2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 1; Garlock, CA ghost town

In the fall of 2016 I had a bunch of unused vacation time and decided to head out revisit eight National Parks in California, Utah and Arizona.

The first day of the trip started out early climbing over the Sierras to the Mojave Desert via California State Route 58 across Tehachapi Pass. I made my way to CA 14 north as I was heading towards Death Valley National Park.

After following CA 14 northward to northeast Kern County I took Redrock-Randsburg Road east. After reaching Garlock Road I took it east to US 395 passing by the Garlock ghost town site.

Garlock was the site of a gold stamp mill which was constructed in 1896. Gold in Garlock was mined out the nearby El Paso Mountains and community appears to have been enough of a success to warrant on/off Postal Service until 1926. Garlock appears to have seen secondary use as a rail siding on the nearby Southern Pacific Railroad line which still crosses near the community site. There is actually a substantial number of buildings remaining in Garlock but most are fenced off.

From the eastern end of Garlock Road I took US 395 north to Searles Cut-Off which I used to enter rural San Bernardino County. I next took Trona Road northward towards CA 178 but I'll leave that for Part 2 of this series.

Part 2 can be found here:

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 1; the Panamint Gap in California State Route 178

Comments

Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California. The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857. Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings. The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed. Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles. The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County. Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57. California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10. Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10. The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway. Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of

Clovis "Gateway To The Sierras" sign and Tarpey Depot

Within Oldtown Clovis a fixture of the original alignment of California State Route 168 can be found in the form of the "Clovis Gateway To The Sierras" sign. The sign was erected along Clovis Avenue in 1940 and was in use along California State Route 168 until the highway was relocated circa 1999-2001. Nearby Tarpey Deport can be found at the northeast corner of Clovis Avenue and 4th Street. The depot was constructed in 1892 as part of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad between Fresno and Friant. The depot structure was one previously located at the southeast corner of Clovis Avenue and Ashlan Avenue. Part 1; the history of the Gateway To The Sierras sign The "Clovis Gateway To The Sierras" sign located in Oldtown Clovis along Clovis Avenue between 4th Street and 5th Street. During 1933 Legislative Route Number 76 was extended with a second segment plotted between Huntington Lake and Fresno. The new segment passed through Oldtown Clovis westbound via Tollhouse R