Gum's recent trip this past week to Temecula CA.
Temecula has something for everyone, from the charm of Old Town, to Wineries, to world class golf courses, great weather and much more! The growth of Temecula since my first visit to Temecula is pretty amazing. I remember first experiencing Temecula to take a date to the Tractor Pull Races in 1994... Things have changed a bit since then. I think the Tractor Races are no more. I recall the lady I took to the Tractor Races was from Wildomar, CA near Temecula .. The short relationship broke up shortly after the Tractor Races it was just a bit of drive for me to drive from Newport Beach to Wildomar for a date. About 63 miles to be exact . The Temecula Tractor Races "From the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s, the tractor race filled one weekend each October with fumes and fun. Tractors – at least they were called tractors – raced around a dirt oval track that included plunging into water-filled pits that covered both racers and the spectators with more mud than the current Jeff Stone/Bonnie Garcia campaign for state Senate. The tradition began with a 1977 bet between Temecula Town Association members Bob Morris, Tommy Hotchkiss and Warner Stewart. The trio challenged each other to see who could navigate their modified tractors around a course through Old Town Temecula that included a dip into the muddy bottom of Murrieta Creek. About a dozen more participants took part in that first race. Mandatory pit stops were required along the course, not to refuel the tractors, but to quench the thirst of the drivers with a frothy adult beverage. Morris, driving his tractor named “Sodbuster,” won the first race. He beat Hotchkiss after the engine on Hotchkiss’ tractor, named “Sharecropper,” died. Thus, an event that would draw as many as 25,000 people to Temecula each October was born. In its heyday, between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, the tractor race outdrew most other regional events. As it grew, the event was held in various locations. The mayors of area cities would challenge each other to races. In 1993, Congressman Ken Calvert took a turn surfing on a bale of hay pulled by a tractor though a mud bog. Los Angeles television stations, which routinely ignored anything else going on in Southwest Riverside County, sent crews to Temecula not only cover the event but have their reporters drive a tractor and try mud-surfing. The Marshall Tucker Band, Juice Newton, Lou Diamond Phillips and other country-western stars headlined the event. But the tractor race wasn’t just about mud and suds. Money raised helped to build the original Temecula Community Center on Pujol Street and the Rancho California (now Ronald Reagan) Sports Park. Proceeds also provided scholarships for local high school graduates and supported the Town Association’s efforts to preserve Temecula’s heritage. However by the turn of the century, the event began sputter. Temecula was growing and changing. Mud was now something applied at a day spa and not from the wheels of a tractor, and organizers were finding it increasingly difficult to find enough vacant land to hold the races. Attendance dwindled and the financially pressed Temecula Town Association dropped its sponsorship of the event. Efforts by others kept the race going for a few more years, but by 2006 the tractor race simply ran out of gas and was canceled. Could The Great Temecula Race be held today? Even if some would like to relive those days when Temecula was much less politically correct – and, frankly, much more fun – it’s doubtful. Still, when October rolls around each year, it’s fun to remember those good old days and the great people who made the tractor race possible." - Article Courtesy of John Hunneman, Press enterprise 10/2014
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-great-temecula-tractor-race-celebrates-silver-2001oct06-story.html
https://www.movoto.com/guide/temecula-ca/move-to-temecula/
Gum Visits May 2022 Speak Easy in Old Town Temecula named the Apparition Room. Fun experience behind the secret entrance. http://apparitionroom.com/
Creekside Grill at the Wilson Creek Winery on the Courtyard Patio. https://www.wilsoncreekwinery.com/restaurant/
More about the Apparition Room in Old Town. Click Link below. https://mamalikestocook.com/temecula-speakeasy-apparition/
