Thursday, June 2, 2022

Coyote Hills

 I only get a chance to hike in the desert every 2-3 weeks. In between, I like to hike in the local hills in NW Orange County. I'm fortunate, because in this densely populated area, there's a large chunk of land that is undeveloped and in a state of limbo. The city is trying to buy it for open space, and I think so far they have purchased the parcel to the east. I'm really hoping they can buy the west parcel (where these photos were taken) and keep it as open space. I plan to continue to hike here until someone tells me I can't.

It may look familiar to you since I've posted about this area before, but it's been a while. It's former oil property that has sat unused for many years now, and has a nice wild feel to it. It's crisscrossed with trails and old roads, and I'm forever finding new trails to try out and see where they lead. It also has a fair amount of wildlife, although I've never seen a coyote on the property.
 
California Buckwheat

Prickly Pear cactus

Sandstone hills
 

A quick aside... we keep spotting coyotes in our backyard. Three babies, one mama, and yesterday, this juvenile kept hanging around. Our backyard is a little overgrown, and I'm afraid they likely have a den back there. I wouldn't mind except our chihuahua is in grave danger of becoming a coyote meal! I spent a couple hours yesterday cleaning up our hillside (I heard the coyote jump the 6' fence as I was going up the hill). Still more to do, but hopefully it will help. In the meantime, our chihuahua is only allowed in the backyard with a human excort. OK, back to the hike...
 
There are a lot of these large valves on property. They are kind of interesting. I know nothing about oil wells or oil pumps, but I'm guessing these valves and pipes were used to transfer the oil from the pumps to some storage tank somewhere. That's just a guess.
 
 

Sticky Monkey-flower

MC-179: I see markers similar to this one all over the property. Only the numbers change. I'm guessing they mark the location of former oil pumps. Another guess on my part.
 
The highlight of today's hike: While walking a trail I have hiked many times before, something caught my eye, and I hiked through the brush for about 40 yards and came across this cache of old bottles. Maybe around 30-40 in total, although there might be more if you dig down deeper. It's a real mystery to me why these bottles are here. To my knowledge, no one ever lived on this property.
 
This one's a beauty, but I can't quite read the label.
 
The majority of the bottles are amber or clear and have "Federal Law Forbids Sale or Reuse of this Bottle" marked on the outside. But there are also jars and a variety of other bottles. Anyway, a quick Google search says this phrase was required on all liquor bottles sold within the United States that were made between 1935 and 1964. Interesting, eh?? This oil property was probably operating at peak capacity in the 50's and early 60's, and that certainly fits the time frame for these bottles. Evidently the oil workers did a little (or a lot?) of imbibing at the worksite!

Not a liquor bottle, but interesting.
 
This old liquor bottle still has the stopper in place!
 
I found this old porcelain insulator near the bottle cache. 
  
Vertigo!! I came across this large corrugated drainage pipe (about 2' in diameter). Looking inside, I couldn't see anything. Too dark. I set my phone on the outside of the pipe to stabilize it before taking the shot. Interesting how the phone camera can bring out details in the darkness that the human eye can't see!
 
Even close to home it's possible to find things of interest and mystery. I definitely need to go back to the bottle cache and do a little more exploring!
Thanks for stopping by!!
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

29 comments:

  1. It's nice to hike close to home, isn't it? I wonder if there are collectors for bottles like that.

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  2. I love wild spaces like that are not yet regulated and designated and have a lot of signs about what to do and not do.
    Looks like the oilies had some pretty good parties, maybe while sitting on a oil drilling operation or something.

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  3. You always find interesting things. : )

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  4. ...an area filled with natural beauty and manmade items.

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  5. Somehow you capture beauty everywhere, even in unused land that sits waiting to be discovered - I love those old bottles

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  6. Great that the land is returning to natural flora. The cayote family in the back yard would be too close for me. Hopefully your clearing the brush away will mean they will go elsewhere to rest. The bottles do look like a fun discovery!

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  7. Beautiful entry-pic with that sky.
    A blooming cactus!
    Yesterday night they had another series of "Lost Places" on TV - you could make an entry there!

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  8. So interesting! Love the flowers blooming.

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  9. Lovely flowers and scenery. You made some interesting finds.

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  10. Your richest post ever! Seriously. This is amazing to me. Your posts take me places is never get to see otherwise. Stay safe!

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  11. That may have been a prohibition era medicinal whiskey bottle. Check this out. I did an image search office screen grab of your photo.
    https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/74398-prohibition-era-medicinal-whiskey-bottle

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    1. Thanks, Cloudia. Very kind of you to take the time to research the bottle. The other bottles don't appear to be as old, but this one you searched is fascinating! I better go back and see if I can find it!!

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  12. I have memories of the greater LA area from the early 50's--- And I remember lots and lots of grasshoppers bobbing up and down--- some in people's back yards. A most interesting post, Peter!

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  13. Your right you don't have to travel far to get interesting places to see, that are clarly wants saving from developers

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  14. Dearest Peter,
    What stunning wildlife photos, love all the flowers!
    Be careful for your fur baby.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  15. I loved going on this walk. The flowers were beautiful and the bottles a fun surprise.

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  16. Wonderful series of photos of a place close to your home ~ lovely floral photos and the foxes ~ keeping your little doggie safe is priority ~ Xo

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  17. It looks like you are interested in exploring historic artefacts:) The buckwheat and stickey monkey flower are pretty! Who would have known all of this is in Orange County! Don't you want to get the coyotes out of your yard? Have a great weekend, Emille

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  18. So the name coyote hill is not for nothing then and slowly but surely your garden will become part of it. Those bottle finds are very fascinating.

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  19. Great photos! What a beautiful place to hike, enjoy nature, animals, and find some old stuff!

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  20. That bottle cache is fascinating. Unfortunately I don't know about old bottles but now you have me wishing I did. I enjoyed this change of pace post, although my heart stopped when I saw the coyote picture. I'm honestly not sure if your dog would be safe even with a human nearby. I see that (apparently) California Department of Fish and Game won't get involved unless the coyote is aggressive. Would your local government be of any assistance?

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  21. Wonderful sights and finds captured!

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  22. Amazing place, great pics. Loved the post.

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  23. combination of old "treasures" and beautiful flora. the place doesn't lack photo opportunities.

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  24. Those bottles are an interesting find and those wildflowers are gorgeous.

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  25. I look forward to your posts. Sure a bundle of Spring this time. Nice. Thank you. and, when you were sharing glass - I thought, maybe there would be some purple 'desert glass.' (That's what we used to call that beautiful glass turned purple by the sun . . . ) I once had a mobile of the stuff hanging - like a prop/decoration from the ceiling of a stage where I sang for a long time. Okay, Now i hope i get o post - something has gone goofy with my blog account so, today I'm anonymous. 🙂 Thank you again for sharing.

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  26. You can find the most beautiful flowers in the desert, but at the same time you will also find all kinds of rubbish. Interesting photos. Greetings from orvokki.

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  27. That was a fun "neighborhood' hike Peter and I hope the city/county/state are able to keep the area open, wild, and accessible to the public. -- I always scroll through your pictures and then go back to read carefully... so in just glancing I read "never seen a coyote here" and then I saw a picture of what I just *knew* was a coyote -- scrolled to the end of all the interesting finds and then went back to carefully read (all the time wondering why you said you hadn't seen any coyotes) -- but on more careful reading seeing that the coyotes were instead in your own backyard! Wow -- I think they are fascinating, adaptable animals (maybe too adaptable?) and I enjoy spotting them occasionally in our old-people-type explorations. But I would definitely not want them in my own yard. Good luck on finding a way to keep them out.

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