All posts by Michael F Ballard

Michael F Ballard is the author and administrator of the Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads website, https://socalregion.com, since 1995. I have been studying the geology and highway history throughout southern California for most of my life. I am also the President of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization. Founder of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California, https://historic99.org .

Featured Image – 10/7/2020

Historic US 99 indeed!

In addition to my license plate for my Honda CBR650FA, I have added a frame for the Ridge Route. In time, I hope to be able to get these made as a fundraiser for the Ridge Route Preservation Organization, and not just for motorcycles. I shall also be finally taking this plate, and the motorcycle over the entirety of the Ridge Route in the not-too-distant future.

Featured Image – 9/17/2020

Looking south toward the closed section of Highway 39 from Angeles Crest Highway (State 2) in 2009

A look back to happier times in the San Gabriel Mountains. Taken on August 22, 2009, just a few days before the Station Fire started. Over the past few days, this section of the mountains has burned in the Bobcat Fire, which is ongoing.

A request for Visitors

I know this is a bit of a different post, but I am asking for a bit of help with the website. As this site has been up for a long time (25 years now), it has gone through many changes. In the late 1990’s, I had to shrink the size of the site, which resulted in images being cropped or otherwise made smaller. Some of those images persist today. Other times, full size images didn’t quite move over as I had hoped when I changed formats or framework for the site. What I ask is this – If you find an image / map / whatever that when clicked on is still small, please let me know! Include a link to the image and the page it is on, so that I can track it down and correct it. I would like to have full size images, when possible, as they may help illustrate what I was trying to show a lot easier. I have most of the original images in their original size, so it won’t be tough to do.

Contact Information

New Page – Fire Resources

With all the fires going on, it is important to get your information from the right sources. I’ve found that going to the agencies actively involved is the best option. A new page of resources for fire information regarding mapping and fire departments has been added to this site. The new page can be found under the Civic Information menu. If you know of other pages that should be added, please let me know!

Southern California Fire Resources

New Instagram Account

So far, my foray into social media has been just Twitter. I have used the account, partly as a means to promote the site, but also as a means to help distribute information regarding highway projects, wildfires, earthquakes, and a lot more. So far, it has been working well and has come in very handy during some events, such as the Ridgecrest earthquakes and the recent fires.

As an extension of the Twitter account, I’ve also been experimenting with a new Instagram account. I figured, why not? There are a lot of interesting photos on there from Caltrans, USGS, and other sites of interest. The account is not a personal one, per se, as it focuses on this site and what it covers. I’ve been posting some images there of varying interest. Come check it out!

https://www.instagram.com/michaelfballard/