The third day of the winter trip to Nevada. This set features exclusively California, as I headed home, down the Central Valley from Redding.


This old bridge can be found on US-99 in Red Bluff. Plenty of 1920s – and even older – bridges may be found along the historic route.


An original I-580 shield. The banners are brand new, but that gantry is specifically designed to hold two route markers: I-580, and US-50! This one is out near Tracy, where US-50 hasn’t run since 1971.


Pastels after dark. Okay, not quite so – just before dark, with a 10-stop long-exposure filter. Two minutes of total light, off the overpass looking south at highway 132.


Redding. Look at that, a correct historic shield.


Redding again – the railroad bridge across the Sacramento river.


Bridges across the Sacramento River. On the left, the Diestelhorst Bridge from 1915. On the right, its 1990s replacement.


The bright-green miracle of flash photography.


The old US-99 bridge at the north end of Red Bluff.


Old signs in Williams. These are on old US-99W. 99 splits into East and West branches in Red Bluff, and rejoins again into a single route in Sacramento.


Williams has a pair of these old button copy guide signs. The back of the other one can be seen at the other side of the intersection.


Is California turning into Massachusetts? Shieldless route number on a brand new sign on I-5 southbound.


Now that’s the proper way to do it! Classic 1967 signage, that was never even retrofitted with buttons in the early 70s.


This is California’s early 1990s shield style, complete with button copy and 1961-spec shields.


This route marker is in a far more suburban environment than what this photo would lead you to believe. It is certainly very old: white, instead of yellow, legend, and the classic 18″ size.


White signs are always nice to see… especially when attached to a 1940s wooden picket!


… tank??


A little railroad underpass on Sacramento County route J3. Unfortunately, the vandals seem to have found it.

Now, I don’t object to graffiti on general principle – I just don’t see the value in a four-tenths-of-a-second scrawl-and-run, when you could instead put in a bit of effort and come up with something like this.


A 4 shield old enough to lack the “property of the State of California” label. It actually serves a current alignment of 4, in Stockton.


And suddenly, the sunset is upon us.


Too bad this picture ended up cut off and horribly blurry, because otherwise I like it.


A couple of very dark clouds.


Brand new sign – but made to the oldest specs of them all: 1957.


Sunset in the Central Valley. Looking west from a minor farm road that crosses state highway 132 near Tracy.


Purple mountains. Really getting to the end of sunset now.


Clearly, I need to go back for this photo during the daytime. Morning, if possible. The gantry dates to 1959-62 and features the old-style narrow spade for route 2.

that’s all, folks. Next time: San Felipe, the return!