C armel Valley is long and lovely, surrounded by bosomy foothills filled with fragrant woods and clear waters. Beyond the immediate confines of the valley, loom monstrous, moody mountains filled with mystery. A side from a few upscale resorts, the Valley remains a real ranching area. Two small rustic commercial centers are the only exceptions to a long rural valley. The original creamery buildings that produced the first Monterey Jack cheese are still here.
Cowboys come to town on their horses.
High tech and organic viticulture has been established. And, there is a gently vibrant threat of art, music and craft making running through the Valley. Y et Carmel Valley is much as when Robert Louis Stevenson got lost here. Later, when Mary Austin wrote her classic early California novel, Ysidro , she set it in the Valley because it was still like early, pre American California. M onterey Jack Cheese had its beginnings in Carmel Valley.