Carbon Canyon Historical Artifact #16

Of the several La Vida Mineral Springs postcards from the early 1930s that have been posted on this blog, this is perhaps the best.

The photographer stood in the middle of Carbon Canyon Road (hardly a good idea at any hour now) and captured an interesting scene to the east.

First, there is the plain stenciled "WELCOME" sign nailed to a eucalyptus tree, perhaps one of those still standing, albeit charred from the last fall's fires. Further to the left are a few of the small, rustic cabins lining Carbon [Canyon] Creek and there are even a couple of cars parket out front. Behind the second car in the distance is a small portion of the picnic area that is seen in greater detail in one of the cards profiled in this blog sometime ago.

Off to the right against the hillside are a couple of signs with one having a left-facing arrow to direct visitors to the office for the resort. There is also the resort's mailbox along the road on that southern side, as well. Of note, too, is the much greater number of trees on both sides of Carbon Canyon Road than are present now.

Unlike the other cards from this era shared on this blog, this one has a message, though it doesn't actually say anything about the resort, except on the bottom margin beneath the photo. There it says "We leave our car right beside this tree, Aunt L."

The writer postmarked the card from Encinitas in San Diego County and her date in the message and on the postmark are both from 2 July 1932, so she obviously bought the card while staying at La Vida and then wrote the message when she got home.

Incidentally, the recipient, a niece of the writer, lived in a little place called St. Johnsbury, Vermont, now a town of 7,500 in the central part of the state. The caption at the bottom of the photo reads: "La Vida Mineral Springs - Carbon Canyon, Calif" and the number 9 is at the right (though one of the other cars featured on this blog from the same series was given that same number.)

This great card is 2009.6.1.1 of the Carbon Canyon Collection. As always, clicking on the image will get you a zoomed-in view so you can get a little more of the detail.