Back to the back roads - automobile travel

Sunset, July, 1994 by Peter Fish, Lora J. Finnegan, Ben Marks, Bonnie Henderson, Jim McCausland, Jena MacPherson

For many of us, our cars have come to symbolize the frustrations of modern life, whether it's idling in a bumper-to-bumper rush-hour jam, jockeying for a parking spot within sight of the shopping center, or tailgating someone on the interstate who doesn't realize that the fast lane is for people who want--no, need--to go 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. In all the rushing around, we've lost sight of the automobile's highest and best use: the leisurely drive through the countryside on a two-lane highway.

To jog your memory, we've rounded up six of the best back-roads routes on this side of the Pacific Rim. You won't find diamond lanes or toll booths or "No Left Turn" signs on these drives. What you will find are windshield-wide scenic views, slow-paced small towns, charmingly rustic hotels, and a lot of other things you'd never notice if you were simply trying to get from one place to another as quickly as possible. All of the drives start and end on interstates or other well-traveled routes you're likely to find yourself on this summer. So add a day or three to your itinerary and take a back-roads detour. You just might fall in love with your car all over again.

ON THE TRAIL OF THE GOOD LIFE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

This 275-mile trip through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties gives you good food, good wine, and spaces wide open enough that you can put Patsy Cline in your tape deck, roll down your car window, and warble along with "Walkin' after Midnight" without anybody in the next lane staring at you like you're out of your mind.

From Ventura, drive 13 miles north on State Highway 33 until you come to pretty little Ojai, in the shadow of the Topatopa Mountains. You can savor the small-town ambience at free summer band concerts (8 P.M. Wednesdays in July and August) in Libbey Park downtown. For dining, we like French-influenced Suzanne's Cuisine, which occupies an unassuming duplex at 502 W. Ojai Avenue (805/640-1961), and the garden-set Ranch House (S. Lomita Avenue; 646-2360), where natural food is elevated to haute cuisine. For more Ojai information (including lodging), inquire at the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce (338 E. Ojai; 646-8126).

Fill your tank in Ojai, too, as gas stations are scarce on the next leg of the trip. Drive north on State 33 and in 6 1/2 miles you'll come to Wheeler Hot Springs (646-8131). The indoor hot tubs ($10 per person per half-hour) have a funky, 1970s redwood-and-fern feel to them, while the restaurant is airy and elegant, and offers monthly jazz concerts.

North of the hot springs, State 33 switchbacks up to 5,084-foot Pine Mountain Summit, then drops into the lonesome ranch country of the Cuyama Valley to meet State 166. Turn west and drive through the tiny town of New Cuyama, past starkly eroded badlands; in 62 miles you'll reach Santa Maria.

If you're lucky enough to hit town on a Saturday, sample the Santa Maria-style barbecue available from stands along Broadway. Otherwise, beef lovers can drive west on State 166 (now Main Street) 9 miles to Guadalupe. The town always seems melancholy to us, but the honky-tonk Far Western Tavern (899 Guadalupe Street; 343-2211) is a great place for steak. Five miles west of Guadalupe, Main Street ends at the entrance to The Nature Conservancy's Guadalupe Nipomo Dunes Preserve, about 3,500 acres of dunes and beach, perfect for long strolls; call 545-9925 to make sure the road isn't closed by drifting sand.

Double back toward Santa Maria by heading south on Simas Street, which becomes Betteravia Road. A couple of miles east of U.S. 101, Betteravia becomes Foxen Canyon Road, which makes a series of 90 [degrees] jogs (watch the road signs) before unwinding into a beautiful country road that cuts across the northeastern edge of the Santa Ynez Valley. You'll pass several wineries, including Rancho Sisquoc (934-4332), Foxen (937-4251), Zaca Mesa (688-9339), and Fess Parker (688-1545). Also nearby are Byron (5230 Tepusquet Road; 937-7288) and Firestone (5017 Zaca Station Road; 688-3940). For a complete list of area wineries, pick up Santa Barbara County Wineries, a guide available at most tasting rooms.

Foxen Canyon Road meets State 154 just west of Los Olivos: in town, the Los Olivos Grand Hotel (800/446-2455) and The Ballard Inn (800/638-2466) are choice, if pricey, places to spend the night. Go 5 miles south on Alamo Pintado Road for the bakeries, gift shops, and motels of Solvang; we also like visiting Old Mission Santa Ines (1760 Mission Drive; 805/688-4815) on the east side of Solvang.

Five miles east of Solvang on State 246, the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society Museum and Carriage House boasts beaucoup buggies (Sagunto and Faraday streets; 688-7889). East of Santa Ynez, State 154 rolls through oak-covered hills, past Lake Cachuma, and then climbs San Marcos Pass; halfway up take Stagecoach Road to historic Cold Spring Tavern (5995 Stagecoach Road; 967-0066), a good place to celebrate (or mourn) the end of your vacation; from the tavern it's 10 miles to Santa Barbara, and U.S. 101.