HOME ARTICLES ABOUT LINKS CONTACT
We
do not collect, store, or sell personally identifiable information.
Third party advertiser pixels may be present.
Continued
navigation of the site will assume consent. Accept Privacy
Policy Opt-Out
DESTINATION
IDEAS
California
Nevada
Other
West
Bargain
Travel West guide to unique destinations, sight-seeing, history and
culture, budget travel vacation ideas for the U.S., Canada and Caribbean.
Travel Bargain destination
in California
OJAI & THE SECRET GARDEN BY JEEP
Cloud Climbers Tours All Around Ojai
Okay, rattling around the back county in a jeep may or may not be your
dream of a vacation getaway, but sometimes you just gotta lock the 4-wheel
drive hubs to get to the good stuff. Cloud Climbers Jeep and Wine Tours
has been a family run business operating its special brand of tours in
the southern and central California coast since 1999. First offering
wine tasting tours of Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez, and now Paso Robles
and Ojai. I recently hopped in the back of Jeep to discover Ojai on their
All Around Ojai Tour.
Ojai Olive Oil
The
Cloud Climbers custom open air jeeps offer a personal sight-seeing
adventure to explore
the remarkable qualities of the beautiful Ojai Valley
with a personal insight on the history and secrets of this unique spot
in California from local guides. After being picked up at the door of
the B&B, we headed off past the distinctive stone fences of the valley
to the first stop for olive oil tasting at the Ojai
Olive Oil Company,
based at the historic Asquith Farm where olives have been growing for
130 years. After
a tour of the olive pressing process in modern machines and an explanation
of the special relationship of olives and virgins, a selection of certified
extra virgin oil is poured from gorgeous collector bottles of deep dark
blue
glass
to
protect
the
precious
golden
liquid.
Tastings of oils from three differing olive varieties grown on the
farm is complemented by tastings of the sumptuous savory sweetness
of a selection
of flavored Basalmic Vinegars imported from Modena, also available.
Secret Gardens
Off to more scenic
back roads and to the highlight of the journey, a visit to the "secret gardens" of Ojai. If I reveal the secret
I’ll have to deny it. The gardens were once open to the public,
but after some squabbles with the neighbors, the jeep tours are the only
(legal) way to visit this amazing botanical phenomenon, though organized
retreats are in the offing. Surrounded by the hills above Lake Casitas
covered with an extraordinary variety of natural California coastal herbs
and shrubs, some of which are only native in a narrow transverse mountain
range of this region known for its pink glow at sunset inland of the
Ventura shore.
It
is spring and passing through the gate onto of the private property
we cross into the land once only traversed by Chumash Indians whose ancient
rock paintings can still be seen. After locking the 4-wheel drive hubs
we scramble up toward a hilltop vantage point, stopping to savor the
air filled with sweet aromas of the growing natural flora you are otherwise
only likely to encounter on your herb shelf, here in natural habitat.
We stop of the view to the Pacific Ocean and a spiritual encounter with
a pair of soaring Red Tail Hawks as our guide plays his hand-made flute,
evoking the spiritual power of the native lore. Rather than lunch among
the reeds of natural ponds formed by the run-off from the rainy season,
we take our gourmet sandwich lunch packed from the Ojai Cafe Emporium
in town, 
and
head to the heart of the Taft Gardens to find a table in the shade of
arbors in the midst of this local wonder. Started as a home project just
over ten years ago, the gardens of John and Melody Taft began with a
collection of flowering plants and succulants brought from South Africa
and Australia, grown to a passion. The cultivated gardens suggest an
Alice Through the Looking Glass trip into another world of exotic blooms
and kaleidoscopic colors. It is spring and the rare flowers roil with
color, challenged only by the bloom of the local special rarity, the
Matilija Poppy, the symbol of Ojai which only grows in this valley.
Old Creek Ranch Winery
The
four hour tour ends with a wine tasting at the Old Creek Ranch Winery
which
has been
producing craft wines since 1981 on land which was once
part of a Spanish Land Grant of Fernando Tica. The wine making on the
ranch goes back to the 1800’s attested to by the old gravity fed
press machinery still seen in the old winery barn behind the tasting
shop and current winery. Two wines labels habit the Old
Creek Ranch Winery,
their own label with the image of the original founder of the winery
Carmel Maitland in casual reclining repose, and the Vino V of wine maker
Michael Meagher (see Old
Creek Ranch Winery).
The All Around Ojai Tour from Cloud Climbers Jeep Tours costs $99 for adults and $89 for children 6 to 18. It includes door-to-door pickup and drop off and the tastings. Packages with local B&B’s and Inns (see Lavender Inn Bed & Breakfast), with partnerships with two Iguana Inns and the Su Nido suites. A wine tasting tour including Santa Ynez is available from Ojai, and custom tours and group packages can be arranged. © Bargain Travel West
Find the best hotel and travel deals in Ojai on TripAdvisor
Web Info
Cloud Climbers
Tours
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel West and WLEV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
See these other articles on Bargain Travel West:
OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL – NEW LIBBEY BOWL
Discover the west with budget travel ideas at Bargain Travel West or for Europe Travel ©2006-2019 Winged Lion Entertainment Ventures, LLC
