100 years ago, before the 5 fwy, people drove along the Ridge Route to get from LA to Bakersfield…read more It was was a 44 mile, two-lane, highway. It opened in 1915 and was in use until 1968 after it was replaced by the 5 fwy. Much of the road runs through the Angeles National Forest and passes by many historical landmarks. It's interesting to read about it's history and to view some of the old ruins. One of it's more distinctive sections is Deadman's Curve, located at the base of the grapevine. The Ridge Route is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. There two access points that allow you to drive along southern sections of the road. From Los Angeles head north on I-5 freeway. Exit at Castaic and take Parker Rd to the Ridge Route. This route only lets you experience a small portion of the road. It was blocked off after storm damage in 2005. I recommend continuing along 5 fwy north and exiting at Hwy 138 heading toward Lancaster. You'll pass a reservoir on the left and you will eventually see a sign for "Old Ridge Route" located on the right. This route provides some nice views of the area and also allows you to see some of the locations of the historic hotels. Sections of the road can be a little rocky since it's no longer maintained.

In this time of coronavirus isolating, this is a nice getaway. We found an entrance off of 138 just…read moreeast of Quail Lake and headed south. It is very remote and in places the one hundred year old road bed is covered with dirt and rocks from slides. Most of the people we saw were on touring type motorcycles, SUVs and trucks hauling bicycles, and a few off road enthusiasts. It is beautiful country to travel thru, everyone we saw was driving very carefully and respectfully. There was a huge locked gate after a while and we turned around and went back to 138. Then we went back south on I 5 to Templin highway east. After a few miles we hooked back onto the Ridge Route and followed it all the way into Castaic. The first section off of 138 was much more scenic and beautiful. We saw a few cars, but it is better to be in a vehicle with good ground clearance. In the bad spots there are very many sharp rocks, there is a need for good tires too. We had a great afternoon and were able to get away during this time, while still practicing the social distancing. Our trip was taken in a two wheel drive half ton Silverado, we had no trouble. I can see that if there was bad weather, this would not be a good road to be exploring.

Sylmar is a neighborhood located in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County…read more Local places that stand out in Sylmar are: Los Angeles Mission College, El Cariso Park, El Cariso Golf Course, Basement a live escape room, Wildlife learning center, MB2 Raceway and Veteran's Memorial Community Regional Park for hiking and outdoor fun. Sylmar also has history I have attached a wikipedia link for all to explore. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylmar,_Los_Angeles

I am familiar with this Sylmar due to one of my best friends living there. Her family is investing…read morein real estate bigly. Why?....because Sylmar is being gentrified at a fast rate and in that, there is money to be made. Luxury housing is juxtaposed from within a block or two of original dwellings of years ago. Median house prices are substantially lower than in Hidden Hills at this time. Some may be able to still eek out some coinage and drop it on a house in Sylmar, then you don't have to have a frickin landlord follow you around. You have a 1 in 52 chance of becoming a victim of crime, far lower than Eureka = 1 in 16 chance. Why does Sylmar have such a bad rap? Very likely because it doesn't have Nike store.

This road is actually named Honda "Civic Musical Road"…read more This is a unique musical road located in Lancaster on Avenue G between 30th & 40th Streets West. It spent less than one month in its' original spot in a residential area before being moved. The sound carried for about a half a mile away and nearby residents didn't appreciate it. There are grooves in the road that is supposed to play sounds making music when you drive at least 55 mph. The grooves look like a long version of the shorter rumble strips which you see running along the sides of the roads that let you know when you're veering off the road. ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/musical-road-lancaster?select=Esbtlv1NtNa_ifaPenUa-Q ) Make sure you are heading West in the far left lane and driving at least 55mph. No matter how you drive it, the musical tones are off. It's out of tune to say the least. The spacing of the grooves were installed correctly, but the width were NOT, so they didn't get the details completely right. Sad thing is is that they used the same exact plans twice (original location & here). They didn't bother to correct their mistakes! Anyways, if you want to attempt to hear the music, you should hear a bit of the finale of the William Tell Overture. All in all, it's a fun little activity that I insisted on having hubby drive over multiple times! **Take a side trip: There is another better sounding & lengthier musical road called R. Lee Ermey nearby in Palmdale. It plays the "Marine Corps Hymn".

Such a fun roadside surprise! If you're in the Lancaster…read morearea, the Musical Road is definitely a cool little stop. It's literally a stretch of G Avenue that plays music as you drive over it--yes, actual music from the grooves in the pavement. It's quirky, quick, and one of those "why not?" detours that always makes people smile. Super easy to find, plenty of room to pull over before or after, and it's a fun way to add a little adventure to your day. Definitely worth checking out at least once!

There's a lot of history here, but honestly, not a whole lot left to see. You can park at either…read morethe bottom of an old road or at the top. Parking is easy in any case, and appears to be completely legal. On a prior visit I parked up at the top, so today I parked at the bottom, near the old power station. It's an easy 2-mile hike or so to get to the main ruins, if you start from the bottom road. There are occasionally bikers or hikers around--most of whom know about the history of this terrible event. Today I met a nice motorcyclist who gave me a few tips on interesting things to see in the area. The trail was actually flooded at the northernmost part of the road, so I could not easily go any further, but I still saw most of the old remains, or what's left anyway. The local Historical Society occasionally gives tours through the dan. I think that would be a better option, since they can better explain the history and highlight what one sees. Without a special guide, it's not obvious what you're seeing. For the geocachers in the group, there's half-a-dozen geocaches spread throughout the ruins. TIP: One thing I noticed is that the internet is very spotty in this area. So don't count on your smartphone being able to work. The internet was also bad when I continue driving north on my way to Palmdale. In fact I could not get any bars at all for quite a while. So all in all, I think it is worth the visit, but bring a knowledgeable guide with you.

The remants of the dam are still visible and the story behind the tragedy of the dam is an…read moreimportant part of California history. The hike itself is easy and children could hike to it. Before you reach the trailhead there a timeline and plaque in remembrance to the dams disaster event. If you are ever in the Santa Clarita Valley area I suggest a pit stop for some history and a easy hike.

In January 2003, John Quigley spent 71 days sitting in the branches of Old Glory protesting a…read moredeveloper's plans to remove the tree and make way for a road. John Laing Homes was attempting to cut down this 400 year old tree in order to widen Pico Canyon Road from two lanes to four. Quigley's efforts gained national attention and resulted in the developer eventually agreeing to move the oak a quarter-mile to the east, where it now sits in the center of Pico Canyon Park.

I stopped to visit the Old Glory oak tree on my way back from the California Poppy Preserve in…read moreAntelope Valley and the detour only cost 10 minutes of my time. The Old Glory became famous in 2002 when the renowned environmentalist John Quigley spent 71 days on top of the tree to protest the plans to have it removed in order to widen Pico Canyon Road from two lanes to four. This brought Old Glory- and Quigley- to international fame. The tree was eventually moved to its current location in the center of Pico Canyon Park, a quarter-mile to the east, at the exorbitant cost of $250,000 (which made the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007 for Largest Tree Moving ). Unfortunately, there is no signage to tell the story of this tree and unless you know the story, nobody would know that this tree is considered a symbol of the battle between environmentalists and developers. It was a nice 2-minutes stop, but not worth going out of your way to visit unless you are already in the area.

I have to say that the history of Rancho San Francisco is definitely a lot more interesting than…read morethe location of this historical landmark. The history of Rancho San Francisco tells the history of the City of Santa Clarita. Most of the information listed below was obtained from various Wikapedia pages. Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana, established in 1797, was the 17th of 21 Spanish missions established in Alta California, the land controlled by Spain and later Mexico before it became a territory of the United States. The mission needed more land for crops and livestock so they looked north to the Santa Clarita Valley. They created a "mission ranch" (or as the plaque states, a "granary" which is a place to store grain). They names the mission ranch Mission Rancho San Francisco. In the process they had to relocate the Tataviam Indians who were living on the lands at the time. They moved them to the mission and used them for labor. The missions were later taken over by the Mexican government. In 1839, Lt Del Valle was the person in charge of inventorying the property of Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Instead of returning the land back to the Tataviam Indians, the then Mexican Governor, Juan B. Alvarado, deeded it to his friend Del Valle. Del Valle later died and his son, Ygnacio, took control over the land. Del Valle's wife, Jacoba Feliz, had an uncle named Francisco Lopez. He was the first person to find gold in California at the Oak of the Golden Dream, located in Placerita Canyon. This started a mini gold rush with the much larger California Gold Rush taking place several years later. Jacoba later sued for control of Rancho San Francisco. The land later was split between the Del Valle's son and his wife. The land was later sold to a petroleum company and then to Henry Newhall. Henry Newhall granted the land to Southern Pacific Railroad and which led to the town of Newhall and later Saugus. The plaque inscription reads: NO. 556 RANCHO SAN FRANCISCO - Approximately one-half mile south of the point was the adobe headquarters of Rancho San Francisco, originally built about 1804 as a granary of Mission San Fernando. The rancho was granted to Antonio de Valle in 1839. Here, in January 1850, William Lewis Manly and John Rogers obtained supplies and animals to rescue their comrades in a California-bound gold-seeking emigrant party that was stranded and starving in Death Valley, some 250 miles to the northeast. Location: SW corner of 'The Old Road' and Henry Mayo Drive, 0.2 mi S of I-5 and State Hwy 126 interchange, Valencia

After 17 long years of checking out the place, I have to say I'm happy to call it home for now. I…read moremean, where else can you wear shorts comfortably and then be snowboarding 60 minutes later? The location is great. The city planning was done pretty good too. There is not much to do here, which is also a good thing because this eliminates annoying foreigners and traffic. One of the best things about SF is that it does not operate under the city of Los Angeles. This makes for a comfortable and clean jailhouse, a separate budget, and city hall meetings where the resident's opinions actually matter. I have to say that city hall operates like a well oiled machine. They keep the lines short and do business quickly. Thanks for all those extensions that you granted me on my water bill. I wish it snowed because I love the cold. Low crime rate, clean streets, and quiet neighborhoods all add up to SF's small town feel. It is surrounded by Sylmar and Pacoima but other than that, great place to grow up.

This littleg gem of a city is what I called home for 2 1/2 years while the rest of the valley was…read moretrying one more time to secede from the city of Los Angeles, and rightfully so. Not a day went by when I would look at my surroundings, how well the streets were maintained, how quiet the neighborhood was, the low crime rate (especially with Pacoima, kill or be killed being so close) I never attended a city council meeting, but I have nopproblem believing the Other guy who mentioned how responsive the council was. The only reason why I moved to Sylmar (piece of crap a cut above Pacoima) is because my section8 came through, and the only place that would take it was there. There was a place in San Fernando that I was really hoping to get into. The only reason I live in Long Beach now is the bus system up there is a major piece of crap. No matter where I lay my head at night, the city of San Fernando will always be my home!

Located at the front of the Eternal Valley Memorial Park. The plaque inscription reads:…read more "This site was the location of a combination store, post office, telegraph office, tavern, and stage depot accommodating travelers during the Kern River gold rush in the early 1850s. A regular stop for Butterfield and other early California stage lines, it was purchased by Sanford and Cyrus Lyons in 1855, and by 1868 at least twenty families lived here. Eternal Valley Memorial Park has called their final resting place "The Garden of the Pioneers." California Registered Historical Landmark No.688 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with Eternal Valley Memorial Park; The History and Landmarks Association of the San Fernando and Antelope Valley Parlors, Native Sons and Native Daughters of the Golden West, and San Fernando Mission Parlor No.280, Native Daughters of the Golden West, November 22, 1959." Not really worth visiting unless you combine it with a tour other local historical landmarks. Not much to see besides the plaque.

This stagecoach stop is California Historic Landmark number 688. The website's picture of the…read moreplaque seems like a different one than I saw. I viewed an older looking plaque that was partially obscured by a tree near the Memoral Park's office buildings. (It's possible the other plaque could be new and better placed, I haven't been back to check it out again). Just a bit of local history to check out.