Exploring Rancho Camulos, the Home of Ramona

Long on our list of iconic Southern California sites to see was Rancho Camulos, the Spanish land grant rancho in the Santa Clara River Valley near Piru that inspired Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel of old Californio life, Ramona (1884). On Sunday, we had a chance to...
Ghost Building: The El Mirador Apartments

Ghost Building: The El Mirador Apartments

Update 10/8/2025: A decade after we wrote this post chronicling the sad state of the empty El Mirador Apartments, there are now (very expensive, less lovely than they used to be) units available for lease. Thanks to Janet “Houses of Hollywood” Grey for taking the tour...