Fog billows gently across Monterey County's north coast, a white blanket tucked up against the hills of Aromas. Beneath its protective shroud, fishing boats gently rock, artichokes thrive, and shorebirds build nests along Elkhorn Slough. In this muffled landscape of fertile loam crisscrossed by sloughs, settlers built four distinct communities. Juan B. Castro subdivided his family's rancho to found Castroville, now known as the artichoke capital of...