The AARoads Blog

Some photos, from a visit to the Laws Railroad Museum, in Bishop, California in October, 2010.

Enthusiasts of railroads, old highways, and the general western frontier experience are strictly obligated to check it out.

the Laws Railroad Museum

this is a photo gallery of their highway sign collection. They mainly focus on the Auto Club of Southern California, as they are the ones who signed the Bishop area between 1913 and 1947 exclusively. Their sign collection concentrates mainly on the 1910s and 1920s, with a couple of 1930s and later items as well.

This is just the left wall of one tiny corner of the museum! An incredible display of highway signs from the 1910s and 1920s. The one on the left says “Indian Picture Rock” – (thanks Jason and Shemp!).

Many guide signs referring to the Bishop area, including Beatty Station from Death Valley (leftmost diamond-shaped sign).

Topping it all off, a Grand Army of the Republic Highway marker, representing US-6 between Provincetown, MA and Long Beach, CA, as was designated in 1952.

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The last of the trip from December ’07. Utah, Nevada, and California.

Nope, this is not the Great Salt Lake – this is the Bonneville Salt Flats in winter, when there is a thin layer of collected rain and melted snow… and people drive in it.

Tiny houses, colossal mountains. Somewhere in Nevada at sunset.

Well past dusk, near Battle Mountain, Nevada.

Donner Lake, the next morning.

Clouds over the east bay. The view from I-680; and yes, that part of California is greenest in … January.

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not featuring any photos from Union County – this was the return trip of over 1200 miles, in time to even show up to work in mid-afternoon!

We are on an old US-70 alignment, and here is the obligatory photo of the curves warning sign with the treacherous mountains in the background.

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The first in a series of articles about historic highway signage. We will be featuring many, many more articles, on a great variety of sign-related topics, on the AARoads Shield Gallery.

This Midland Trail overview is made possible by the indispensable research of Devon Mich’l, the foremost authority on Nevada highway signs in general, and especially the Midland Trail. All accurate facts in here are to be credited to Devon. Any misinformation, on the other hand, is certainly due to my oversight!

Overview

The Midland Trail was an unimproved wagon trail dating to the 1860s that crossed central Nevada and served the silver and gold camps of Tonopah and Goldfield in the early 1900s. It was still nothing more than a dirt trail in 1913 when it received its name, Midland Trail, as part of a much longer transcontinental route of that name. It became the first road in Nevada to be federally funded.

In this article, I talk only about the westernmost section of the Midland Trail, from Ely, Nevada (where it met the Lincoln Highway) to its terminus in Los Angeles.

The Automobile Club of Southern California marked the route very well, starting in 1915. With the Midland Trail well marked from Ely, Nevada to Los Angeles, Southern California was now connected to the Lincoln Highway.

A portion of the Midland Trail that survives near Goldfield, Nevada, in condition similar to what was seen in the 1910s. Photo by Devon Mich’l, 2009.

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a visit this 4th of July weekend to sunny Union County, New Mexico. Just a brief dash of a trip: 2500 miles in two days driving, and then two days spent there being lazy and taking pictures of bees.

Sunny Union County is inhabited by huge bees.

Little house on the prairie.

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Photos from late August of this year, when Daniel Brim and I drove from California to New Mexico … in a moving van. Always fun doing three-point turns on narrow old alignments. We stopped at Antelope Canyon along the way – and this set will not include any pictures from there, as it ends just as we get there. The next batch will be the canyon itself.

Part of the collection of someone who wishes to remain anonymous. Well, the signs are visible to anyone from the public right-of-way, so you can go find them if you want! This style of directional sign, complete with glass reflectors, was used on high speed thoroughfares from 1933 to the early 50s.

Nevada state route 167 branches off of old US-91. The road is lit from the side by a truck stop immediately behind us, that serves Interstate 15.

The truck stop, now with actual truck.

The Virgin River Gorge – Arizona interstate route 15. Whereas old US-91 went around it, I-15 was blasted straight through, saving about 30 miles.

Fires in Los Angeles result in skies like this in Utah.

One from Dan, from the same general vicinity. His pictures can be found here. Go look, as his are generally like mine, except more awesome.

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More from my New Mexico trip of November 2008, including some actual New Mexico this time.

On the mountain pass between Chama, New Mexico, and Cumbres, Colorado – both states call this one highway 17. The sky was dark blue, just after sunrise – the snow is that bright, and there is just that little atmosphere, at 10,000 feet.

Sunset over the plains of northeast New Mexico. Old US-64 (now state highway 325) near Capulin Volcano.

An undisclosed location in northeast New Mexico, home to my friend Dale. Certainly no old signs to be found anywhere.

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Time for some photos from my trip from San Diego to eastern New Mexico and back, in November 2008. This batch is from the first day of my trip, and is heavily centered around Utah. Specifically: highway 95 in southeast Utah, crossing the Colorado River in red rock country.

The only button copy sign in Nevada. This one is very, very old.

Ominous clouds over old US-91 in southern Utah.

Red rock country. Utah, everybody.

Highway 95 at sunset.

Highway 95 somewhat past sunset. This wide-angle shot (about 140 degrees field of view!) is made possible by a fisheye lens and a rectilinear conversion tool. Large version of image is 7000 pixels wide!

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Finally got my chance to take the new South Bay Expressway (California 125) toll road this month, a November 2007-opened facility connecting California 54 near Sweetwater Reservoir with California 905 (Otay Mesa Road) near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Its a sleek road, providing four lanes of concrete with sweeping vistas of desert hills and suburban sprawl. Tolls are levied at all interchanges and the minimum for Fasttrak holders is 75 cents and cash customers of $3.00. Traveling the entire length of the 8.6-mile road entails a $3.75 toll for Fasttrak holders and $4.50 for cash customers.

Heading south on California 125 near Sweetwater Reservoir.

The road is operated by the Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) toll consortium, with concessions lasting until 2042. In addition to connecting California 54 and Interstate 8 to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, the toll road serves a number of developments including the Otay Ranch Town Center, Village Walk, and Eastlake Village. The road was built with these developments in mind and drivers will notice that blended landscape in places where new buildings and the road come together.

Approaching Exit 7 (Otay Lakes Road) on California 125 south.

The south end presently concludes with California 125 ending at a traffic light with California 905 (Otay Mesa Road). California 905 represents an east-west route linking Interstates 5 and 805 with the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Upgrading of the highway to limited access standards is currently underway as part of a $619-million project.

A main line toll plaza for the South Bay Expressway resides near Brown Field and the end with California 905 (Otay Mesa Road). Fastrak account holders continue through as freeway speeds while cash paying customers must depart and enter a conventional toll plaza.

Presently California 905 exists as a freeway between Interstates 5 and 805 and the POE northward to Airway Road. Work on construction a new six-lane freeway between the existing freeways was recently partitioned from Phase 1 into separate Phase 1A and 1B projects due to funding constraints.

The at-grade intersection with Airway Road was eliminated by July 2009 as crews build a new roadbed for California 905.

Phase 1A involves building a new freeway to the south of existing Otay Mesa Road from Britannia Boulevard eastward to a merge with the existing freeway at Siempre Viva Road. Work on this project is well underway as of July 2009.

Looking south from Otay Mesa Road at construction of California 905 above La Media Road.

Phase 1B continues construction of the new freeway west from Britannia Boulevard to the Otay Freeway at Interstates 5 and 805. Additional phase to follow include Phase 2, improvements at CA-905 and I-805′s junction, Phase 3, building of a high-speed interchange between the South Bay Expressway and CA-905, and Phase 4, completion of the Heritage Interchange ramp.

Sources:

• SR 905 Fact Sheet

this is the hideous first post of the AARoads Shield Gallery blog … well, it’ll be part of AARoads’s general On the Road blog, but it’ll be the one visible by default by people who click on the “Blog” link on the shield gallery.  I will be posting photos of my driving adventures across the country (and, occasion, around the world!) – it will focus on highway shields, with the occasional excursion for scenery and old bridges.

I’ll be posting photos old and new, and here to start us off is a sample of a highway sign.  Yep, it’s painted directly on the road, somewhere around Amboy on old 66 in California.