Oak of the Golden Dream

Not far from our home is this tree;

The year was 1842. Both Californias - Alta and Baja - were part of Mexico, and Francisco Lopez was herding cattle on his niece's ranch in Placerita Canyon, 35 miles north of the Pueblo de Los Angeles.

It was around noon on his 40th birthday, March 9. Lopez paused to rest with his two companions, Manuél Cota and Domingo Bermudez. As the story goes, Lopez fell asleep in the shade of an oak tree and dreamed he was floating on a pool of gold. He awoke, crossed the little creek to a grove of sycamore trees, stuck his knife into the ground, unearthed some wild onions - and there, clinging to the roots, were chunks of gold.