Guest post by Jane Lurie.
In the years following our purchase of our home in Loreto Bay, in May, 2005, we attended many HomeOwners’ Gatherings. These were so much fun. We met many of our dear friends on those trips. One of our favorite memories from those days is of a hike that Cecilia Fischer led to Premier Agua, the oasis that is on a very bumpy, rocky road that also leads to some of the near by ranches. We marveled as we ate oranges off the trees, just minutes from the desert, and wandered up the stream that we learned was on a fault line.
In January of this year a group of our women friends decided to go on a hike back to Premier Agua. The January weather was perfect..sunny but not too hot.We packed lunches and piled into Susan and Bruce’s truck.
The road to Premier Agua is not for the faint of heart. Luckily we had the lion-hearted Susan at the wheel and she delivered us all to the start of the hike in tact. Most people who come to Premier Agua hike up to the ranches. Jesse, our leader, had consulted with “hike master” Jewel and she had recommended that we turn left and hike down the stream. This did not look very appealing at first but soon we found ourselves surrounded by natural beauty at every turn. We had to cross the stream a few times. It was definitely doable but we could imagine how high the waters must have been during the hurricane.
We had a wonderful time, each walking at our own pace, coming together in different small groups as we stopped to admire and take in the beauty. There were signs of the hurricane wherever we went. Parts of huge bushes and trees, broken off and washed 20 feet to the edge of the rock wall. It was such a contrast, standing in this peaceful spot, to picture the energy of the wind and water surging through the arroyo. Dee’s dog Sophie, who is a rescued Loreto street dog and a most loveable, adventurous being, had a wonderful time racing through the terrain and even climbing the rocks.
We stopped and had lunch at the beginning of a canyon-like passage that had been worn smooth by the years of surging waters rushing through it during storms.
It is cool and raining today in Oakland…much like it has been for the two weeks that we’ve been back. Which makes it even sweeter to take time to remember this very special hike we took on a wonderful day in Loreto.
I’m including some photos of our hike below.
