Wind Wolves Preserve 2011
by Terry Ginsberg
Early this month, by virtue of marriage I was able to participate in wonderful car camping
experience at the Wind Wolves Preserve located over the Grapevine near the town of
Mettler. Driving to the site I was a bit concerned because all I saw were oil rigs and dry flat
land until the last minute, when we came upon an oasis. There were a limited number of
campgrounds but all were appropriately furnished with the necessary accoutrements and
flush toilets were not too far away. Running through the campsites was a babbling brook
which provided appropriate ambiance and white noise for sleeping.
This outing was organized by Dana and John Hunter. For those unfamiliar, Dana is a daring
and skillful chef and my wife Pam Allen however initially reticent once started is an
extremely capable assistant. Their “happy hour” gastronomic creations were unbelievable.
There was no hummus. Friday night we enjoyed tempura shrimp and vegetables and
Saturday night they cooked individual pizzas created by each participant from a multitude
of shared toppings placed on half baked (the bottom side) pizza dough.
John is a low key guy with not only an incredible eye for seeing animals and birds in the far
distance but also identifying them. A genius of genus. I was a little envious of his talent
because I usually don’t see the wildlife and wouldn’t know what I was seeing anyway. But
life has a curious way of making us all equal. On Sunday during a rather mundane walk in
the Tejon Ranch John spied on the trail a mouse that wasn’t moving. When he moved closer
to better understand the situation, he just missed stepping on a really big rattlesnake.
Brunchus interruptus! The mouse wasn’t moving because the snake had bit him.
Nevertheless, the snake decided at that moment it would be a good idea to avoid John’s
boot and return later to enjoy the conquest.
All these stories may be entertaining, but what is a “wind wolf”? It sounds very
threatening. A wind wolf is a visual illusion. When the wind blows through the high grass in
certain areas, there is an appearance of an animal moving through it.
Yes, we were able to walk on the Tejon Ranch property with guides who explained the
history and that “tejon” is a badger. We didn’t see any badgers. You can “Google” the history
of the ranch, which is one of the largest landowners in California. It is interesting to follow
the evolution of ownership from the Mexican government to an individual entrepreneur to
a syndicate including Harry Chandler (he had his hands in everything) and finally to a
public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.