P112
FEATURE I BIG RIDE WITH DAD
what is now Los Padres National
Forest. Three tunnels through
Wheeler Gorge were completed
by 1931, while further construc
-
tion connected Ventura with
the Cuyama Valley, an area that
The modern route began
taking shape in the 1920s and
'30s. Engineers dynamited their
way through the rugged coun
-
try north of Ojai, following the
valleys and canyons through
ested in between Ojai and New
Cuyama follows a route that
predates the modern highway by
more than a century.
The first serious attempt to
establish a road over the moun-
tains dates to an 1890 survey for
a route between Ventura and the
Cuyama Valley. A wagon road
followed in 1891, climbing over
Pine Mountain and providing an
important connection between
the coast and the inland com
-
munities. By 1911, residents of
Maricopa and Taft had orga-
nized a "Good Roads Club," lob-
bying to turn the rough wagon
route into a proper state high-
way. The road was subsequently
incorporated into California's
highway system in 1915.
(Above) The R 1300
RT gobbles up the
miles like it's nothing,
leaving more time
to check out the
expansive views on
the 33. (Below)
Check out the drill
marks on the rock
face, remnants of the
backbreaking labor
the men went through
to make this road
a reality.
