowing among the other foliage.  This plant, like the fennel, is also aromatic.  These are two examples of the many fragrant plants in the southern California area.  There are many; a walk on the trails is like wandering through a spice cabinet.  Perhaps this is how they repel insects or other predators, but it creates a soothing aromatherapy effect which is very pleasant.

Black and white image of white sage growing by the side of the road, one of the many Santa Margarita River basin flowers.
White sage growing by the side of the road is native to the southwestern US, one of the many Santa Margarita River basin flowers.
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Santa Margarita River

Prickly pear growing in the grass in front of coast live oak.
Prickly pear growing in the grass in front of coast live oak.
Prickly pear growing in the grass in front of coast live oak.

The Santa Margarita road follows the river, which shows up a rather hidden creek since there is not much water.  Apparently, the dryness isn’t as severe as a few years ago, but much of California is in some level of drought.  Again.  This seems to happen a lot and the state spends quite a bit of effort in managing the water systems to mitigate the rather variable climate, storing and moving water mainly from north to south.  This gives the area a lot of variety in the types of foliage growing naturally which makes for great textures in photography.

Black and white picture of coast live oak with lots of dead branches giving the tree lots of texture.
Coast live oak with lots of dead branches giving the tree lots of texture.

I saw many coast live oak covered in dead branches giving the trees a slightly ghost-like fabulous texture distinctive of wild, unpruned trees.  I don’t think too many folks would tolerate so many dead branches…. Slightly unkempt but the overall effect is slightly ethereal, like a large swirling, diaphanously layered tree.

Black and white picture of burned post laying in a clearing in the middle of coast live oaks.
Burned post laying in a clearing in the middle of coast live oaks.

This burned post was randomly in the middle of the clearing in the oak trees.  Nothing around it was burned, so it must have been dragged there after it was charred.

Black and white picture of a clearing in an oak grove.
Clearing in an oak grove.

This was just beyond the post, looking into the grove and the grouping of oaks with a view of the hills beyond that.  Most of the green under the trees was poison oak, one of the evilest of plants.

Prickly pear growing in grass near the road.
Prickly pear growing in grass near the road.

Looking evil also, the prickly pear cactus mixed with the grass and a variety of mostly spiky plants.  Beware stepping off the road!