I am back! Thanks for all the great comments while I was gone. I look forward to seeing what you all have been posting while I was gone
Today, if you wish to drive north from Los Angeles towards the San Joaquin Valley, you can comfortably speed along the eight-lane Interstate 5. This was not always so. From 1915 to 1933, motorists navigated 48 miles of torturous hairpin curves and steep grades along the Old Ridge Route between Castaic and the Grapevine. The exhausting trip (speed limit: 15 mph for cars, 12 mph for trucks) easily took an entire day. The route was replaced in 1933 by the much straighter, wider and less harrowing Highway 99, also known as the Alternate Ridge Route. Interstate 5 opened to motorists in 1960. These photos were taken on an outing along what is left of the Old Ridge Route a couple of weeks ago.
