It’s Road Trip Time. This is a great time to set up that summer Drive that you, and maybe a few friends, also who have neat cars, want to take to set out for the backroads.
The one I have planned here is a Three Day Trek, some of which I've written about before, some is new, and all of it is a challenging quest to find, (drum roll here): The Center of the Earth. Or at least, the California Road Trip Earth. To be more specific, the EXACT Geographical Center of the Golden State.
Now I can’t say what Genius of Geography and Geometry figured this out, but the actual Center of California is in the southern Sierras, not far from Sequoia. Huh. Who’d a thunk it? Now, a few years ago, we described a trip through the Gold Country, and yeah, this one mirrors some of that, but there are a few twists. Like going by way of Ojai and Morro Bay. Wha? Ya ask? Well, several people wondered aloud to me if a great drive could be made using both the coast and the Sierras. I took up the challenge and here it is.
Day One will take us from up near Magic Mountain at a neat little eatery called “Eggs n Things”, over 126, up to Ojai, then the challenge of Wheeler Ridge. The 166 will take us towards the coast and give a couple of great lunch opportunities. One is Jocko's, the great steak house in Nipomo, the other is the Rock ‘n’ Roll Diner in Oceano.
From there, we’ll head along the coast and up over See Canyon. This has a bit of dirt road, but it’s well maintained and even my TR3 doesn’t object. From there, you’ll hit Morro Bay (where, if you wanted to hold off for lunch, Taco Temple is a great place, and head back east.
Over CA 41, past the James Dean Memorial, up and over to the great Central Valley and through the fields to Visalia. Yeah, I said Visalia. This is a good jump-off spot and the Old Town has acquired several decent eateries and even a brewpub. It’s a good place to spend the night, lots of decent motels at good prices.
A couple of other notes about Visalia: the Brewbakers brewpub in Visalia is pretty good, but my steak was REALLY tough, esp. for the price and Bravo Farms was good but overpriced, pretentious and they slapped an automatic 18% gratuity on our table of 6. If we’d sat at separate tables, no such charge! I told the poor waiter that if those are the rules, then he’d been cheated. I WOULD have given him more, but...Rules are Rules! I’d honestly give this place a miss, it’s just not worth the money.
The one thing you have to keep in mind is the time of year. Many of these secondary roads are closed in the winter. They don’t want to spend the money to plow them. That dough is better spent keeping the main roads in the southern Sierras open as much as possible. Most should be open by May, but it’s always a good idea to check first, especially after a wet winter. It’s also worth noting that even in the spring, a snowstorm CAN hit. Keeping an eye on the weather is an important idea. In the summer, these mountains can also get surprisingly hot, and the hill climbing and heat can challenge an Auld Crate’s cooling system. Make sure your's is up to snuff!
The key to this whole drive is located on a little back road called “Italian Bar Road.” I need to do some research on how it got its name. Was there a bar for Italians? Were Italians barred from crossing further south or north? Some kind of 19th century Pale? Who knows. Anyway, it’s on this road that you will find the exact geographical center of California. Now you know. Don’t all jump up and cheer at once, you’ll wake the kids.
From there, it’s more back country to Oakhurst, where you’ll find the least outrageous gas prices, then, by the usual indirect route, back to your digs in Visalia. It’s actually not that grueling day in the saddle, but the fresh mountain air and the scenery are spectacular. In April and May, there should be plenty of wildflowers and flowering trees to liven up the backdrop of evergreens. What more could you ask for?
At the top is a neat little place called the Pierpoint Springs Resort. We weren’t ready to eat again, but DAMN, did breakfast smell good there! Past there, WAY past there is a crossroads with another intriguing eatery, the Tapatio Cafe. It’s where Hot Springs Road and Old Stage Road meet. Good place to take a pee break. The place was empty, but it smelled good. Out side, E. Clampus Vitus has erected a monument to the most successful horse rustler in California history, Peg Leg Smith, “El Cojo”. It’s a great story and thank God for the Clampers for keeping the REAL history alive.
From there, it’s off to Woody, then the edge of Bakersfield and up to Tehachapi, Lunch at a new place called Red House BBQ or the old standby, the Village Grill. From there it’s an easy drive home over Angeles Crest. I was tempted to call this drive the Jerry Dunphy Memorial Jaunt, because in the words of that legendary LA newscaster, we went “from the Mountains, to the Deserts, to the Sea, and to All of Southern California.”
Steve McCarthy is the editor and main contributor to The Ace Magazine visit his site for the complete turn by turn directions for this road trip so you can take it yourself!
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