Our next stop was further down highway 101
at Vines RV Resort near the lovely town of Paso Robles, which, is in the heart
of Central California Wine Country. There
must be at least 300 wineries in the area!
As we drove along highway 101 we could see
the ornate bell tower of Mission San Miguel Arcangel.
Founded by Padre Fernando de Lasuen, from
Majorca, Spain, on 25 July 1979 Mission San Miguel Arcangel is the 16th of the
21 California missions.
In August 1795, prior to the founding of
the mission, Padre Buenaventura Sitjar reported to Padre de Laseun that low
land on both sides of the river Nacimiento was enough to grow 300 fanegas of
wheat. A fanega is 1.58 US bushels or
55.7 litres. It became one of the first
wheat fields in California.
I think this was the original entrance into
the mission.
El Camino Real was originally just a trail
between the missions, to mark the way crosses were carved into the bark of
trees. The cross inside this tree was
discovered when the tree fell somewhere near Paso Robles.
The interior of the church has some
beautifully decorated murals which are considered some of the best preserved
and most authentic in the mission chain.
An earthquake measuring 6.5 in December
2003 closed the mission for a while, but it was restored and reopened in 2009,
needless to say fund raising for further restoration is ongoing.
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