Because every road has a story.
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When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today. The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark…
Texas Falls is one of the many natural wonders within Green Mountain National Forest. The 35-foot, two-cascade waterfall is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in Vermont. Easily accessible from the parking area, the falls can be viewed either via a footbridge over the gorge or a 1.2-mile hiking trail. Texas Falls dates to the Ice Age. 12,000 years ago, retreating glaciers carved through…
Ennis Road is an approximately four-mile-long rural cutoff through Shannon Valley the Sierra Nevada foothills of Fresno County. Ennis Road connects Ruth Hill Road (former California State Route 180) southward to Sand Creek Road. What is now Ennis Road was originally developed by Fresno County in the 1910s as the Squaw Valley Cutoff. The modern roadway name first appears on 1930-era highway maps of…
Citrus Cove is a small canyon located east of Cove Road in Fresno County which California State Route 180 passes through. Modern California State Route 180 climbs above the orange groves in this canyon via a modern two-lane highway. The original alignment of California State Route 180 is located within the canyon which is now a switchback road passing through the orange groves. This older…
Former Pennsylvania Route 908 is located in Northeast Allegheny County. First signed in 1928, Route 908, along with many other 800- and 900-series routes, was decommissioned in 1946. Yet, there are still mentions of PA 908 in the wild along the back roads of the area. AAA Wall Map showing PA 908 and PA 908 'Ext' still in service. PA 908 would continue south through Russellton and Rural Ridge to…
George Smith Road is an approximately 5.5-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Fresno County. As presently configured George Smith Road begins at California State Route 180 (Kings Canyon Road) in Yokuts Valley (previously Squaw Valley) and winds above a ridge overlooking Shannon Valley to Ennis Road. George Smith Road was developed as the Sand Creek Cutoff Road and…
Italian Bar Road is an approximately six-mile switchback highway located in the San Joaquin River Canyon of Fresno County. Italian Bar Road begins at the southern rim of the San Joaquin River Canyon at Jose Basin Road and terminates to the northwest at the Italian Bar Bridge over Redinger Lake. Italian Bar Road is named after a former mining claim which was staked on the San Joaquin River where…
The Jesse Morrow Mountain derelict is a ruined chimney located on California State Route 180 (Kings Canyon Road) at Postmile 80.90. This chimney was part of a home constructed by the Granite Water Company in 1918. The home would be later purchased by a family out of Sanger in 1928 and moved (sans chimney) to I Street in downtown. This derelict chimney is often adorned with Christmas and seasonal…
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…
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…
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.…
Minkler is a small former railroad siding community founded in 1911 on Kings Canyon Road (formerly Dunlap Road) just east of Byrd Slough. The community of Minkler between 1934 and 2020 was part of the alignment of California State Route 180 which passed by on Kings Canyon Road. In 2020 California State Route 180 was shifted north of Minkler onto a four-lane expressway bypass. This blog serves as a…
Centerville is one of the oldest communities in what is now Fresno County having been founded as Scottsburg in 1854. The Centerville community has historically been tied to the history of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road and the Squaw Valley Road. The Squaw Valley Road would later be known as Dunlap Road and became a component of California State Route 180 in August 1934. By the 1940s the corridor…
