There have been a few things going on as of late which have taken me away from working on the site. I have a backlog of photos to add to my US 6 tour from a trip I took recently, as well as other updates to other pages. Until recently, I worked for the DMV, something which was rather stressful toward the end, which made it difficult to work on my projects. This site is one of my larger projects, of course, but I have more than this going on. I have also been working on a geological study of an area of San Diego. Its goal is to create more precise mapping of the marine terraces in the area as well as learn more about the geology of where I live. This project and more have been basically set aside until recently.
Now, as I said, I worked for the DMV. I no longer do. I still work for the state, this time with the Division of the State Architect. I help certify that schools and other essential state buildings are built to proper codes regarding the seismic, structural, fire and life safety, as well as disabled access. It is a lot of fun working with engineers and architects on a daily basis. This new job, as well as no longer searching for a new job, has relieved me of the stress that I was previously dealing with. My mind is finally free. So, with that in mind I intend to be working on updating this site and adding a lot more to it.
In addition to the new job, something else has also come up. While not under the best of circumstances, I have recently become president of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization, a group that is dedicated to preserving and protecting the historic Ridge Route between Castaic and Gorman here in southern California. I think it will be a lot of fun and I look forward to meeting with the many other groups that can help our cause.
Working on this site has brought me a lot of joy over the years and will continue to do so for many more. I hope that the site has helped increase the understanding of the geology and infrastructure that makes up southern California. Thank you all for your support.
Recently, I became a board member of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization. This group is dedicated to helping preserve and promote the historic Ridge Route in southern California. One of the first things I have done as a part of this group is to create a new website for the group. This site is an offshoot of the “RidgeRoute.Com” site, hosted by Harrison Scott. The new site will give updates on the progress we make regarding the roadway as well as any other news pertinent to the Ridge Route. Come take a look at “http://ridgeroute.org“.
A few months ago, I decided to purchase a new domain in the anticipation of moving to northern California. Whether or not that move takes place, I still own that domain. As such, this site may be expanding in scope to cover a few more counties. The new site, NorCalRegion.Com, is still a work in progess, but will cover highways and geology in the northern half of the state. Where that line will be drawn is still being worked out. Look for updates in the coming months for these changes and expansions.
So much has been going on lately, so this may seem “rambling”. From massive fires to massive mudslides and more, it seems that the Earth just doesn’t like us. Sometimes I feel like the San Gabriel Mountains, for example, doesn’t like roadways and every once and a while – it removes them from its shoulders. I remember watching the news in Los Angeles many years ago, probably in the early 1990’s, and one of the newscasters said “Malibu must be an old Indian name for “don’t live here”” referring to the then recent fire/mudslide/rockslide problem. Such is the cycle in this climate and geology.
With this in mind, I know I have been somewhat lax in updates to the site recently. It happens from time to time. A recent project I have started is something I should have started long ago – adding California Highways and Public Works references to my “Official Highway Logs” for US 6, US 99, and other major routes in Southern California. Some of these are available on the site, although not always up to date. I’ve also been traveling. I went to the Mojave Desert with my husband and a friend over New Years weekend and will eventually add photos of the journey. It was a lot of fun, hiking the Kelso Sand Dunes as well as other areas nearby. I am also attending a Ridge Route meeting in mid-January soon. I hope this meeting is fruitful, as I believe it will be.
Keep watching the site for further updates. There is much to discuss and much more to come. Highway tours will commence sometime in February, most likely coming to US 80 and US 395 here in San Diego County. For the highway tours, please contact me for more information and to express interest.
The tour began at Devore, CA at about 8:30 am after meeting a friend, who ended up being the only person to show. After a quick briefing on what we were to see, we headed south to Verdemont, where we inspected a freeway overpass that had remained mostly intact from its original 1950’s construction. The bridge rail and approach guard rail was original and relatively untouched. From there, we headed back to Cajon Blvd and viewed the old concrete alignment at Verdemont.
Little League Drive OC over I-215
After Verdemont, we headed back to Devore to see a section of intact 1916 paving, which acts partly as a driveway for an antenna site. The paving, oil macadam, is quite rare to see these days and was pretty cool to see. Despite all it has gone through, the paving was fairly smooth with only a few major potholes. The roadway damage did also offer an opportunity to more closely inspect the paving itself. The aggregate that was used was fairly large by modern standards and appeared to be granite.
Intact 1916 macadam paving at Devore
North on Cajon Blvd, we passed a couple of C-monuments adjacent to the freeway. I first spotted these on a trip a few months ago following the Blue Cut fire. It was nice to see they were still there. Those monuments were also at the point where old Cajon Blvd merges with the “new” Cajon Blvd (the extension from Devore on a new alignment).
Looking toward I-15 at Blue Cut in the former expressway median
Our next stop was at Blue Cut. There, we checked out a plaque commemorating the history of the Blue Cut area. Blue Cut, as it was noted on the plaque, was the location of a toll booth on the original wagon road through here. We also inspected the foundations of the 1940’s weigh station, which was removed not long after the freeway bypassed this section. While we were at Blue Cut, we also watched three trains pass by, one of which was a “fast freight”, which was passing another train.
Salt Lake Trail marker from 1917
Bridge abutments in Crowder Canyon
Moving north from Blue Cut, we stopped briefly at the Debris Cone Creek bridge, then headed toward Cajon Junction. At Cajon Junction, we followed the eastern frontage road south to the end of the road. There, we found the trail monument from 1917, which was placed alongside the roadway just after it was paved. The monument itself was moved to its present location when the freeway was built. This location was also the divergence of the original path through Cajon Pass and the later roads, which eventually became US 66. As it was getting a bit hot, we moved onto our next stop – Cajon Summit.
Between Cajon Junction and Cajon Summit, the old roadway has been greatly modified. Only portions of both directions of the former expressway are still visible. The whole section, however, has been closed since the Blue Cut fire burned the area. This same fire, unfortunately, also took what would have been our lunch stop – the Summit Inn Café. The sign still remains, but the whole business is gone. It may be rebuilt, but only time will tell. So far, the site has only been cleared.
1952 Cleghorn Creek bridge rail
1916 roadway and building foundation
After stopping at the summit, it was time to work our way back down the hill. Instead of taking the freeway back to Devore, we decided it best to take the old highway once again. This time, we made an additional stop at a bridge near Swarthout Canyon Road. This stop proved to be quite interesting as we found the foundations for an old structure that was alongside the 1916 roadway. We figured the old building may have been a gas station or some other roadside service building. We also saw two more trains pass by while we were there.
We headed back to Devore to finish up the tour. By then, we were quite hungry, so we decided to have a late breakfast at Tony’s Diner. The food was decent and the location was nice. It was good to be in a nice air-conditioned building as well. Overall, the tour was a lot of fun, even though it wasn’t well attended. Next time will be better and hopefully be cooler.
