We are not talking about salad dressing!

Nestled at the top of Log Cabin Ranch Road, past the juvenile detention facilities for both San Mateo and San Francisco Counties (Camp Glenwood & Log Cabin Ranch), is a former minimum security prison – Hidden Valley Ranch…

For several years I’ve been thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great to turn a prison into a school!” Part of my Open Space Academy idea involves Hidden Valley Ranch (Check out: http://openspaceacademy.weebly.com/facilities.html and explore the rest of that website!).

Of course, after approximately 20 years of being out of commission, it’s a formidable fixer-upper. But that process could represent myriad training opportunities for the folks who used to live here, or for the young men who live down the road.

The location is outstanding! Remove the fence and it doesn’t look like a prison. And what happens after it’s renovated? How about an Open Space Academy? How about Outdoor Education for high school and college kids? How about an Environmental Field Studies station (similar to the Gazos Creek Field Research station)?

And how about some wild flowers…?

You see, I hiked a surreptitious route along a clandestine quasi-trail to get to Hidden Valley Ranch. Support the cause, and I’ll leak the secret!

The end of each school year is an impossible flurry of activities which, in our family, involve all four of us. First the kids (CUSD) In the following collection of pix, Veronica is featured playing her trumpet in the Cunha concert band’s final concert and of course her 8th grade promotion ceremony (middle school graduation); Charlie is featured playing his trombone in the HMB concert band’s final concert…

Next, the parents (LHPUSD): Just one shot of Mary Lynn’s spring concerts is here; some of the Pescadero Middle School students who swept the HMB Library Teen Poetry Contest; the production of “Matilda” (including Lucas) and our end-of-year talent show, and some shenanigans in class and on the bus. Here ya go…

Of course, that little display didn’t includeend-of-the-year field trips, end-of-the-season track & field parties, standards testing, final exams, and a bunch of stuff I’ve successfully not remembered. All in all, it was an outstanding return from our sabbatical. Both kids have done well in school, as have most of our students in LHPUSD. While I still study maps contemplating more adventures, it’s been good to be home!

Now that summer is here, I hope to catch up on some items that I’ve yet to post. This one is about a day in April, after spring break…

I have been researching the possibility of developing an arts program in the main classroom building at La Honda Elementary School and Meredith Reynolds, the driving force behind the South Coast Artists Alliance, connected me with Ruth Waters. Ruth is the founder and director of the Peninsula Museum of the Arts and formerly she had started a studio and gallery complex in an old elementary school in Belmont.

Not only did Ruth give me a personal tour of her museum, but she told be about the process of developing and maintaining, and she gave me an article she wrote about creating a museum. It was inspiring! Here are some pix of the gallery, the studios, and some of the art…

Saturday, June 3rd, was a big event for Nancy & Jered’s house at Pie Ranch. After years of planning & permitting, the massive redwood frame went up in just one day! Fortunately, Mom was able to come see and participate. Like all of us, Dad too, would be very proud of them. Here are some pix…

Time lapse clips…

And for good measure, here are some pix from the past…

Check out Santa Cruz Timberframes: http://www.santacruztimberframes.com/

And of course there’s more happening at Pie Ranch: http://www.pieranch.org/