Відео

Hi SkyDiver! That's really cool that you have those early memories of the Ten Section Oil Lease. I was not aware of that area name. My parents and I used to drive from L.A. to Sequoia using old U.S. 99, and I don't think that portion of I-5 was yet built by Panama Lane and Enos Lane. But I didn't have occasion to be out in those western parts. It's crazy how fast housing is being built. Even Ming and Allen Rd's was an area just a few years ago that was open and is now completely built up. The same is happening by Allen Rd and White Ln soon as well. I think that Merle Haggard was covering a song that was written earlier in a different part of the country, so I don't think the little Cherokee Strip area of CA SR 43 near the Red Wagon Café was the intended subject of that song. But it is kind of funny that Merle was a Bako man, so he would have that knowledge of the Shafter area. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

@@RapidTopography It was leased by Shell Oil (my dad's employer) from Kern County Land Company, and I presume it was 10 sections, or 6400 acres in size. We lived in company housing there, and all I can remember is that the area was big. We moved out in 1967 so the freeway was just getting built around then.

Wow, that WAS a big area. I am not a native of Kern County, so I have been learning some of the history along the way. Two areas of plentiful oil that I have seen are on the way to Hart Park in Oildale below Panorama Drive, and also the Sunset-Midway Oil Fields off of CA SR 33. Both are impressive looking at night with all of the operating lights netting the hills and flats in those areas. I also learned that there was an old train route, the Sunset Railroad, which brought oil out of the latter oil fields through Bakersfield and on it's way to various refineries. Here is the link to a site I found regarding it's history: www.abandonedrails.com/sunset-railroad

Thank you, Paul. The air quality has been kind of poor lately, which is not typical of winter. Not sure why, but everywhere I've been driving it's not been super clear lately. Thank you for watching. Fred : )

Thank you MadPro! I appreciate it. I've done some of U.S. 101, but not any entire length of it. Usually I've used that route to connect between routes head to or away from the sea. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Thank you, MM! This was actually a drive I did to shoot a pick up for the Route 66 series that I did. I had thought that I had somehow lost a segment around Ludlow. But after re-shooting it and getting back home, I found that the segment was part of another video file that I hadn't considered. Oh well. I never mind a drive through the desert, just like you! -Fred : )

Yeah, it was a fun ride, though we had to get off at Balboa because of a tie up, rather than taking the 101 to Tampa. We went to Fab's Hot Dogs that day. Have you ever been there. Where the ride ends is right in front of the eatery. They have liked a hundred different types of hot dogs or something like that. If I'm not going to Pink's on Melrose and La Brea, then it's Fabs. Yum! Fred : )

Hi Automotive Gabe, I think you meant south on Balboa, not north. But I usually just take the 405 to the 101 all the way to Tampa. It's just that on this day, there was an accident just west of Balboa that had just occurred, forcing me to use Victory Blvd instead. I've used Balboa south from I-5, but it's a ton of lights, so I use is sparingly. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

@ yes that was what I meant. But that makes more sense now.

I agree. It is strange that CA SR 23 doesn't continue northwards after Fillmore. CA SR 33 goes through some pretty rugged mountains, so it is not impossible to do. Another one that drives me crazy is that Topanga Cyn, which is CA SR 27, stops at CA SR 118 northbound. In my opinion, they should have made it continue northbound to connect with Interstate 5 around Stephenson Ranch. There are so many houses in that area of Santa Clarita now that it would be nearly impossible to do. But had that been thought of, there wouldn't be such terrible traffic in the Newhall Pass every day. Probably a third of the people who go through Newhall pass are either coming or going to the northwest SF Valley. Thank you for watching the video. And have a Happy New Year! -Fred : )

Yeah, I totally hear you, Dustino. Fred : )

Thank you IHeartToodlez! Thank you for watching the video. And have a Happy New Year! -Fred : )

Hi SkyDiverClassic! I agree with you. That Olive Drive entrance is strange. They put part of it on the Old U.S. Route 99, just a very old section of it since the 99 was laying there. There are a lot of those parts to be found next to the current CA SR 99. But I don't know why they would have worked the onramp into it rather than just redesigning the whole mess. Bako has been growing like crazy, as you said. They're building developments west of White Lane and Allen Rd, as well as on Stockdale Hwy west of Heath Road. Thank you for watching the video. And have a Happy New Year! -Fred : )

Hi Dustino, your question is a very good one. Firstly if making the road a State Route requires some adjustments to the road (such as routes becoming interstates... but not with those incredibly strict requirements), then I think you have to consider the topography of the area between Santa Margarita and around McKittrick. It is very hilly and rises and falls quite a bit. Even though this is not insurmountable a problem to get past, it would be very expensive. And since CA SR 166 and CA SR 46 both allow for east-west travel above and below the 58 corridor, I think the state of California probably wants to spend money on other projects before considering it. Also, on the upper parts of the route, there are tons of ranches up there. So using eminent domain, the state would have to buy a lot of land to straighten out the alignments along the way. Lastly, the eastern section maybe 5-8 miles before you get to McKittrick, is very winding as it dips down into the Central Valley. I am just imagining that it would take a lot of work to get that section widened in a secure way to qualify as a State Route. One more thing. They have been considering adding a truck lane for the section of road between Bakersfield and Tehachapi because of how everyone gets stuck behind the trucks going up hill there. I think there is a much more likely chance of the state finding funds to do that first before the section are talking about since there is so much traffic east of Bako. These are all guesses of mine, so I really don't know, but I'll bet at least some of those issues are a play. If a road becoming part of a state route is only about where the money comes from, then my ideas above may not carry much weight. I wish the route were a bit more straightforward, and yet, part of me wouldn't want to see any of the road touched up in the plateaus where there are really pretty trees and rocks and such. -Fred : )

That is so awesome, Duane! Gosh, that was... I don't want to say it... a year before I was born. Lol. That is so cool that you experimented like that. I love how the exposure changes throughout too. And the beating of the chest. If only there has been a gimble handy. That's crazy that you rode that far too. I supposed that in 1964, the traffic was a totally different experience, so there was little danger of riding that far for kids. But that is just amazing that you guys did that. I never had an 8mm or 16mm camera as a kid. I wish I had to have images of myself from so long ago. I only made it onto one 8mm film as part of a project my friend was doing at Oakwood School. So at least I have myself at about twelve years old. But wow, you guys were enterprising in every way! Thank you for sharing that! Here is the 8mm film that I’m in. It was my friend, Nick’s, project at school, and the middle short film is the one that I’m in (from 3:56 to 5:04). He was supposed to show a day in his life using other friends rather than him to represent himself. My section starts with getting thrown out of the Studio City Mann Theater under the marquee, getting into mischief, and then getting home and telling my mom that I had a normal school day. Instead of doing homework, I end up watching TV in my room all night. Like your film, no sound, but I added some music to it when I transferred the film to video for my friend. ua-cam.com/video/BV85JtutqAQ/v-deo.htmlsi=VNkRSRpvspvHU7Wh&t=234

@@RapidTopography Thanks for sharing the film Fred. That was fun. In color too! I also enjoyed hearing that incredible ragtime piano. You are right that traffic was lighter in those days. We left El Segundo at 5am and it took us about two hours to get to the Observatory. My friend, Steve, got the camera from his father. It was a very old wind-up 8mm that he let us use. As I recall, we had no control over exposure. We used to ride all over Los Angeles on our bikes and our last trip was to Griffith Park in 1971. When we got to the Observatory, there was filming in progress and they allowed us to watch from behind the cameras. It was part of an episode of Mission Impossible. We started exploring by bicycle in about 1958 with closer trips to Pacific Ocean Park in Venice, then later to Marineland in PV, then Exposition Park and all their museums, Portuguese Bend and finally Griffith Park. I think kids then were more "free range". It seemed common to explore and get a taste of freedom. I appreciate your videos very much and they are bring up some very fond memories.

That is so great, Duane. Amazing that you guys had the gumption to do that. That's really incredible. I do remember those wind-up cameras too. Crazy connection with your story is that my parents were very close friends with Bruce & Ginny Geller. Bruce was the creator of M.I. They were always at our house until his plane crash in Santa Barbara. Happy New Year, Duane! -Fred : )

Yeah, sometimes I choose the wider lane'd roads over two laned roads if I'm just needing to head back. I use US 395 quite a bit, but wasn't into it that day. Hope you have a nice Holiday season, MM! -Fred : )

Thanks Jeri for watching the video. I'd love to shoot some videos in Wisconsin. I've spent time, long ago, in West Bend, and in The Dells. I want to get out there again before all of the A&W Rootbeer places are gone. -Fred : )

That's cool that your grandfather told you stories of his travels on the Ridge Route. It would have been neat to see it in it's original glory. I know what you mean about the Santa Clarita Valley growing so much. Do you remember Indian Dunes? The whole of the valley was filled with ranches and horses back when my parents and I used to go through there for trip to Sequoia National Park and such. It looks so vastly different now. I only wish I had owned a 8mm or 16mm camera when I was younger and had filmed various areas of LA and surroundings. However, film processing would have been prohibitive in cost for a kid who got like $3.00 per week in allowance. Lol. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

@@RapidTopography Know Indian Dunes well. There is a book titled “Ridge Route”. Excellent read with lots of great pictures. Yea, the SCV changed a bunch for sure, was thru there a couple of years ago, barley recognized it. Great place to grow up though, kinda small town feeling.

Yeah, I love that book if it's the Harrison Irving Scott one that you're referring to. I used his book as a basis for my video. His descriptions and love for the route were invaluable. Happy New Year to you and yours! -Fred : )

Hi Paul, thank you for you compliments and suggestions. There are some drives that I do to show routes and scenery, and then there are other drives I just record because I have to get somewhere as efficiently as possible. The Pasadena to San Bernardino drive that you mentioned was one of the latter. I was actually shooting portions of my "U.S. Route 66 In California" series that day, so I needed to get from one end of what I was shooting that day to the other. But I do try to take the most interesting and scene routes whenever I can. Usually you'll find the more interesting routes in the videos that are off the beaten path from the videos I do of frequent routes, if that makes sense. For instance, I have to go from Bako to Burbank a lot, so there won't be as many scenic route videos amongst those. But a video from Bako to Glenville will be more scenic. Thank you for watching, and if you want to check out any of the U.S. Route 66 sections, or the videos that have the entire drive in each direction, here are the playlists below. -Fred : ) Westbound: ua-cam.com/play/PLw6lnWsNjt_TfTU2kBjHN43lwkyVkZSYR.html Eastbound: ua-cam.com/play/PLw6lnWsNjt_St2ki0wby9iwG5FQj_U3PJ.html

Hi, I'm just using various iPhones at the moment. From as far back as 6s to the 13. I want to start using a GoPro at some point, but I'm not in the position right now of making a lot of big purchases. So it's iPhones for now. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

Thanks!

Hi aloharay, thank you for your suggestion. Next time I'm re-formatting my process, I'll see if I can do that. Thank you for watching the video, and I hope that you have a nice Holiday Season! -Fred : )

Hi Gabe, this video was done on July 19, 2024. So just a few months ago. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Thanks Eric. It probably was somber. I do so many of these videos that I just sometimes grab what I feel that day. Thank you for watching the vid. -Fred : )

Thank you, MM! I really like that they made the 101 loop and 202. They make a lot of sense where they are situated. I don't yet really understand the Phoenix traffic flows, but the 17 definitely looks like the one that gets congested south of the 101 loop, and I'm guessing that the 101 is busy around the 10 a lot of the time as well. But no, it's not the 110 in L.A. at rush hour. Lol. Fred : )

Thank you, MM! Yeah, it was definitely in fall. I've had to go down to LA few times in the past few weeks. The traffic has been really dense. Thank you for the compliments on the music. Field of Giants is awesome! -Fred : )

Me alegra que hayas podido ver el lago Isabella y ver a tu hermana. Parece que tuviste un buen viaje aquí. Gracias por ver el vídeo. - Fred : )

Thank you, Gary. I love driving in those areas, those mountains north of Phoenix are really gorgeous. And I did notice that there was a fair amount of construction in the areas you mentioned. Now I know why. My guess is that a lot more people are driving that route to get in and out of Phoenix, and that Interstate 17 was being maxed out at certain travel times. Thank you for watching the video and for the information. I always enjoy hearing from someone who knows an area I've driven through. Fred : )

Thank you MM!. Yes, the air quality here as been dismal for the past month or so, worse today actually. I'm not sure why. But I hope it clears up. I'll bet you don't have this issue over where you are in the Lake Havasu River Plain. Hoping that you had a nice Thanksgiving. Fred : )

That is GOOD ice cream! A guilty pleasure. The worst thing is that I'll eat a healthy meal at Salad Sensations, and then walk into Dewar's. My priorities are truly mixed up. Thank you for watching! -Fred : )

Hi Tiffany! No, you should be good. If you're leaving Bako, just take the 58 east over the Tehachapi's and down into the Mojave desert. Once you get to Barstow, you'll be choosing the 15 northbound (left lane on the 58 will feed into 15 northbound), then stay in your right lanes. You'll take the 15 for about two miles, and then you'll transition onto the 40 from your right lanes. From there, it's smooth sailing. Nothing scary at all. After about Kingman, you'll slowly ascend to higher altitudes, but the 40 does it all really smoothly. Just make sure that you have chains in case while you're in Flagstaff they get some snow in. It's not usually very heavy snow there. But it is high altitude, and if you need to go to parts of Flagstaff that are hilly and there were a lot of snow, you might need them this time of year. If you know that you're just going to be in the flat part of Flagstaff, around where the hotels such as La Quinta are located, you probably won't need chains even with snow because they plow and salt those roads around the city pretty well. There are also rest stops along the way for bathroom breaks and to stretch your legs, which is always a good idea when driving long distances. Just be sure your car is locked and you don't have a bunch of valuable stuff visible from the window if you and your baby are leaving the car for a time. The larger areas to stop are: Barstow, Needles, and Kingman. Those are great because they have a lot of convenience stores and stations. We also like to stop in Seligman, AZ (east of Kingman by about an hour). They have a couple cute little eateries there. But it's not a big town, and depending on when you are going through there, you'll probably be in the mood to just make the final push to Flagstaff. I hope you enjoy your trip. Drive safely and enjoy a trip with your baby. Let me know how it was when you arrive or come back. -Fred : )

@ thank you so much for your thoughtful response! I made the drive yesterday and followed your advice. You made me feel so much for at ease going into the drive, and you were right - it was pretty smooth sailing! The cities you suggested for stopping were perfect for me and my little guy. Thank you so much!!

Oh Tiffany, I'm really glad that you had a good and safe trip with your child. I was hoping you'd have time to stop and rest a bit at those locations, so that's great that it worked out well. Safe travels, and if you have any road-travel related question, shoot them to me anytime. I have done an enormous amount of driving in the southwest and northwest. You can always hit me up at fredherrman@mac.com for questions. -Fred : )

Hi SkyDiverClassic! You could totally do it on a mountain bike as long as you're in that kind of fitness. There is a lot of ascent northbound, but a mountain bike would be a blast I would think. The parts that are bumpy are the areas towards the north were there are natural little canyons and hair pin turns. The are a lot of smaller rocks and pebbles in those areas. But a mountain bike would do it okay. When I was first researching about the Ridge Route, it was Irving Harrison Scott's book, "The Ridge Route," that I learned the most information about it. He loved the route, and so he took such care to describe everything in his book. I have my copy about three feet from my head in a book case as I write this to you. I'm glad that you have the same book. Well, if you do bike it, let me know how it went. I would just avoid maybe the dog days of summer to do it because it can get hot up there. But any other time would be great in my opinion. Thank you for watching the video. -Fred : )

Thank you, Miguel. Yes, that route is kind of scary. The locals are used to the fact that there are no guardrails, but I'm still not crazy about the 178. I often go through Walker Basin (from Caliente) to avoid the canyon route. It's more circuitous, but I don't have to worry about people pushing from behind up and down the canyon. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Yeah, that was an odd place for the CHP to be sitting. I remember thinking that on that drive. It's just across from Lebec School (opposite side of the freeway). But just as well. A lot of people start to really blaze through there once they have made it onto that first plateau before turning towards Frasier Park. The end of the summer was pretty smoggy this year. There were a few fires around, but I'd say not more fires than normally at that time of year. Since the weather has come through in the past few days, the air feels a lot cleaner. The good thing about storms! Thank you for watching the video, Mark! -Fred : )

I love driving through the night. As long as I'm not too tired, it's such a pleasure since there is usually much less traffic on the roads. Hoping you had a great weekend, MM! -Fred : )

That's really cool that you know these areas so well. Me too. I went to USC and pretty much used the same route from Studio City all of the time (in order to avoid the Hollywood Freeway). I used to use Glendale Blvd past Echo Park Lake at times, connecting between the 5, the 2, and the 101. I don't know how those short cuts would work today during traffic since I don't live down there anymore. But my guess is that all short-cut routes have been discovered by now. Thank you for watching. Fred : )

You got it, late summer! Yeah, I had to meander around a bit to get to the freeway because of some things I had to do. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Oh cool Tony. We are cut from the same cloth. I go down there quite a bit still, navigating the increasing density of traffic and such. I do appreciate how minor "rush hours" are up here. Lol. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

@RapidTopography At this point, I'm good with just going to the San Fernando Valley and hitting a few spots there. It's still very similar to how it was when I lived down there, which can't be said about the LA basin. Plus I spent a lot of time in the SFV as a kid, so there are a lot of good memories for me there. Thanks for posting these Fred - I look forward to your next video! Also, I got a bit thrown with when you got on the I-5 cuz in the outskirts of Bakersfield. I usually take the 99 until it merges with the 5.

Hi Tony, yes, there have been times that I use the 5 out of Bako only because I happen to be pretty far west when I'm leaving, such as around that Stockdale Ranch area where the Salad Sensations and new Valley Strong Credit Union and Chevron Station were just built. The other thing is that depending on when I shot the video, the Centennial Corridor may not have been built when I shot it. I have a lot of raw footage archived and so I pull from both recently and from longer ago when I post. Back when there was no Centennial Corridor, such as before February of 2024, I was often trying to avoid the whole Truxtun, Oak, California Ave turnaround mess, so I'd take Stockdale Hwy out to the 43 and then hit the five, or sometimes Calloway/Old River Rd to the 5. So that's why you may seem my routes fluctuate a bit, depending on when I shot them. I spend most of my time in the SFV as well when I go down there. I grew up in Studio City and lived in Burbank for a long time, so a lot of my "people" are still in those areas. There are some FB pages, such as Kids Of The San Fernando Valley, that are a lot of fun to look through because people post old photos of the places that existed in the SFV that are now gone. Just in case you didn't know about those types of FB pages/communities. -Fred : )

@@RapidTopography I'm not familiar with Bakersfield one bit, but thanks for explaining your strategy. Studio City is one of my favorite places in LA and still has the valley charm that I remember from my childhood. The "80s Life" UA-cam channel has a great series called, Memories of The San Fernando Valley "which I really enjoy. I even engaged with another commentor who knew my late cousin Frank from the old neighborhood. Truly amazing!

I love desert driving! Thank you for watching the video, MM! -Fred : )

Yes, MM, autumn indeed. We'll see if they ever build that truck lane on the 58. It's a long way away, to be sure! -Fred : )

Thank you, HankPany! I really had a lot of fun shooting it. I love that it's still up there after all of these years too. Thank you for watching it. -Fred : )

Yes, this was after a nice day at Ventura Beach, then eating at Lure Restaurant. This was the night that I forgot my credit card there and had to come back the next day. Oh well. It was worth it for a nice day and night out and about. -Fred : )

Yeah, sometimes I like to take the 210 because it's just a bit quieter if I know I am going to Glendale or Pasadena. They used the 210 a lot when they filmed "CHiPs", the TV show. The freeway was pretty new back then. Thank you for watching, Mark! -Fred : )

It's a rarity, isn't it? There are so many cars in California that when you can find a stretch of road to yourself, it's a gift. Thank you for watching, MSGROSE1. -Fred : )

Do you know why this was done, Gary? I've noted it in other videos, but a lot of people don't know why the lanes are flipped. Just let me know if you don't and I'll explain it. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Yeah, I thought of that too. Those are really pretty roads through those areas, and being on a motorcycle would be really freeing. Great idea. -Fred : )

Thank you, MM! I appreciate your watching my videos. Fred : )

I agree MM. I tend not to use the 10 to get into Arizona simply because the Inland Empire and those areas including Yucaipa and Beaumont can get pretty congested. I don't recall now why I went that way on that day. I think I might have had to have stopped in the Burbank area that day. And boy can Phoenix can busy too! Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

That sounds like SoCal drivers, Normsweet. Lol. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

@ I forgot to mention my Dads remarks came after 2 weeks in LA 1946 after getting outta the Navy after WWll . He said “this ol Mich farmer seen quite a bit “ of the way they live & drive out there .

Just imagine if he could see it now. It's such craziness with all of the congestion. That's why I love the open road. Fred : )

Yes, drticzon, here's a quick fly over I did of it using a map: ua-cam.com/video/FHismtG6Z4Q/v-deo.html -Fred : )

Yeah, MM. It's because I left my credit card at Lure Restaurant in Ventura the night before. So I had to go back the next day. That was a big bummer! But it was a nice drive. Most of the 126 feels safer nowadays. Like you implied, it used to be more two lane road and there were lots of accidents long the way. But it's better now. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )

Anything to get some Cheesecake! That one is my favorite Cheesecake Factory because you sit looking at the boats and docks. It's really pretty. The 405 can be so tempermental. But usually just flat out crowded! -Fred : )

Hi MSGROSE1, it's really beautiful as you wrote because of it's desolation and serenity. However, as an alternate to I-5, it's just not one. The reason is that they keep a gate shut about two miles north of Templin Hwy. In order to see the whole route, you must turn around at the gate, drive up to CA SR 138, go down Ridge Route Rd, and then back to the gate again... then turn around to get out. I have very seldom seen the lower gate open. The reason that my video looks fluid is that I dissolved past this gate in either direction when shooting the old route on camera. But it's a great route to take in the beauty of what once was. Thank you for watching the video. Fred : )