Gribblenation

If you've followed this website long enough, you know that we're not that impressed with Buc-ee's.  I shrugged when I visited the St. Augustine, Florida location in April 2022 .  It may have rustled a feather or two, but I did say I wasn't opposed to going to one again.  In fact, a few months later I did in Denton, Texas.  An old high school friend mentioned that they liked Buc-ee's for filling up their RV because of the space and the numerous gas pumps.  So, when I helped my brother move from Baton Rouge to Denver, and the U-Haul needed to be filled up, I must admit Buc-ee's was the perfect spot.  I have not been to a Buc-ee's since then. Recently, Buc-ee's has brought lawsuits against three smaller convenience store brands that have caught national attention.  Two in Ohio and one in Georgia. Teddy's Market's logo is the key to a legal battle between Buc-ee's and the small Georgia chain.  Teddy's is fighting back, calling Buc-ee's a...

Frankwood Avenue is an approximately 11-mile roadway in eastern Fresno County.  Frankwood Avenue originates at 10th Street in the city of Reedley and terminates at Piedra Road a short distance after crossing the Alta Main Canal. Frankwood Avenue has numerous historical structures of interest which can be found along the corridor.  The brick Frankwood Schoolhouse located at Frankwood Avenue and Old Kings Canyon Road (formerly California State Route 180) was constructed in 1921.  The Alta Main Canal Bridge located on Frankwood Avenue north of California State Route 180 was constructed in 1925.  This canal span formed the basic design template for other similar irrigation bridges constructed in Fresno County through to the 1940s.  Part 1; the history of Frankwood Avenue Frankwood Avenue originates in downtown Reedley and spans northward to Piedra Road upon crossing the Alta Main Canal.  The corridor is notable due to it passing by the Frankwood Schoolhouse and...

A drive along Jose Basin Road above the San Joaquin River Canyon of Fresno County is what one might call a "slow, jerky and expensive" affair.   Jose Basin Road is approximately 9.6 miles in length and is overlaid atop the grade of the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad. This San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad was in use between 1912-1933 during the early construction of the Big Creek Hydroelectric project. Said fifty-five-mile line originated in El Prado and snaked through the Sierra Nevada of Fresno County to the site of Big Creek Powerhouse #1. The San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad was famous for having 1,073 curves, 43 trestles and grades as high as 5.3%. The line was often to referred to jokingly as "Slow, Jerky and Expensive." Following the shuttering of the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad much of the grade east of Auberry was repurposed as public roadways.  Jose Basin Road was widened by the late 1940s was widened to be mostly wide enough to carry two-...