Carbon Canyon Road – Hwy. 142

I was driving a ’96 Blazer with over 120,000 miles, not a Porsche. The canyon winds with one section referred to as the ‘S-curves’, it’s not the 15 to Las Vegas. There is no passing (legally), so if you’re stuck behind a turtle, you are screwed. At both ends of the canyon where multi lanes merge into one, there is a rush to be at the head of the parade.

So here I was stuck behind the guy that is breaking every 15 seconds, headed up to canyon crest and the Hollydale trailer park, where I was hoping would be the driver’s destination. Just as we got over the top and would head down the steep grade, the car pulled over to the right shoulder and I swerved a little to the left, passed him and happily headed down the hill towards the winding road that leads home. Just one problem…

I guess it took awhile before I noticed the lights. And why shouldn’t it, after all it’s a winding road and I needed to keep my eyes on the road in front of me, not behind me. The officer explained that he was about to call ahead and report me as a ‘chase’. I found that quite amusing and explained that it would be a fairly slow speed chase driving this road in this vehicle. He did not share my amusement. He explained in addition to crossing over the double line when I passed the car earlier (he had been waiting up a side street), that he was considering ticketing me for speeds in excess of 70 miles an hour. Again, he did not share my humor, but I would have certainly argued this one in court. It’s not that I couldn’t get the Blazer up to 70 mph without problem, but no way could I make the curves at that speed.

Carbon Canyon is a pretty drive. It’s only one lane each direction and mostly undeveloped on both sides as it parallels Chino Hills Park and Carbon Canyon Regional Park. This however is not reason to ‘off road’ anywhere along this route, but at least once a month someone has decided to do exactly this. Usually it’s speed related, and 50% of the time it’s fatal. 100% of the time traffic is held up and 10% of the time the canyon gets closed in order to tow, investigate, or repair a downed power pole that had previously been standing in the driver’s way.

Thought more about the ‘off roading” reasons and the canyon in the old days. I’d guess it was probably more alcohol related in the past. There used to be two bars in the canyon, the Canyon Corral and La Vida. Neither exist today, but both great roadhouses that deserve posts of their own, as all other indications that they ever existed are gone. Where the Canyon Corral once stood is soon to be a CVS, and if leveling La Vida wasn’t enough, a couple fires have swept through the canyon as if to ensure it wouldn’t reappear.