Foothills Sentry March 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 8 March 2021 The secrets of the Santiago Creek Trail By Douglas Westfall, National Historian The Santiago Creek Trail through Orange is a conglomerate of nature, environment and history. From the Arroyo de Facinos (Gully of the Villians) in Santiago Oaks Regional Park, the trail follows a pathway adjacent to the creek, almost all the way to Hart Park -- once the site of the Gabrieleno Native Village of Houtkangna. Some of the trail is paved for bicycle riders, yet most of it is dirt, and in places the trail is gone altogether. In between, there are numer- ous natural, recreational and his- toric sites -- dating from Spanish times, back in the 1700s. This area contains the original site of the Santiago Rodeo for the vast Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana -- some 80,000 acres that reached to the Pacific Ocean. Within this area many histori- cal artifacts have been found: horseshoes, bridle bits and other blacksmithing elements. Also, a hand-wrought, five-tined Spanish spur and a wooden saddle frame were discovered -- all of which once belonged to Rancho owner Juan Pablo Grijalva -- and were donated to the Orange Library and History Center by descendant Eddie Grijalva in 2017. The Santiago Trail parking lot is on Cannon Street, about 1,000 ft. north of Santiago Canyon Road. From here the creek trail goes both east toward Santiago Oaks Regional Park and wends west toward the Orange wetlands. The two-acre wetlands were re- cently declared to be “wetlands of the state,” meaning they must be preserved and protected. A por- tion of the wetlands belongs to OC Parks; the rest is private prop- erty owned by Chandler LLC. Chandler wants to fill in the area and bring it up to street level. The wetlands can be appreciat- ed from the creek trail. The creek falls through ancient sandstone cliffs, forming a miniature can- yon. Numerous water and raptor birds visit the area; it is home to several types of water creatures, ranging from frogs to salaman- ders. Due south of the sandstone canyon is the pond, now fenced off by the property owner. The pond was carved from the plateau by the Santiago Creek during flood times. It lies below the former Blue Ribbon Nursery and Oakridge Private School. For the past half-century, the pond was a playground for young people, who fished and skimmed stones The Woman’s Club of Orange collected over $1,800 of toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap and other toiletries for the Friendly Center in Orange. Here, Woman’s Club member Pietra Gaw helps collect the drive-by donations. During this pandemic, the Friendly Center is helping 900 local families with their everyday needs. across the water. Presently, the pond is dry. Some 5,000 years ago, much of north Orange County was an in- land sea. During that time, sea life thrived in the area. Over the mil- lennia, the land rose and the water drained off to form a large swamp -- literally from the Fullerton Hills to Huntington Beach. Over the past 200 years, marine fossils have been discovered where the water used to be. Near the pond, also on private property, is a Miocene whale fos- sil showing its ribs out through the sandstone rock surface. Hav- ing died over five millennia ago, it laid on the sea floor as sediment and volcanic ash slowly covered it up. Much later, when the Santi- ago Creek began to flow, it carved off this rock and carried it down- stream to where it finally rests now. And here it has been for at least the past half-century. Further along the creek is the site of the rancho tallow vats, where they processed the hides from cattle. Here the trail ends at the dam site of the Santiago Creek Recharge Basin. For the rest of the story, see Douglas’ book, “The Santiago Creek -- All About Orange.” His books are available at Special- Books.com. PetersCanyonElementarySchool staffmembers arewildabout kindness as they dress up as their favorite wild animal to celebrate Kindness Week. These cool cats, left to right, kindergarten paraeducator Nancy Argo, kindergarten teachers Dana Quebbemann and Jessica Pinedo and Principal Dr. Kristy Andre joined the entire school in performing random acts of kindness. Students, staff and parents joined in the Great Kindness Challenge. Students also participated in school spirit days such as “Hats on for Kindness,” Crazy for Kindness” and “Wild about Kindness.” How did the challenge go? Purrrfect! -- Mark Eliot A Miocene era fossil is one of the treasures tucked away near the wetlands. Dry now, but full of water when it rains, a pond hidden on private property below Santiago Canyon Road has been declared a “waters of the state” wetland, which must be protected. This rugged portion of Santiago Creek flows just about all year round. NTAC approves Wass Street project The North Tustin Advisory Committee (NTAC) considered a planning application for 10 de- tached single-family condomini- ums at 1091, 1111, 1121 Wass Street, Feb. 17. The applicant, REECO Communities LLC, presented views of the proposed plans, showing two heights, 28’ in front and 35’ in back, and that the north row homes with front, side and rear yards, and the south row with only front and side yards. CC&Rs would require garages to be used only for parking, not storage. Several public commenters supported the project, others raised concerns about the three- story height, density and traffic. Neighbors noted that there are no other three-story buildings in the area. But the primary concern was traffic. Overflow parking from multi-family apartments to the north, plus a nearby school, may cause congestion and safety issues. Wass is a small street and, as there are no sidewalks, school children walk in the street. The applicant said a sidewalk and street improvements would be made in front of the site. Committee members re-stated concerns about the perimeter block wall height, the need for hedging, safety barrier bollards, no street parking, and a two-story height limit. The project, however, was approved by a 5-1-1 vote, with Pat Welch opposed and Dessa Schroeder abstained. Photo by Tony Richards Photo by Douglas Westfall