Historic Route 80

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I am enjoying a long weekend, having taken yesterday off from work and having today off as a state holiday (thank you Cesar Chavez). With the wife at work, I decided to venture out and explore some new roads. With a duffle bag netted to the seat and a full tank of gas, I decided to ride Historic Route 80 east towards to the desert.

Historic Route 80 has an interesting history. It was the first transcontinental highway in the U.S. and stretched from Savannah, Georgia west to Phoenix, Arizona. The end of the highway was to be either Los Angeles or San Diego. It was 1912 and several railroads already had hubs in LA but San Diego was pushing for the route to end here for the added commerce that would follow. How was the decision made? A good old fashion auto race!

Race teams from San Diego and Los Angeles competed to see who would reach Phoenix the quickest. The team with the fastest time would have their city be the western terminus for the much needed highway. Accounts vary as to who actually won the race but it appears that only 4 of 16 cars from LA completed the run with 12 of 22 cars from San Diego finishing. Both routes had cars racing across mountains, rivers and sand dunes. San Diego won (despite the fact that San Diego is closer to Phoenix than LA - a fact that was apparently ignored for purposes of the race) and officially became the western end of U.S. 80.

San Diego automotive history reports that two men, Campbell and Harvey, won the race in a Stevens-Duryea Racer. I suspect LA automotive history features different winners in a different car. I looked up the Stevens-Duryea Racer and found both a 1910 and 1913 model. With the race being in October of 1912, I imagine the car used was close to one of these:
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In the mid-60s, U.S. 80 was decommissioned in California with the completion of Interstate 8. The old route still exists, however, and largely runs alongside the new interstate but with some interesting departures of relatively empty, two-lane, concrete sections that wind along the mountains and through some small towns. My ride took me through many of those towns. Sometimes I'd be forced onto I-8 but would soon find a connection back onto Historic Route 80 (officially designated as such in 2006).

I had read about a desert watch tower that stood at the border of San Diego and Imperial Counties and decided it would be a good enough spot to turn around. Riding east, however, I missed it. Having ridden past it, I found myself in the desert. I continued east until I reached the town of El Centro (Spanish for, you guessed it, "The Center"). What exactly it is the center of, I'm not sure, but I have a guess and that would be the bowels of hell. Luckily, El Centro has plenty of gas stations. I filled up, turned around and headed west towards home.

As I approached the town of Jacumba, I spotted the Desert View Tower I had missed earlier! I stopped to check it out. A couple of cars and a van from UNLV were parked in the rock and gravel parking lot. A group of young people were getting a lecture by a collection of boulders that I later learned housed a series of caves that, for a couple bucks, you could explore. The tower was open so I ventured in and was greeted by a barefoot lady holding a baby who offered to sell me a ticket to the upstairs museum. I kindly declined and was told to feel free to look around and that all the dogs were friendly. Sure enough, something that resembled a dog soon approached but kept its distance. There was an odd but interesting collection of stuff for sale inside the tower. From the tower windows, even on the bottom level, you could see far into the desert. It was quite beautiful, in an arid, moonscape kind of way.

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The Desert View Tower

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[i]An interesting buffalo head sculpted into the rock of the tower.

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One of the "friendly" "dogs" that roamed the area. I also spotted a German Shepard and another large dog around the boulders.

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I regret not getting a closer look at the boulders/caves. I later read that more carvings, similar to the buffalo head, can be found throughout but with no discernible theme to them, done by a man named Ratcliffe for a $1/day and jug of wine.

The town of Jacumba runs right along the border with Mexico. The large border fence that annoys those wishing to cross north is clearly visible just off the old highway. I wanted to take a photo but felt odd stopping and was convinced that I'd be contacted by the Border Patrol agents I saw in the area. Being that close to Mexico, I expected I might also spot some illegal aliens. Sure enough, just down the gravel road from the Desert View Tower, I came across a family of them.

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A couple of the smaller spaceships were set atop golf carts, allowing a person to get inside and be viewable though the bubbled shield. Some of the kids I had seen at the tower arrived and took photos of each other inside the spaceships. It was really funny. I was very tempted to ask one of them to take a photo of me inside one of them wearing my Bullitt helmet but I was too shy and didn't want to intrude on the good time they were having.

From Jacumba, I continued west on route 80, retracing my earlier path. But not before taking another photo of the CB facing towards home.

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Right after this shot, the lens on my Canon point and shoot started to malfunction. I could no longer get it to open and all future photos would have to come from my cell phone. I am convinced that the aliens zapped me with some form of electro-magnetic wave, disabling my camera! The camera on my cell phone has also been acting strange. It struggles to focus and then, when it finally settles upon the image, the shot comes out with a strange, somewhat blurred image. Aliens 1, metallyguitarded 0. But I'll be back to settle the score.

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West on Historic Route 80 wearing my Bell Bullitt that would have been perfect for a photo inside one of those spaceships.

When I came to the junction of Historic Route 80 and the 94, I decided I'd take the 94; a route I was familiar with but had only travelled going east. Heading in the opposite direction felt like a completely different road. The 94 is one of my favorite rides. Passing through Cameron Corners on twisty canyon roads in the late afternoon sunshine felt perfect. I wish I had borrowed my brother's GoPro again for this ride or, better yet, had my own video camera! There are some truly stunning stretches of roadway amid rolling hills and grass covered valleys. There are few spots to stop and take photos with only an occasional turnout along the way.

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The best parts of the ride remain captured in my memory. The few photos I took of the surrounding landscape don't come close to capturing how truly beautiful it was. There was one section of road where I was winding through the surrounding hills and the light was casting shadows in a way that is too hard to describe. Wonderful in the truest meaning of that word. With nowhere to stop and no real hope of capturing the moment with my alien zapped camera or defective cell phone, I just soaked it in. That five minutes, with the perfect combination of light and shadow, motorcycle and road, was the highlight of my ride.

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This map mostly captures my ride but understates my mileage as I took a couple large, unaccounted for loops on other fantastic roads along the way. In total, I rode 273 blissful, beautiful, at times interesting, at all times fun, miles.

[redbirds_imp]

Great write up and pics MG. Loved the flying saucer service center. I think your cell camera did a good job on the pics.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Great write up and pics MG. Loved the flying saucer service center. I think your cell camera did a good job on the pics.

Thanks redbirds! I suppose the cell phone did okay. It almost looks like I've added some sort of dream-like effect to the image. Not bad on occasion but I'd rather not have it on every photo.

If and when I ever venture out that way again, I vow to go into those caves and get my photo inside one of those space ships!

[the Ferret]

Well doesn't that look like a great day. Congrats Metal.

Illegal aliens..lol... Priceless.

[Cormanus]

MG, I have this nagging feeling that you alone could unearth (if that's the right term) an alien spaceship retrieval centre. I'm so pleased you did; it's brightened my morning considerably.

Great report and great photos of what looks like a most enjoyable ride.

Thanks.

[emptysea]

Looks like your ride was otherworldly.

Great pics, as usual. Thanks.

[ClassicVW_imp]

Great ride report, MG! The alien retrieval and repair base report and photos was out of this world!

[Chapomis_imp]

Great trip MG, I'm bookmarking that one too, maybe someday

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Thanks for the kind comments gentlemen. I gladly welcome more alien puns! Haha.

[emptysea]

Roswell that ends well.