Category Archives: Los Angeles County

Ridge Route Centennial Celebration Coming Soon!

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This year, the Ridge Route will be celebrating its 100 year anniversary. While the roadway is still not fully open to travel and has not been since January 2005, it is still there and still coming up to its century mark. This celebration will be held in Lebec at the El Tejon School, located near the top of Grapevine Grade on Lebec Road. For more information, please contact the Ridge Route Communities Museum. The road also needs your help and pressure to reopen the roadway to the public. For more information about this issue, contact the Ridge Route website.

From the Ridge Route Communities website:

Centennial

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION – 10/3

It has been 100 years since the Ridge Route Road opened

Come celebrate with the Ridge Route Preservation Organization and the Ridge Route Communities Museum & Historical Society

from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

at El Tejon School right on the old two lane highway

across I-5 from Fort Tejon

There will be displays, antique automobiles, food, music,

souvenirs and a panel of speakers at 1 p.m.

Also that day there will be a

Living History Program at Fort Tejon

Highway Resources Page

I’ve recently added a new section to the socalregion website. I noticed the site was lacking in resources for local roadways. In particular, information on how to contact various local agencies for road projects, logs, and maintenance. With this in mind, I’ve added a new page to help others get their roads fixed and find out more information about those roadways. I’ve called it the “Southern California Highway Resources” page, which can be found on the Southern California Highways page and via this link.

Image of the Week – 8/15/15

Former North Burbank UP, now removed, along old US 99 in the San Fernando Valley. Built 1941.
Former North Burbank UP, now removed, along old US 99 in the San Fernando Valley. Built 1941.

Southern California – Defined?

This website started off covering a small area, the Santa Clarita Valley. I later started a second website for the San Diego area. Both sites were somewhat limited in scope. Now, with those sites combined, I’ve also increased the area that the website covers. The new name for the site, Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads seems to state a much larger area. What really is Southern California and what does part of it does this website really cover?

The region, Southern California, or So Cal by some, varies by definition. My definition isn’t exactly a standard one either but I think it is the best fitting one. Southern California is usually defined as the whole of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, western Riverside, and San Diego Counties. This constitutes much of the populated section as well as the area west (or south) of major mountain ranges. This definition leaves out quite a large area, however. It really should be “Coastal Southern California”. How do I then define Southern California and what area I plan to cover with this website? I personally define Southern California as the area south of the 119 degree line, which tends to define the northern boundaries of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino Counties. This site, however, will cover a smaller portion of that region. This website will cover, eventually, the region encompassing all of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, southern Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Imperial, and San Diego Counties.

I’ve sometimes termed this website to be a “monster”. Why do I? Every time I think it is “done”, I come up with more projects to expand the site. There is a lot to cover here in Southern California and I intend to do the best job that I can for the scope of the site. Defining those boundaries will help to at least partially limit the site’s growth.

Image of the Week – 7/11/15

Mulholland Highway and the Santa Monica Mountains just east of Kanan Dume Road. Looking northerly toward the Santa Susana Mountains.
Mulholland Highway and the Santa Monica Mountains just east of Kanan Dume Road. Looking northerly toward the Santa Susana Mountains.