A Day on the Plain

CARRIZO PLAIN — Nobody in California has seen it all. It is possible to live in California, as I have, for more than 40 years, to travel across California each week as a journalistic scavenger, to read about the place, think about it, form all sorts of opinions about it . . . and still go out one rainy day and be absolutely floored by it. Monday was one of those days.

It occurred here, on what is called the Carrizo Plain. The plain is a virtually unpopulated valley that runs north-south for about 60 miles between the Temblor and Caliente mountain ranges. It is as beautiful a natural landscape as can be found in California.

It also is arguably one of the least known. Serious bird watchers tend to know about the plain, as do geologists, wildflower enthusiasts, archeologists and botanists keen on California grasses and sage. After that, the awareness curve tumbles off a cliff.

Geographically, the plain sits in the middle of nowhere--twisting, two-lane roads in and out--and at the same time in the middle of everything, right smack in the center of California. Using personal references, it is about a three-hour drive south of Fresno, where I grew up. Or about an hour east of San Luis Obispo, where I went to college. Or about three hours north of Los Angeles, where I spent much of my work life. And so naturally, until this week, I had never been to the place.

*

Perhaps the best way to envision the Carrizo Plain is to imagine what the San Fernando Valley looked like before it was farmed, subdivided, freewayed, malled up and just plain civilized. Imagine a wide open, rolling grassland, framed by stark, steep mountains. Imagine hawks wheeling overhead, flocks of bluebirds flittering among the brush. Imagine a sky without smog, a landscape devoid of sound except for that of birds, wind and the occasional coyote.

Who knows why such a delicious sprawl of land was missed by the developers. The plain seemingly has everything needed to erect a modern California city. It enjoys close proximity to an earthquake fault line; the infamous San Andreas is actually visible as it shoots down the lower flank of the Temblors. Plus, there is hardly any water, another must for cityhood, at least in Southern California. Maybe it was the lack of an inversion layer that spooked the subdividers.