洛杉磯近郊的十八世紀農莊花園 Rancho Los Alamitos - Long Beach

隱身在 City of Long Beach 的十八世紀古蹟：

Rancho Los Alamitos 農莊花園

長期簇身在車水馬龍的市中心和習慣了好萊塢的時尚鎂光燈，

沒想到在洛杉磯南邊的郊區 Long Beach 竟有一個如此珍貴的古蹟遺址。

而且還是免費參觀、免費停車。

先前聽在地友人提及這個地方，遲遲未付諸行動，

直到那天遇到隔壁鄰居，

一對在這裡土生土長的超級親切老爺爺、老奶奶，

盛情難卻的推薦我們，有機會一定要去走走～

我這才把 Rancho Los Alamitos 放進我的行事曆裡。

An Overview of The Rancho

Rancho Los Alamitos  is a microcosm of the regional story. In the intersecting lives of native people, owners, and workers who once called this place home and transformed its land is the richness, drama, and complexity of California’s legacy.

Rancho Los Alamitos, the “Ranch of the Little Cottonwoods,” is a Long Beach City Landmark and twice-listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rancho is located on Tongva-Gabrielino land known as Povuun’nga. From the Tongva people who lived and gathered at Povuun’nga through waves of newcomers from Spain, Mexico, the United States, and more, the site has nurtured a great diversity of peoples and cultures over thousands of years. Today, the 7½-acre site includes four acres of nationally significant historic gardens, a ranch house (1790-1933), and a restored barnyard of the early 20th-century working ranch.

Today Rancho Los Alamitos is 7.5-acres, a rare vestige of the original 300,000-acre Los Coyotes land concession given to Manuel Nieto in 1790 for his service on the Gaspar de Portolá expedition to California under the Spanish Crown. However, the story of Rancho Los Alamitos precedes these first newcomers, for the historic site is also part of the ancestral village of Povuu’ngna, the traditional place of origin of the native Gabrielino-Tongva people of the Los Angeles Basin, and still a sacred place. 

In 1968, the children of Fred and Florence Bixby, the last private owners, donated the family ranch to the City of Long Beach, transforming what had been a working ranch to a public oasis and setting the stage for what Rancho Los Alamitos is today—a place for all time.

這個十八世紀初的 Rancho Los Alamitos 位於南加州 Long Beach，

更具體來說，其實這座腹地廣大的農場莊園就位在

Cal State University, Long Beach 旁邊。

依照官網上的指示，要由一個看似非常平凡的當地社區大門進入，

直駛到底、左轉後才能發現 Rancho Los Alamitos 的入口，

而入口的右手邊就是免費的停車場，方便又寬敞。

將車停妥後，我興奮的三步併做兩步往左手邊的入口前進！

因為當前優美的景緻，已經使我迫不及待要一探究竟啦～

整個園區典雅靜謐、富含歷史文化遺跡，

各式各樣的野生植物，讓人處處有驚奇，

重點是平坦好走，是一個很適合一家大小來放鬆和放電的地方。

嗯～真是高興我來到這個只有當地人才知道的秘密基地：）

          

         

兩株超級巨無霸多肉植物，比我開高呢！

( 我好歹也有 170 公分說 ...

唯一有點可惜的是，因為疫情的關係，

園區內的博物館沒有開放參觀，

所以就只能在博物館外圍徘徊，

靠著屋瓦上斑駁的歲月痕跡自行去想像和尋味那段特別的歷史了～

 

 

 

 

走出博物館之後，

正是一大片古色古香的農舍風景，

沒想到可能只從電影裡或書上看過的樣子，

竟然就如此鮮明地展現在自己的眼前，

仿佛內心深處的老靈魂都被喚醒了～

不知道為什麼，這種純樸的農莊風情讓我看了很心花怒放～

    

    

雖然農舍沒有開放給民眾參觀，
但是能近看到這些十八、十九世紀時期的珍寶，也是很不容易了！

   

    

  

接著來到 Rancho Los Alamitos 的另個重點，

既然叫 Rancho 農莊，那想必就應該要有牲畜才對啊～

欸～一個超級大的馬屁股？！
令人讚嘆的不僅是牠那高大壯碩的身形，
還有牠那柔順發亮的鬚鬚啊 ～～

   

   

拐個彎上前去跟牠打招呼，
殊不知牠可能嫌我吵，太興奮了一直亂叫... 並不是很想理我，哈！
我也好怕牠頭一甩，就往我身上靠過來，
還是趕快拍照留念、趕快走，讓牠耳根子清淨清淨～

 

遇到第一次看到馬匹的小孩，雀躍的趕緊請爸爸幫忙拍照～  

看那馬兒結實健壯的肌肉啊～牠本人很高大呢！

 

自由自在在農莊裡奔走的野雞們和正慵懶地享受午後時光的鴨子們～

還有，一動也不想動的～羊咩咩同學們 XD

  Rancho Los Alamitos 整個園區很大，

若不趕時間的話，可以花兩個小時，漫步遊走、細細品味喔～

  🚩  Rancho Los Alamitos 

     6400 E. Bixby Hill Road, Long Beach, California 90815

Reservations are encouraged but not required. Free admission and parking. Make reservations online or send an email to Reservations@RanchoLosAlamitos.org with the time you wish to visit and the number of people in your group (10 people maximum). 

Enter at the Bixby Hill residential security gate at the intersection of East Anaheim Road and Palo Verde Avenue. When you arrive, please check-in at the station in the parking lot. 

Here are the latest regulations for visits to the Rancho, which follow the latest mandate from the City of Long Beach: 

• Outdoors, face masks are encouraged but not required, regardless of vaccination status. 
• Indoors, face masks are required for all, regardless of vaccination status.

☺️ 經典的加州天空，我們下次見。