roadhound

What is a no hunting tire? A Wall Drug billboard every 5 miles? That seems like a high concentration of advertising for a road with so many pheasants wandering around. Roadhound

Welcome Chad. Class of '81 and a photographer. You'll fit in here just fine. I haven't spent much time in South Dakato but I look forward to seeing how you've been able to capture it. Cheers, Roadhound, Class of '81, photographer.

Godspeed Keep. We anxiously await your reports. I am right on the cusp of those recollections. I was born in '63 and have some recollections of the small town and regionality that you mention, but its a memory that may not be from actual experience but rather a perception of how it was that was formed after the fact. If that makes any sense. I think those of us who grew up in the 60's, 70's, and 80's saw the tail end of a great transformation of American Society that started in the 1940's when we made the move from a regionally based economy to a global one, which is the world we live in today. By the time I started to experience the freedom of my teenage years the small downtown with its stores and shops had been replaced by large shopping malls, non-descript strip malls, and wharehouse size stores. That is especially true growing up in California. The city I grew up in did have a downtown but I can honestly say that I only went there once or twice. The destination of choice was the mall. I hope you find a taste of what this country was like back then. Roadhound

Peter, One thing I didn't mention in my previous postings was what weather to prepare for. Typically in July you can expect it to be warm to hot, depending on where you are. I would expect Techachipi to be in the 90+ range as well as most areas in the LA basin. Along the Northern California Coast is a different story with the temperatures ranging from mild to cold and foggy. There is probably a good chance that you will go over the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog. Mark Twain, or was it Jack London, in any event someone once wrote that the coldest winter he had ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. The vendors at Fisherman's Wharf make a killing on sweatshirt sales to unsuspecting tourists in the Summer. The Sonoma area should be pleasant with the possibility of high overcast in the morning and warm afternoons. In summary, pack the shorts and t-shirts as well as a light jacket and sweater. This weather report brought to you by Roadhound

I-680 is just another highway, nothing particularly spectacular in its construction. I should know since I had the opportunity to examine much of it while stuck in commute traffic when I commuted into the Silicon Valley. It was built in the late 60's as growth in the San Ramon Valley started to demand more than 2 lane roadways. This time of year it's a pleasant drive with plenty green hills to look at. Niles Canyon on the other hand is a rather spectacular drive for an urban area, especially this time of year when the poppies and wildflowers are in bloom. Roadhound

Avoid 101 through the Bay Area during commute hours if at all possible. You would be going reverse commute between Gilroy and San Jose but north of that expect stop and go traffic through to San Francisco. Another option on the peninsula is I-280. It's not a bad drive for an Interstate. Like I said in my earlier post, CA-1 along the San Mateo coastline is an alternative that bypasses the peninsula traffic and takes you right to the GG bridge. I do feel that you will have regrets covering all 300 miles in a single day but it will give you a reason to come back. Roadhound

Peter, Welcome in advance to the Golden State! I can't help much with diners as I have two teenage kids and fast food is typically where we end up dining. The only things I know about Southern California are the air museum's and there are some good ones in San Diego and Chino. I couple of suggestions I would have is when you are in the Tehachapis stop at the Tehachapi Loop. Its about 7 miles west of the town of Tehachapi and it is classified as one of the 7 railroading wonders of the world. A train passes through approximately every 45-60 minutes and it is impressive to see the train pass over itself as it makes its way up or down the pass. On your trip northward from Santa Barbara you have 2 options. You can stay on 101 and follow the El Camino Real. This was the route of the Spanish Missionaries that founded California. The road passes a number of Spanish era missions with (in my opinion) Mission San Antonio de Padua worthy of a stop. It is located on an Army base so be prepared to show ID at the gate. Being on an Army base has kept it preserved as it would have been back in the late 1700's. 101 will also take you north through the Salinas Valley, which is an area that John Steinbeck based many of his stories, before reaching the Bay Area. The John Steinbeck museum is located in Salinas. North of Salinas you could cut over to Santa Cruz and follow highway 1 up the coast to the Golden Gate Bridge, which would avoid much of the Bay Area congestion. Another alternative north of Santa Barbara is to follow CA 1 all the way up. This would be by far the most scenic of routes but be advised that it could be slow going as you wind in and around the mountains of Big Sur. Before Big Sur be sure to stop in San Simeon at the Hearst Castle and take a tour, its amazing what money can buy. The coast between San Simeon and Carmel is very rugged and would require most of a full day to drive through. Carmel, Monterey, and Santa Cruz are all worth spending some money, er, time in. From there continuing up 1 is the most scenic, unless you've tired of seeing the ocean. Hope this helps get you started. Any other info or clarification you need to hesitate to ask. There is one caveat to recieving this info...you have to share your trip with the rest of us. Roadhound, Native Californian

The Spruce Goose is at the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Another worthwhile stop if you're in the neighborhood. http://www.sprucegoose.org/ Roadhound

Salivating...you got that right. Most of that collection has been tucked away safely in hangars either waiting for restoration or post restoration. From what I have heard the details are incredible down to recreating the original wiring, connectors, avionics. Everything is exactly as it would have been when it rolled off the assembly line. All are in flying condition although many may be too rare ever to get the wind under their wings again. I know the Oscar is one that I have never seen up close. It sounds like a great destination for a summer trip. Now all I have to do is figure out a route that will take me through Central Nevada, to pick up the 1/2 of a dollar bill that is waiting for me at Golconda Summit, and then circle back around and come in from the East into Washington. That 1/2 of a dollar bill is going to end up costing me a $100 bucks in gas. Roadhound

Paul Allen's museum should be quite a site to see. He has a huge collection of rare warbirds that have been rebuilt to factory new condition. Roadhound

Another writer that lived in and described the area was Edward Abbey. I read Desert Solitaire before my first trip through the area almost 20 years ago and later the Monkey Wrench Gang. His writings where mostly from the 60s through 70's and whether or not you agreed with his politics his vivid descriptions of the Southwest can't help but inspire you to want to see it for yourself. Roadhound

I was looking forward to those reports to start rolling in. Boy will they be surprised when you drop off the RV rig and its coated in red dirt. Tell them you were following the map...from 1918. Roadhounds

I knew you couldn't resist a good on-line research project Keep. The topo does one thing for me is to help clarify the road alignment north of the railroad trestle. I wasn't sure if the roadway came through what is now an orchard or followed the trestle like what is shown on the topo. I walked on the north side of the trestle and there is a dirt path following the base but I did not see any evidence of a concrete roadway. There is also an underpass about where the Mossdale School would have been. The 1913 topo shows a road going underneath the railroad tracks which is about where Manthey Rd. passes underneath today. (just off the top edge of the map that I posted). Current Manthey Road underpass, formerly the roadbed for US 48 and US 50. The Manthey School site would have been on the other side of the underpass to the right. As for the location of the bridge it is difficult to tell but it does look like the angle is the same as the present Manthey Rd. bridge. I can't really tell how tall the levee along the river is but I suspect it may not have been as high as it is today and if the bridge was in the same exact position it would have been a 25-30 foot climb to the bridge from the remaining concrete section. I don't think I see that represented on the topo. My theory is that the bridge was built very close to the same position but much higher above the San Joaquin River than its predecessor. It would be interesting to find out when the levee was built and\or raised to it's present level. That area floods on an average of about every 8 years and would have been even more prone to flooding back then. Roadhound

It was traveling through the San Jouquin Valley yesterday in looking for subjects to test out my new camera and lens and stopped at a place that I had passed hundreds of times but never stopped and investigated. Mossdale Crossing is between Stockton and Tracy along I-5 in California's Central Valley. The area has a rich transportation related history going back to the Transcontinental Railroad, Lincoln Highway, US50 and now I-5. Brian Butko described the Lincoln's route in "Greeting from the Lincoln Highway (pg 268)" this way: The Lincoln follows a frontage road to Louise Ave, where it jogs to the west side of I-5 (marked in orange) and goes south on Manthey Rd.(marked in white) At Mossdale, about where CA Route 120 branches south (marked in yellow), the Lincoln and I-5 cross the San Joaquin River Bridge. The Lincoln Highway got a new bridge in 1926-a concrete rainbow-shaped span still in use. The adjacent Mossdale Crossing commemorates the final link in the first transcontinental railroad. The San Joaquin River drawbridge connected San Francisco with the cross-country portion that ended in Sacramento. The railroad drawbridge is not the original that was opened in 1869 as the date plate above the railbed says 1942. Before the 1926 bridge was built how did autos get across? Did it replace a previous bridge that is no longer there? Mossdale Crossing. Lincoln Highway roadbed and railroad trestle. The roadbed in the photo is circled in red on the image above. Lincoln Highway roadbed and railroad bridge. Union Pacific railroad bridge built in 1942.

Keep, Sounds like a great trip. The last time I was through there was 18 years ago on a trip through the Four Corners area, Santa Fe, and up to Colorado Springs. Along the way we stopped in Zion, Bryce, nearly ran out of gas on the way to Capitol Reef, and Moab. I've got quite a few slides from the trip that I hope to get around to scanning someday. There is no shortage of things to see out there. One thing I do recall is that in Monument Valley you had the option of either driving your car into the Valley for $2 or paying $14 for the dual axle guided tour. The road into the valley had 12 inch deep potholes every few feet that you had to navigate around, which resulted in a line of cars inching their way along. The car I was driving at the time was a company fleet vehicle that I was getting ready to turn back in and so I really didn't care how much damage I did, as long as I was able to drive it back home. That car never ran the same again. Don't be a cheapskate, pay for the guided tour. I look forward to seeing your road report. Roadhound

I try to camp as often as possible on road trips. It doesn't happen very often when my wife is along but if it is just my son and I we prefer camping. I've even been able to convince my 11 year old daughter to give it a try. Camping under the stars beats an RV or hotel room any day. Last summer my son, father, and I mixed it up between campgrounds and cheap hotels so that we got to shower every few days. The stories that I have read of early auto travels across the country always included camping as part of the accomodations, especially in the west. It is my duty to follow in the spirit of the early road travelers and pitch my tent. Roadhound

Perspective is a funny thing. I can recall driving on a trip with my parents in Northern California while I-5 was being built sometime in the mid to late 60's. I remember we were forced to alternate between the two lanes of 99W and the interstate in what must have been 10 mile stretches (I wasn't really paying attention to that detail). When we we're on the 99W 2 lane roadbed the traffic would bunch up behind a slow moving truck and the traffic coming the other way was to heavy to attempt a pass. The faster moving cars would wait until they hit the interstate and it would be a mad dash to pass all of the slower moving vehicles before getting back on the 2-lane road. Once we stopped at the diner for breakfast we watched all of those slow moving trucks pass us by. I also have a vivid memory from while we were on the 99W sections of looking across and seeing the earth moving equipment building the Interstate. That memory appears a lot from my early travels as a kid. The last few times that I have driven that stretch of road the view has been from the Interstate looking at the old 99W roadbed. Once in a while I will take an offramp and drive the old highway.

I disabled the option to add comments for the galleries on my web page. I had to spend to much time cleaning up the rude and irrelevent comments that were being posted there. It sucks that the few have to ruin it for the rest of us. Roadhound

I just picked up a Dwight Yoakam's "Dwight Sings Buck" CD the other day and I have to say it is really good. I'm not much of a country fan but I do like the Bakersfield sound. Of course that's US 99 and this should probably be posted in the Pacific Highway/US 99 forum. Roadhound

This is truly a loss. I feel lucky to have passed through their twice in the last 3 1/2 years. On our first pass through my family walked down the street looking through the storefronts, many of which still had the cash registers, shopping carts, and meat coolers still inside. It looked like somebody walked away 50 years ago. Each of the store fronts had a write up on the history of that particular store, many with a picture showing how it looked back in the day. The Bargain Barn was the only store open and we bought some refreshments to take along as we continued on towards Twin Falls. Last year my father son and I walked briefly through the old part of town and it truly was a ghost town with nobody there on a Sunday morning. A freight train rolled through town but didn't stop. Trains bypassed Wells long ago. The town of Wells and the people that call it home will survive and rebuild. Unfortunately I have to agree with Dave that this little piece of American history, a national treasure, has been lost. Rick

The side by side comparison really helps to illustrate the extent of the damage. It looks like there were a few collapsed roofs as well as a lot of unreenforced masonry. Roadhound

I saw on my local news this evening that Wells, Nevada was hit by a decent size earthquake. It looked like quite a few buildings were damaged along 6th St and those interviewed on the clip said that nearly every building in town sustained damage to some degree. I found this article via a google search. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles...it_by_60_quake/ Here's what 6th st looked like last summer. Roadhound

Another attraction on 101 that would attach the bumper signs was Sea Lion Caves. I don't recall getting one of those on that particular trip but I do remember seeing them. Great bit of advertising as every car you would pass on 101 would see the big yellow sign on your bumper coming at them. The youngins' in the backseat can read and after seeing the rolling billboards pass by for a hundred miles they would let the parents know when they got there. That's probably why we stopped. (we weren't distracted by DVD's or Gameboy's back then.)

They were still tying on those signs at least into the early 70's. I remember stopping there with my parents on a trip to Canada around '70 or '71 and they tied one of those on the front bumper of my parents station wagon. It stayed on the whole trip up to Vancouver, across to Saskatchewan, and back home. When we got home my dad took the sign off the bumper and I stuck it on my bedroom wall, bug splats and all. Could you imagine what would happen today if someone came and wired a sign on the bumper of some guys Vette? Different times. Roadhound

Very cool. What surprised me most was how much is the same. The Civic Center exit off of 101 hasn't changed much in the last 40+ years. The only difference I noticed was the center divider. The drive over the Golden Gate Bridge looks the same today too. Any idea what the big storage tank along the waterfront would have been used for? I don't remember ever seeing that before, but then again I was 2 years old when that movie was shot. Quite a bit has changed along the SF waterfront over the years, much of it for the better. The SF Skyline is different now too, the Transamerica Pyramid hadn't been built yet. Thanks for sharing that Keep. Roadhound