41 from 22nd Avenue through Kettleman City is essentially the same as it always been. Interestingly if you are heading south and look to your left you can see the bed of Tulare Lake...but more on that soon. The Kettelman Hills and the Diablo Range can be seen directly ahead.
IMG_6012 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
IMG_6013 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
Kettleman City was settled in 1929 near the site of a ferry after Tulare Lake had largely dried out. The big draw was the oil fields up in the Kettelman Hills. Despite the name Kettleman City isn't an incorporated place and is an infamous speed trap for CA 41.
IMG_6016 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
Originally 41 continued south on 25th Avenue here instead of directly straight towards I-5.
IMG_6017 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
Really there isn't much to see the way of the old alignment of 41 as the roadway on 25th was apparently upgraded during the construction of I-5. Later construction of the California Aqueduct led to the original alignment getting cut-off in the Kettelman Hills but I'll touch on that in a couple photos.
IMG_6018 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
This photo is taken from behind the In-n-Out Burger in a parking lot. The California Aquaduct can be seen in the distance and 41 would have followed 25th Avenue along side it. Beyond that looking east in the low lying farm land was all once Tulare Lake which was once the largest fresh water lake west of the Great Lakes. Apparently Tulare Lake was measured at 570 square miles in 1849 to a high or 690 square miles in 1879. Tulare Lake was fed by the Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and Kern River basins which were largely engineered for irrigation or flood control. As I said before the lake level was low enough by the 1920s that the previous ferry location was settled as Kettleman City and a portion of modern CA 41 actually was within in the high crest of the lake. The last major flood of Tulare Lake was back in 1938 and it largely has remained farm land ever since. The last state highway map to show Tulare Lake was in 1922 where it can be seen directly south of Stratford:
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239609~5511903:Road-Map-of-the-State-of-California?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=81&trs=86Incidentally the Great Western Divide at over 13,000 feet in elevation can be seen way off to the east.
IMG_6025 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
Modern 41 basically is a direct southwest shot through the Kettelman Hills whereas the original alignment crossed the location of the California Aquaduct and curved through the terrain. Most of the original alignment is inaccessible save for a small strip at the gate in this picture where I'm looking in the direction of the northbound lanes. Apparently the original alignment of 41 still appears as "Old State Highway" on modern maps and can be easily seen from Google. The original alignment appears to have always been dirt/gravel and was replaced in 1960. Even the new alignment 41 uses today through the Kettleman Hills doesn't appear to have been paved along with the Kettleman Plain until 1962.
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239537~5511858:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1960?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=35&trs=86http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239534~5511856:State-Highway-Map,-California,-1961?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=33&trs=86IMG_6026 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
The original alignment of 41 crossed the modern highway at this point heading westward.
IMG_6036 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
Then used the road occupied by the current Waste Management site and wrapped around the dump site.
IMG_6037 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
Directly south of the Kettelman Hills 41 rejoined the more or less current alignment approaching CA 33. I'm fairly certain looking north that the original alignment of 41 can been seen following the power lines to the Waste Management dump site.
IMG_6038 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr
IMG_6039 by
Max Rockatansky, on Flickr