วีดีโอ

Thank you, Hank! Fred : )

Desert driving at night. Nothing better, Mark! -Fred : )

I agree, Bob. Now they just need to build a truck lane on CA SR 58 eastbound up to Tehachapi so we don't get stuck behind so many eighteen wheeler's. But I'm glad about the build-outs as well. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

When O.J. Simpson was in the slow speed Bronco chase, he was traveling northbound (opposite direction that I was going) and he turned off at Sunset Blvd to drive back to his house. It was a crazy day back in 1994. Fred : )

I'm with you. It makes it all so much easier to travel on, Bob. I was not familiar with Phoenix until just a couple of years ago. I had traveled through the city, but I didn't realize how many people live there until recently. They have done a great job with the construction. The 101 Loop is still under some construction with widening the edges of the freeway. They're doing a great job! -Fred : )

Hi Gabe! Yes, everyone deals with those sun position problems. Two separate strategies. For the westbound, shoot in the morning through about Noon. Anytime after that on a sunny day is going to cause those same problems for everyone. Regarding the southern driving, that's always a problem anytime in the winter when the sun's (earth's actually) position makes for a lower sun in the sky. What I have found, if you want to shoot in the winter going southbound, and especially if you are going uphill, is that it's better to shoot either earlier morning or later in the afternoon going southbound in the winter. It still can be problematic because as the road changes direction, it can still put the sun low into the camera. But that is probably the easier way to handle that. Shooting in the summer months is so much easier, other than the cameras getting hot from the temperatures. But that is what I would aim for. Westbound (any season) = Shoot in the morning. Southbound (winter only) = Shoot in the morning or the later afternoon (but before golden hour because you'll have such low light by then). The better that cameras get, the more they will be able to deal with contrast and vibration; two of our constant enemies. - Fred : )

@ I wonder what happens if you drive southbound with a camera in early morning in summer? I mean with cloudy days going southbound there could be no problem.

Also one other thing, what is the best dash cam that would mitigate this issue?

And for southbound freeway videos what time do you recommend shooting in the winter?

Between 7:00am-10:00am.

Thank you Sarah. Fred : )

There is a portion of the old cement Ridge Route just south of that intersection. It's on the east side of the current road, and it's elevated now on a berm. You can kind of climb up to it to see it. Pretty amazing it's still up there. Fred

Yes, a lot of the route is under I-5 through Santa Clarita Valley from Magic Mtn Pkwy to Castaic. Thank you for watching. Fred : )

Luckily, there aren't too many goats around those orchards. You know those Chubacabra's like them goats!

I agree. At least things are attempted to being maintained around there for accessibility.

Yes, I'm kind of a stickler for trying to take the actual original cement path. They just black topped a lot of it out of visibility between Templin Hwy and Castaic. But it will likely wear through again with weather or whatever, and it will be visible again in a few years.

Oh yes, that would be fun, Jeremy. Two things, start from the north side because the gate that is almost always locked is just about two miles north of Templin Hwy. So if you go from the north side, you will get most of it down, and you'll then just turn around and go back up. The other thing is that there are some hair pin turns towards the north side that have a lot of crumbling rocks; not huge, but just very bumpy. I've never driven a Model T Ford, and I think they have great clearance actually, but just something to keep in mind. Once you get past those maybe five or six turns, it's pretty smooth going south from there. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

@ I have been researching the route and have noticed it’s often closed throughout, so thanks for the advice for starting from the north! I’ve never driven the Model T either, but I plan to learn it well before I do the drive. It does have great ground clearance.

@ I understand that the county did not give it back to the forest service back in 2005 I believe, and portions of the road are now privately owned?

That's a great idea. One thing the Ridge Route is, aside from a little bumpy, is steep in places.

Yes, there are portions of it on the southern end, north of Templin Hwy and south of that closed gate I mentioned that belong to the ranchers. I think they let people pass through without problems. I've never had any. But the closed gate is always the problem. But it's still a nice stretch from Castic up to that closed gate to be seen. It's just not nearly as long as the part north of the gate. One other comment about route ownership. I think it's owned by several entities along the way. State Park, BLM, private as you mentioned, County. I think that's part of the issue of updating it and allowing normal traffic. The rights of way involved include multiple entities. -Fred

Thank you!

What great memories you have, SkyDiverClassic! That's cool that you have the personal memory of those days with the USFS training. And what a feat to have ridding up Edison and then all the way up the mountain all that way. I can't imagine the inclines at times on a bike. How gorgeous that must have been. I think I know Lion's Trail. We've used it now and then. It's very twisting. I prefer the route that you took and on this video. The ranches that one passes are so scenic and sprawling. I hope that the residents continue to recuperate from the fires. That was crazy, just like the fires a few weeks ago in Palisades and Alta Dena. Those drives in the Sierra Foothills are among my favorites in California. And there are so many of them going up and down the state. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

You bet, I'll try to reduce the speed a little on some of the videos. Thank you for your feedback and for watching the video, CL. Fred : )

Yeah, I really love it, SkyDiverClassic. We haven't had a lot of rain, so it's kind of half-and-half right now. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

It's a nice view, MM, as you emerge out of the Tehachapi's and see the entire southern Central Valley's lights spread out below you. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

Definitely should visit. Those types of field trips bring back a lot of memories. Thank you for watching the video, Reuben. Fred : )

I love floating over the southern Tehachapi's. As long as other drivers aren't being ding-dongs, it's a rather easy drive. Lol. Fred : )

I love the agricultural farmland, passing the almond trees and cows and such. If I'm not in a rush, I'll opt those those types of routes. Thanks, MM. Fred : )

Yeah, I've wondered that myself. I think building the highway routes also helped to alleviate the various corners and changing of streets that was necessary before one smoother route was made. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Yes, exactly right. Late summertime. I like Pass Ave because you can go either way from there; Magnolia Park or into the Media Center. Also, Olive will take you straight up towards downtown Burbank with the AMC Theaters and the restaurants up there. Love it. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Its fun! Love Universal Studio Hollywood.

Thank you. Mr. Dale is in a nice place. The National Cemetery is serene, and a nice place for a man who served our nation. Thank you for sharing that, and I will look for his marker next time that I am out there. -Fred

@@RapidTopography He went by Butch

Thank you, Rusty! They are a blast to make. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

Thank you, Brian. I really enjoy driving in those Sierra Nevada foothills. There is so much serenity in among all of that topography. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

You got it! Just a few days ago. Such a nice drive. The 40 gets really bumpy on either side of the Colorado River border right now. I hadn't noticed how much so until this drive. I wonder if there is tectonic stuff going on around the land there. Thank you for watching the video, MM! -Fred : )

@@RapidTopography nah, not seismically active there. Heat in summer months just trashes the asphalt and destroys it. Thanks again!

That makes sense. It's asphalt after all, not San Andreas' fault. Fred : )

Hi SkyDiverClassic! Firstly, I think that everyone in the entire world can see how valuable the work you did/you do is for everyone, your being a firefighter. L.A. is crazy right now, and I know about twelve people who have lost homes, mostly people I used to work with at Walt Disney Feature Animation. So thank you for the work that you did, and maybe that you still do. Secondly, yes, the divided 58 highway is such an easy drive now. It does bypass Kramer Junction, but the off ramp for U.S. 395 is really close to the old 58 and 395 crossing so I think those businesses are still doing well. A lot of people still use U.S. 395 to go north and south. And thirdly, you're right about the town of Mojave. Changing the alignment of CA SR 58 did indeed affect negatively the town of Mojave because it brought the traffic so much further north. If you're going north or south on the 14, you'll still stop through there, but I'm sure that businesses saw something like 35-40% less traffic when the new route was opened. I want to do a drive of the old 58 at some point. I'm just so backlogged with other stuff at the moment. Thank you for watching the video, and thank you for your firefighting courage! -Fred : )

Wow, thank you. Fred : )

​@@RapidTopography no problem!

Hi Bob, Pine Flat Lake is west-northwest of Sequoia by about thirty miles. But it feels very similar. I learned to ski at Wolverton Ski Area in Sequoia. Love that area! Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

@ Never knew there was a ski area in the Sequoia area!

Yes, it had two rope tows at the time, not chair lifts. The area is still accessible for recreation, like winter saucering and such, but no more skiing. I learned to ski there during the 1970-1973 years. So it was a long time ago. Fred : )

That's right, MrUCL. The RR is very winding and changes elevations quite a lot, so it must have been very tricky at the least, and treacherous in challenging weather. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

How great that you have those memories, Archie! I know that area well, actually both areas well. Shafter and Burbank. It sounds like your mom's family was on the western side of Shafter. That's a nice route to have used because 7th Standard has always been fast, and that part of Poplar is very rural until it hits the west side of Shafter. I can't imagine how long that must have felt like to be a kid in the car going through the Ridge Route. It's so circuitous as compared to I-5 nowadays, or even the RR Alternate before Pyramid Lake was dammed up. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

mom passed the 7th , they are all home

Thank you.

You must know Glendale so well, like almost every street. I always liked the library tucked in the hills, just east of Glenoaks Blvd. Maybe on Kenneth or one of those streets. Very quaint. Fred : )

Hi BelieveinJesusC, it's about 1 hour and 50 minutes with no traffic. If you're just going from Bakersfield to the San Fernando Valley, such as Van Nuys or Burbank, it's maybe ten minutes less. Thank you for watching and safe travels! -Fred : )

@ thank you 😁

You bet.

Thank you, MM! I always get a year pass for BVL because sometimes in the springtime, I like to go out there and have a quick picnic with a sandwich and a book at one of the tables near overlooking the lake. It's very serene and easy to get to. Happy New Year! -Fred : )

Hi SkyDiver! That's really cool that you have those early memories of the Ten Section Oil Lease. I was not aware of that area name. My parents and I used to drive from L.A. to Sequoia using old U.S. 99, and I don't think that portion of I-5 was yet built by Panama Lane and Enos Lane. But I didn't have occasion to be out in those western parts. It's crazy how fast housing is being built. Even Ming and Allen Rd's was an area just a few years ago that was open and is now completely built up. The same is happening by Allen Rd and White Ln soon as well. I think that Merle Haggard was covering a song that was written earlier in a different part of the country, so I don't think the little Cherokee Strip area of CA SR 43 near the Red Wagon Café was the intended subject of that song. But it is kind of funny that Merle was a Bako man, so he would have that knowledge of the Shafter area. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

@@RapidTopography It was leased by Shell Oil (my dad's employer) from Kern County Land Company, and I presume it was 10 sections, or 6400 acres in size. We lived in company housing there, and all I can remember is that the area was big. We moved out in 1967 so the freeway was just getting built around then.

Wow, that WAS a big area. I am not a native of Kern County, so I have been learning some of the history along the way. Two areas of plentiful oil that I have seen are on the way to Hart Park in Oildale below Panorama Drive, and also the Sunset-Midway Oil Fields off of CA SR 33. Both are impressive looking at night with all of the operating lights netting the hills and flats in those areas. I also learned that there was an old train route, the Sunset Railroad, which brought oil out of the latter oil fields through Bakersfield and on it's way to various refineries. Here is the link to a site I found regarding it's history: www.abandonedrails.com/sunset-railroad

Thank you, Paul. The air quality has been kind of poor lately, which is not typical of winter. Not sure why, but everywhere I've been driving it's not been super clear lately. Thank you for watching. Fred : )

Thank you MadPro! I appreciate it. I've done some of U.S. 101, but not any entire length of it. Usually I've used that route to connect between routes head to or away from the sea. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Thank you, MM! This was actually a drive I did to shoot a pick up for the Route 66 series that I did. I had thought that I had somehow lost a segment around Ludlow. But after re-shooting it and getting back home, I found that the segment was part of another video file that I hadn't considered. Oh well. I never mind a drive through the desert, just like you! -Fred : )

Yeah, it was a fun ride, though we had to get off at Balboa because of a tie up, rather than taking the 101 to Tampa. We went to Fab's Hot Dogs that day. Have you ever been there. Where the ride ends is right in front of the eatery. They have liked a hundred different types of hot dogs or something like that. If I'm not going to Pink's on Melrose and La Brea, then it's Fabs. Yum! Fred : )

Hi Automotive Gabe, I think you meant south on Balboa, not north. But I usually just take the 405 to the 101 all the way to Tampa. It's just that on this day, there was an accident just west of Balboa that had just occurred, forcing me to use Victory Blvd instead. I've used Balboa south from I-5, but it's a ton of lights, so I use is sparingly. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

@ yes that was what I meant. But that makes more sense now.

I agree. It is strange that CA SR 23 doesn't continue northwards after Fillmore. CA SR 33 goes through some pretty rugged mountains, so it is not impossible to do. Another one that drives me crazy is that Topanga Cyn, which is CA SR 27, stops at CA SR 118 northbound. In my opinion, they should have made it continue northbound to connect with Interstate 5 around Stephenson Ranch. There are so many houses in that area of Santa Clarita now that it would be nearly impossible to do. But had that been thought of, there wouldn't be such terrible traffic in the Newhall Pass every day. Probably a third of the people who go through Newhall pass are either coming or going to the northwest SF Valley. Thank you for watching the video. And have a Happy New Year! -Fred : )

Yeah, I totally hear you, Dustino. Fred : )

Thank you IHeartToodlez! Thank you for watching the video. And have a Happy New Year! -Fred : )

Hi SkyDiverClassic! I agree with you. That Olive Drive entrance is strange. They put part of it on the Old U.S. Route 99, just a very old section of it since the 99 was laying there. There are a lot of those parts to be found next to the current CA SR 99. But I don't know why they would have worked the onramp into it rather than just redesigning the whole mess. Bako has been growing like crazy, as you said. They're building developments west of White Lane and Allen Rd, as well as on Stockdale Hwy west of Heath Road. Thank you for watching the video. And have a Happy New Year! -Fred : )

Hi Dustino, your question is a very good one. Firstly if making the road a State Route requires some adjustments to the road (such as routes becoming interstates... but not with those incredibly strict requirements), then I think you have to consider the topography of the area between Santa Margarita and around McKittrick. It is very hilly and rises and falls quite a bit. Even though this is not insurmountable a problem to get past, it would be very expensive. And since CA SR 166 and CA SR 46 both allow for east-west travel above and below the 58 corridor, I think the state of California probably wants to spend money on other projects before considering it. Also, on the upper parts of the route, there are tons of ranches up there. So using eminent domain, the state would have to buy a lot of land to straighten out the alignments along the way. Lastly, the eastern section maybe 5-8 miles before you get to McKittrick, is very winding as it dips down into the Central Valley. I am just imagining that it would take a lot of work to get that section widened in a secure way to qualify as a State Route. One more thing. They have been considering adding a truck lane for the section of road between Bakersfield and Tehachapi because of how everyone gets stuck behind the trucks going up hill there. I think there is a much more likely chance of the state finding funds to do that first before the section are talking about since there is so much traffic east of Bako. These are all guesses of mine, so I really don't know, but I'll bet at least some of those issues are a play. If a road becoming part of a state route is only about where the money comes from, then my ideas above may not carry much weight. I wish the route were a bit more straightforward, and yet, part of me wouldn't want to see any of the road touched up in the plateaus where there are really pretty trees and rocks and such. -Fred : )