Route 66

I was late, I was in a hurry, I wanted to get to Apple Valley quick.

Someone told me that to get into the Mojave quick, was to go through LA.  Wrong.

When Roy Rogers sold off his horses, the get of Trigger Jr,  I had to investigate.

I headed through Glendale, Pasadena and somehow got on historic 66.  It was a four land, stop and go traffic, through and endless stream of McDonald's and the mini malls of our urban scene.  It would of been cool, but I was late.

When I finally got to Apple Valley, I took several wrong turns, before some locals pointed me on the right direction.  Route 66.

The Happy Trails was an old place, not fancy, but well kept up.

The sale was over, Roy and Dale were gone, so I contented myself with looking around.  The horses weren't much to look at.  They showed a lot of Standardbread and had gangley conformation.

Leaving, I went east on 66, thinking there's be a left turn taking me in a more direct direction to Bakersfield via Tehapachi.  But I ended up in Barstow before I could turn around.

Roy's Happy Trails Ranch was about 5 miles outside of town.  Across the railroad tracks and between the river.

Comments

[Scott Piotrowski]

66 in LA County is much more than McDonalds and strip malls, if you have time to look at it closely. It's every bit as fascinating as the rest of the road, in my opinion.

And that shortcut back to Bakersfield through the Tehachapis is out of Barstow: CA-58 west. Old US-466. The road James Dean died on. (That's the true tie-in between Dean and 66, and its strenuous, at best.)