Out on a ride recently, I came upon a short stretch of original concrete from old Hwy 67. This roadway leads to San Vicente Dam and the townsite of Foster. I believe this concrete dates to the 1920’s, but I am uncertain. More research will reveal its age.
I went for a motorcycle ride today (2/7/2013) out in the eastern end of San Diego County. I bought a new leather suit and wanted to try it out on a ride. On my way out of town, I spotted a Historic Route 94 sign on current Hwy 94 near Campo Junction. I seem to remember some legislation a while back that designated Hwy 94 as a historic route. I guess this was the result of that effort. Further down the road I spotted an old alignment with concrete, one of the three sections still visible from Campo Junction to Jamul. I’ll try and get photos next time. My suit was too tight to fit a camera and I didn’t take any with my phone.
On my way home from a friends in Los Angeles on January 8, 2013, I decided to take the long way home. It was a beautiful day and I had plenty of daylight left. So, I took a turn into the mountains. It was the first time in a long time I had taken Hwy 39 – San Gabriel Canyon Road – and it was time to ride it on my motorcycle. I wanted to see where it was gated, it seems to change often how far up you can go. This time it was open through to Crystal Lake, which was good to see. I had a great time, even chatted with another motorcyclist at the gate for a while.
Once I headed back down the mountain, I headed over to the Glendora Ridge Road to meet the valley in Upland instead of Azusa. I wanted to see something different. Glendora Ridge Road is quite a lot of fun on a motorcycle, at some point I do want to bicycle it though. I saw quite a few cyclists (motor and pedal) that day, more people on two wheels than four. The snow on Mt San Antonio was a grand sight to see riding along the ridge. Winter in the San Gabriels is always a favorite of mine.
I know it has been a while since I’ve posted anything. Many things have happened. I’ve done a lot of traveling, some by train, some by car, some by bicycle, and now a new addition. Travel by motorcycle. I never saw myself on a motorcycle. I could easily talk myself out of one. I don’t own a car anymore, not since August 2011. I’ve been riding a motorcycle since November 2012 and I’ve put many miles on it so far. My motorcycle is a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 500R. Now, before you all think I’m some crazy sportbiker… mine is a bit different. It has a more upright riding position and hooks for a cargo net. It does go fast… its name is “Leonardo”. The bike is a lot of fun and is great to travel with.
Skipping a lot of travel… though I will try to post more photos from my trips as I can… I recently was on Mesa Grande Road near Lake Henshaw in northern San Diego County on my motorcycle. It was there I found this neat WPA bridge with brass letters still in place. Adjacent to it was the original bridge, or what was left of it. I figure it was from the 1910’s or earlier by its construction.
On Sunday, I went to the Redlands area to drop off a friend. I figured, why not see some old highway in the area and make the trip back more fun? So, after dropping him off, I headed over to Redlands Blvd. This is a section of old US 99 that still retains its concrete paving from the late 1940’s. I never really got any photos of it before, so it was good to see it still there. From Citrus Ave east, the roadway is more of an expressway, with a wide median and limited access.
After Redlands, the next section of old highway would prove a bit more interesting to get to. It was a short section of concrete paving, from the 1920’s most likely, and was located adjacent to the 10 freeway. I had to actually pull off the freeway shoulder to drive the short section. It was pretty neat, seeing as how this had been realigned so many times since that concrete was poured. I was hoping to return to the freeway by simply driving through. That idea was quickly thwarted when I found a tall curb at the shoulder. I had to back up and get on where I pulled off. So much for trying to be inconspicuous!
My next stop would be Robert Rd, near Cherry Valley Blvd. This section is threatened with removal or repaving as it is adjacent to a new large housing tract. So far, it is still intact. This nice concrete section dates to about 1928 and is one of the last sections of intact concrete around here. I took many photos here, hoping they wouldn’t be my last. The economic slowdown seems to have helped here, as the housing tract construction has slowed dramatically. At this point, I figured, I’ve gone this far… might as well go to the 60 junction and look around. So, I got back on the freeway, and took the San Timoteo Canyon Road exit. A frontage road heads east here, on the south side of the freeway. A portion of it is old US 99, complete with a 1939 bridge over San Timoteo Creek. Upon closer inspection of the bridge, I found that the eastbound I-10 bridge was also a part of old US 99. It was the original westbound bridge for the expressway, built in 1951. Now traffic is going the wrong way over it, from a historical context. One final stop was to be made, the old US 99 / US 60 / US 70 junction at the edge of Beaumont.
I’d seen what appeared to be bridge piers and concrete approaches to an old bridge just north of the current SR-60. It turns out, that is exactly what they were. In 1936, the current westbound bridge for SR-60 (old US 60), was built. It replaced an earlier bridge, the one that I had been seeing pieces of. Today was finally my chance to walk around and see the old pieces. I was rather amazed at how much was left, considering how long ago it was all torn out. A fair amount of the eastern approach to the bridge remained, most of it buried under a thin layer of dirt. There wasn’t anything left of the western approach. I also got some photos of the exit sign for the 60 West from the 10 East. The sign was from 1960, and was overlaid with a SR-60 sign. Yes, there is a US 60 shield under there… just hope the overlay panel falls off at some point! After hiking around, it was time to head back. The approaching storm was getting worse, and the winds were picking up. I had a long drive ahead, and didn’t really want to do it in heavy rain. Thankfully, all I had to deal with was heavy winds and dust at times. I finally got to see some sections of old US 99 that I either hadn’t seen before, or weren’t sure were still around. More trips will be made up this way, just not during summer.
