The third weekend of May this year, the Santa Fe West Hills Hounds, based in Southern California, hosted a trail ride to enjoy the flower blooms at the historic Garner Ranch in Idyllwild, outside of Palm Springs. This working cattle ranch has been a fixture for the hunt for a long time. It has also been a film location for several Hollywood B-Westerns and the television series “Bonanza”. Many of the opening credits scenes for “Bonanza” (1959 – 1973) and its episode “The Grand Swing” was filmed on the ranch.
Surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest below the San Jacinto Mountains, with the Pacific Crest Trail just a few miles away, the ranch is in long, narrow valley. The Garner family have owned the ranch for over 100 years. The peak of the flower bloom in the valley was a week or so before the ride, but the valley still looked painted with color.
About forty riders showed up to the ranch, a mixture of guests and hunt members, that were split into two groups. Joint Master Marti Manser lead the fast group, Alex Perryman lead the walking group. Joint Master and Huntsman Terry Paine welcomed everyone with a horn blow before the start of the ride.
After the ride, we gathered at the ranch house for some bar-b-que chicken and tri-tip while a local musician played for us from the porch. The day ended with a group barn dance, kind of a cross between a line dance and square dance.
It was a fun, with proceeds benefiting the hounds.
From the US Forest Service (see Garner Valley (usda.gov)) about the flowers in the valley: Valley floor wildflowers include spectacular patches of yellow goldfields (Lasthenia californica) and tidytips (Layia ziegleri) in early spring and magenta fields of the endemic four o’clock (Abronia villosa var. aurita) during the summer. Along the edges, a wide range of interesting species grow in a narrow abound just above the valley: the endemic Johnston’s rockcress (Arabis johnstonii), California penstemon (Penstemon californicus), long-spined spineflower (Chorizanthe polygonoides var. longispina), and rock jasmine (Androsace elongata ssp. acuta). The view to the south, along drainages of Thomas Mountain, includes stands of big cone douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa), an uncommon conifer of southern California. Two species of pinyon pine intermix in the southern edge of Garner Valley: single leaf (Pinus monophylla) and four-leaf (P. quadrifolia).
