NOSTALGIA AND RIDING DEVIL'S CANYON, CHATSWORTH

 AI Overview about “Nostalgia”…

“Nostalgia is a poor substitute for living fully in the present; while it can evoke positive emotions about the past, dwelling too much on it can hinder engagement with current experiences and opportunities.” 

Well, I can tell you this about AI, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

AI Overview about “taken with a grain of salt”…

To take something with a "grain of salt" or "pinch of salt" is an English idiom that suggests to view something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or not to interpret something literally.

EXACTLY!

When you're 82 and have spent much of the past thirty years riding a horse in the foothills of the Santa Susanas, nostalgia is just the thing to brighten up your day.

I've had some absolutely thrilling adventures riding on some extraordinary canyon trails on some pretty fantastic ponies.

So today I decided to google “Devil's Canyon, Chatsworth,” and found a couple of pretty nice photos that I never had the time to shoot in years past.

I’ve written about my daily rides on the Mormon Canyon Trail, which is pretty much what you’ll also encounter in other local Chatsworth canyons…

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/12/cowboy-culture-mormon-canyon-trail.html

2004, Boothill in a remote canyon north of Chatsworth. 
Caretaker Joe Mendoza. If you find this spot
Watch out for bees. 

Also, to put you in the right frame of mind, SEE: Cowboy Wisdom -- Avoid Bees…

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2013/01/cowboy-wisdom-avoid-bees.html

Wish I could have found more photos, but the following poem will give you the idea...

The Anomaly

Now ol' Sun Up holds his head up high,

Pretty little golden horse wants to be on the fly.

Old long tapaderos swingin' from my Visalia tree,

Braided rawhide hackamore with a horse-hair mecate.

Just ridin' in that California sunshine,

Just ridin' that ol' palomino pal o' mine,

Rockin', Rollin', Ridin'.

The Old Man's best display must surely be the break of day

When through oak leaves shines Sun's first golden ray,

And out on a limb a Steller's jay is a-squawkin'

While cowboys sit around a camp fire a-talkin'.

Just ridin' in that California sunshine,

Just ridin' that ol' palomino pal o' mine,

Rockin', Rollin', Ridin'.

We're listenin' to the call of those valley quail,

Ridin' up that blue shadowed canyon trail.

Cottonwoods and sycamores, and a live oak tree,

Tall green grass and a babblin' brook beside me.

Just ridin' in that California sunshine,

Just ridin' that ol' palomino pal o' mine,

Rockin', Rollin', Ridin'.

We're rockin' to the rhythm of a creakin' saddle,

Just gatherin' up them white-faced cattle.

Coyote slinkin' through the brush with his head hung low,

Redtail hawk soarin' high above the valley below.

Just ridin' in that California sunshine,

Just ridin' that ol' palomino pal o' mine,

Rockin', Rollin', Ridin'.

There's a bobcat in the willows a-starin' at me

And a big old Mountain Lion we'll never see,

But my little pack horse Star is followin' behind,

And like old Sun Up and me, he's the happy kind.

Just ridin' in that California sunshine,

Just ridin' that ol' palomino pal o' mine,

Rockin', Rollin', Ridin'.

While grazin' up on that ridge beyond

Is a mule deer doe and her little fawn

And you'll see plenty of sign from brother raccoon

During what the ol' Indian calls berries ripe moon

Just ridin' in that California sunshine,

Just ridin' that ol' palomino pal o' mine,

Rockin', Rollin', Ridin'.

Old oak tree with limbs so gnarled and bold,

Please tell me a tale about the vaqueros of old,

Of a time when the golden bear still roamed free

And Sun Up and me weren't an anomaly.

Just ridin' in that California sunshine,

Just ridin' that ol' palomino pal o' mine,

Rockin', Rollin', Ridin'.

© Jerry England 1997

If you happen to find your way there on a horse… be sure to bring a lunch with you.

Happy Trails!