Highway Videos

A friend of mine has been posting some really good videos on roadways throughout Southern California and Arizona. I highly recommend them as they offer an opportunity to travel some of the roads without leaving the comfort of your home during this time. Roads such as US 66 across the Mojave Desert, I-10 from Los Angeles to Phoenix, I-8 across the Imperial Valley, and more are covered. Check it out!

Forgotton Hwy

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh5_CsGFLl-Iyf79dKw6VSA

Views From The Ridge Route

In December 2019 and January 2020, I had the chance to take a couple of trips over the Ridge Route. Once this current situation is over, I fully intend to get back up there for a multitude of reasons. As I cannot get up there at present and we’re all still on some form of “lockdown”, I thought I’d share some of the photos I took up there. The Ridge Route is a very scenic route, far more than I-5 or even the “new” alignment of US 99. They all have their merits but the Ridge Route gets the best of the views. Just an FYI, some of these pics may be from earlier trips. Maybe you be the judge? Which is your favorite?

Care to help preserve the road? Head on over to the Ridge Route Preservation Organization to see what you can do to help and perhaps have the opportunity to traverse the Scenic and Historic Ridge Route.

Featured Image – 4/17/2020

Step faulting, slickensides, and heavily fractured rock

The San Gabriel Mountains have been subject to quite a bit of deformation in their past. Some of which is still ongoing, such as the movements along the Sierra Madre and San Andreas Faults. Here, near Mt Wilson, the rocks exhibit multiple instances of deformation. The white vein is mostly composed of quartz, which has been offset by multiple faults. Slickensides can be seen as the reddish areas on the right side of the photo. The surrounding materials are complex metamorphic rocks.

New Ridge Route Tour Addition

A well-photographed portion of the Ridge Route, known as the Callahan Line Change, is now a part of the Virtual Tour of the Ridge Route. This is a section that had become somewhat obscure because of later freeway construction. For more detailed information –

Featured Image – 3/3/2020

Mud Volcanoes near Schrimpf Road and Davis Road.

Near the southern end of the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley, you can find some very interesting geological features. Mud volcanoes, slowly “erupting” a fine muddy ooze, are some of the evidence of the extreme heat not far below the surface here. Gases, usually carbon dioxide, also emanate from the ground here. These mud volcanoes are more active in winter and spring, when groundwater is a little higher and the surface temperatures are a bit lower. I highly recommend a visit sometime.

Your Resource For Highways, Geology, Railroads, History, Bicycling, And More Throughout Southern California Since 1995.