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 .

Image of the Week – 2/15/2016

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Tarantula in northern Death Valley near Scotty's Castle
Tarantula in northern Death Valley near Scotty’s Castle

Image of the Week – 1/31/2016

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The Arroyo Seco Parkway near Orange Grove Ave in South Pasadena, CA.
The Arroyo Seco Parkway near Orange Grove Ave in South Pasadena, CA.

Los Angeles County Bridges coming soon!

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I’ve slowly been working on adding more pages to my Historic Bridges of Southern California section. Los Angeles County is next and is being worked on now. While the format is still a bit “fluid”, the page should be up soon. Look to the main Historic Bridges section for updates in the next couple weeks.

Image of the Week – 1/18/2016

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Hollywood Sign and Mt. Lee from Canyon View Drive
Hollywood Sign and Mt. Lee from Canyon View Drive

Old concrete near Riverside, CA

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In the Belltown area of Riverside, CA, I found a rather interesting concrete roadway on 24th St. It appears to be a part of a former alignment of either Rubidoux Blvd, Market Street, or combination of the two. It dates to August 1931 and is in very good shape. What I found most interesting was … Read more