TRAVEL TALES : CENTERING ON CANYON NATURE.Byline: Nancy Hewitt Daily News Staff Writer Imagine coming face to face with a California king snake king snake, name for a number of species of the genus Lampropeltis, nonvenomous, egg-laying, constricting snakes of North America which show much variation in color and markings. and getting to touch its cool, soft skin. Or how about watching a Texas spiny softshell turtle The Texas Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera emoryi) is a subspecies of softshelled turtle native to the United States, in the state of Texas. They range in the states of Texas and New Mexico, in the Rio Grande River and its immediate tributaries. cavorting in its aquarium? These are just two of the activities visitors can enjoy at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, in the Newhall section of the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. . If it's history you're after, there's the Walker Cabin, which housed Santa Clarita Valley's first pioneers. Or perhaps the story of the first gold discovery will pique your interest. Want to get a little closer to nature? Taking a brisk hike along one of the five trails crisscrossing the 350-acre park may satisfy your outdoor spirit. Not the outdoor type? Visit the nature museum, where you can watch a Pacific rattlesnake rattlesnake, poisonous New World snake of the pit viper family, distinguished by a rattle at the end of the tail. The head is triangular, being widened at the base. The rattle is a series of dried, hollow segments of skin, which, when shaken, make a whirring sound. in an outdoor glass display or observe a pair of caged hawks. Recreation services leader Ian Swift said he enjoys teaching visitors about the ecosystem that supports the animals in the park. ``If you remove one animal from a given ecosystem, the animal it affects will have to find another source of food,'' he explained. On a recent visit, fifth-grade students from Hubbard Street School in Sylmar were fascinated with the displays and interacting with some of the animals, such as a young Burmese python. Sergio Mejio, 10, of Sylmar, learned that California gold was first discovered in Placerita Canyon. ``We saw the tree where they found the gold,'' he said excitedly. The tree is known as the Oak of the Golden Dream. On March 9, 1842, Francisco Lopez dug up some wild onions from under the tree where he had been resting. Clinging to the roots of the onions were small particles of gold. Within three months, more than 100 miners were searching for gold in Placerita Canyon. It was the first authenticated discovery of gold in California Gold in California became highly concentrated there as the result of global forces operating over hundreds of millions of years. Volcanoes, tectonic plates and erosion all combined to concentrate billions of dollars worth of gold in the mountains of California. . It wasn't until six years later, that James Marshall struck gold at Sutter's Mill, northeast of Sacramento, making even bigger news. Anthony Medrano, 10, also of Sylmar, said learning about the first settlers and the Alliklik Indians - ``they used plants for medicine and to build houses'' - was fascinating. The Alliklik lived peacefully in Placerita Canyon until the early 1800s, when they were relocated to the San Fernando Mission by the white settlers. By 1920, these relatives of the Shoshone nation had died off. Traveling along the Heritage Trail - one of the most historic and popular of the Placerita Canyon trails - you'll see the Walker Cabin. Noney Riddle, 10, of Sylmar, was surprised at how small the cabin is. ``There were 14 children and two adults living in a one-bedroom house,'' she marveled. Farther down the path are two tunnels. The back wall of the front tunnel depicts life before human settlement. The back tunnel shows life after settlement and includes Lopez's discovery of gold. Near the end of the Heritage Trail is the famed oak tree where gold was first discovered. After returning to the main buildings, the more adventuresome may want to hike on one of the other trails. Or visitors may visit the museum, where they can see American Indian artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. , as well as displays of live darkling dar·kling adv. In the dark. adj. 1. Occurring or enacted in the dark. 2. Dark; dim. n. The dark: beetles, turtles, black widow spiders black widow spider poisonous spider; consumes her mate after mating. [Zoology: NCE, 308] See : Deadliness and a California brown tarantula tarantula (tərăn`chələ), name applied chiefly to several species of the large, hairy spiders of the families Theraphosidae and Dipluridae of North and South America. The body of a tarantula may be as much as 3 in. (7. . Another visitor, 10-year-old Ruby Ramirez of Sylmar, learned that the bigger spiders kill the smaller spiders. But what impressed her most was learning what a single hair from a tarantula can do to a human. ``The hair from a tarantula can give you a rash or an eye infection, if you get it in your eye,'' she said. The visitors center also has a full-size classroom equipped with a blackboard, tables and exhibits to teach young visitors about the cycle of life in Placerita Canyon. Beyond the classroom are displays that show examples of daytime animals such as Jerusalem crickets, whiptail lizards, scrub jays and hummingbirds. An adjacent display features examples of nighttime animals, including white-lined sphinx sphinx (sfĭngks), mythical beast of ancient Egypt, frequently symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra. The sphinx was represented in sculpture usually in a recumbent position with the head of a man and the body of a lion, moths, striped June beetles, Hoary bats and deer mice deer mice Peromyscus maniculatus Public health The murine vector for Hantavirus. See Hantavirus. . When you are ready to hike Placerita Canyon Nature Center is at 19152 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall. To get there, take the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. north to the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. north, exit at Placerita Canyon. Turn right, follow the road about 1.5 miles and turn right into the parking lot. The center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Christmas Day. Admission is free; parking costs $3 per vehicle. Free tours are offered to school groups from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Nighttime ``moon hikes'' are scheduled Jan. 23, Feb. 22 and March 24. Hikes begin at 6 p.m. No fee is charged, but donations are accepted. Information: (805) 259-7721. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: The Hale family - Nancy, left, Tom, Susan and Philip - hike the grounds of the Placerita Canyon Nature Center in the Santa Clarita Valley. John Lazar/Special to the Daily News Box: When you are ready to hike (See Text) |
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