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divide California into two separate states.
In 1919, the 20-foot-wide road was paved 1
with concrete and was a showcase of what
highway engineering was all about at a time
when people were just concerned about
"getting out of the mud."
On the outskirts of Bakersfield, our
Teamster noticed the neat row crops and
orchards had given way to a forest of oil
derricks. Entering town he followed a simi-
lar path and turned onto Union Avenue, the
main north-south artery. Traffic started to
thin out now, and he was making good A Jeffry quad truck stuck in the mud between Fairmont and Neenach after a heavy storm.
time.
In the distance he could see the small community of Greenfield. "thump, thump, thump" as they hit the seams separating the neat
Hay trucks, tankers and livestock rigs were parked along the high- sections of pavement. The old Teamster started counting the
way in front of the Tropics Cafe. Drivers would be inside swap- bumps to while away the time.
ping stories over coffee, waiting for the sun to go down. Climb- In the distance, he finally saw Grapevine and the mountains
ing the mountain grade with a heavy load on a hot summer day looming above the small community ofRichfield Oil workers. He
would almost guarantee your radiator would boil over and leave wondered what he would have for dinner. Grapevine's cafe was
you stranded on the infamous incline. The Grapevine grade put smaller than the Tropics back at Greenfield, and didn't have a large
the best trucks and drivers to the test of conquering elevation and menu.
the mountain barrier separating the state. A few trucks were parked near the cafe here too, but now that
There were so many trucks lining the highway this day in daylight was fading they were pulling back onto the highway to
Greenfield that the Teamster decided to keep going to the smaller begin the torturous climb. He could hear the loud snap of the old
town of Grapevine, located at the foot of the mountains and named chain-driven trucks as the transmissions engaged the links and
after the very grade that begins in its back yard. began to torque the wheels forward. He decided to stop and eat
Up ahead, near the end of tree-lined Union Avenue, heap- before joining their parade.
proached 17-mile tangent, the straightest and longest section of Motorists were pulling into the small cabins at the far end of
cement highway in the state. It was so straight that it was almost town. They would tackle the grade after a good night's sleep and
boring, but that would soon change. during daylight. Children were running about, happy their parents
Waves of heat rose above the pavement, giving the illusion that decided to stop for the evening.
you were about to hit water. The solid rubber tires of his Mack With ample refills of coffee and a substantial dinner, the Team-
bulldog truck lumbered down the highway making a rhythmic ster pulled back onto the highway in line with the other truckers.
Starting the ascent he noticed a sign which
read, "Bowerbank Radiators: They Cool." It
was certainly an appropriate place to adver-
tise their product, right at the beginning of
the Ridge Route and Grapevine grade.
Although the road cut 5 8 miles from the
old Midway Route, the down side was that
you had 697 curves to navigate before reach-
ing the small community of Castaic far to the
south at the bottom of the mountains where
the Ridge Route, with all of its curves and
grades, ends - or begins, depending on
which direction you're going!
There were so many warning signs up here
on the ridge to announce the many curves that
Mclarty, the first town on the Grapevine, was home to many Richfield Oil workers. folks complained that the signs outnumbered
WHEELS OF TIME / www.aths.org September/October 2004 41