Yabba Dabba Dooo, it's Bedrock City

Even if you didn't grow up in the Golden Age of cartoons you know who The Flintstones are.  Many years ago the idea of Flintstone themed roadside attractions came to be.

There were a few across the United States although I believe the one in Arizona is the only one still operating.

I went there as a kid and decided to revisit this awesome place on my way to The Grand Canyon.

Abandoned Mine, Acton CA.

Mining in it's heyday of the 1800's and early 1900s was prevalent across America.  From the high dollar items like Gold and Silver, to minerals and other metals, mines dotted the landscape all over the country.

The problem with mining is that once you've dug out all there is to dig, there's nothing left to do but abandoned the mine. 

These abandoned mines are all over the place. Some still have whole Ghost Towns around them and others are just big holes in the ground. 

I went searching for a mine who's history and origins are still unknown to me, and I found it.  

Please enjoy my trek to find this abandoned mine.

Abandoned Oil Rig

The Santa Clarita Valley is famous for many things.  The history of the valley encompass  everything from railroads, to wagon trails to motion pictures, and oil.  While the oil industry isn't as big in the valley as it used to be,there are still some facilities working hard for those dead dinosaurs.

Placerita Canyon was a hot hotspot for oil drilling many years ago.  While the oil drilling equipment is long since gone there are still some remnants of this industry left for the adventurous soul.

I first spotted this gem a few years ago but it was so overgrown I was having a hard time blazing a trail.  The fires of July 2016 cleared the path for me and this past January I went full force into the wild to find what remained of and old truck and oil rig long since abandoned in Placerita Canyon.

Bouquet Falls Hike

If you live in the Santa Clarita Valley there is no doubt you've heard of the Bouquet Falls. In this time of extreme drought you may think that these stories date back to the olden days and there is no way there are active waterfalls in Southern California.

I recently decided to venture out the this mystical location to check it out for myself. What I found was what appeared to be an abandoned recreational area that at one time appeared to have been the place of many family picnics and barbecues.  Unfortunately these days it is accessible only by foot and no longer appears to be the family friendly area of yesteryear.  The below photos and videos document my findings.

Abandnoned Roadside Rest Stop

As I travel round Southern California I'm always looking for something interesting.  While I've been up and down Bouquet Canyon many times over the years it was only recently that I found this place.

The Los Cantiles Handicapped Picnic Ground was established in 1972. On my visit recently it was blocked off but looked to have been refurbished in the last 10 or so year.  I am not sure why this day use area is currently closed but it is an interesting place.

Check out my video of my exploration of this now abandoned day use/roadside rest stop in Santa Clarita.

Abandoned Structure in Bouquet Canyon

While driving up Bouquet Canyon in Santa Clarita looking for a certain abandoned roadside stop I stumbled across another abandoned roadside structure.

This structure appeared to be, at least my best guess, a stable. I'm not sure how long it has been abandoned or what it's purpose was but I was very intrigued by this when I saw it.

I have driven this section of Bouquet Canyon numerous times but this particular day while looking for something else all together I stumbled across this abandoned structure.

Come with me as I investigate and tell me what you think this was.

Walker Homestead

I'm fortunate that the Santa Clarita Valley still has some history to be found. While it has built up over the past 20 years you can still find some remnants of what it used to be.

The Walker Family lived in Placerita Canyon in the early to mid 1900's. Frank walker built several homes there throughout the years and the remnants of a few as well as an entire cabin still exists.

I decided to take a trek down to what is left of what is referred to as the "Homestead" to see what was there.  It's a mild hike with some beautiful scenery as well as a really cool historical site.

The site today                             The site in 1910 




Enjoy the video...
















For more information on the Walker family as well as the entire history of the Santa Clarita Valley visit http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/scvhistory.htm

Texas Canyon Rocks and Cave hike

Santa Clarita has a lot to offer for the casual hiker. There are many maintained trails to visit for a nice safe hike. There are also many areas that offer a little more of a challenge and some spectacular scenery if your willing to venture out to less maintained areas.  For those who want to venture off the beaten path here is one location well worth visiting.

Rowher Flats is mainly known for off road, ATV, and Dirtbike trails.  There is one trail however that leads to an awesome rock formation with some small caves.  This hike is moderate to easy and the trail head is easily accessible by most vehicles.  (I drive a Toyota Corolla and I've done this hike twice).

Once you get to the trail head you'll be amazed at how secluded the area looks considering that you are only a few miles from condo's, apartments, and strip malls. This hike is best suited for Spring or Fall as the Santa Clarita Valley gets very hot in the summer.

Below are some pictures and video of  my adventures to this awesome site.

Mentryville,Historic Oil Town

The Santa Clarita Valley was practically built on Oil.  The rich deposits from Placerita, to Pico,to Elsmere Canyons had oil wells dotting the landscape for years. 

Mentryvville is a famous oil town in the West Santa Clarita Valley which has been preserved over the years. While there are no longer any residents of this town the remnants of this historic oil town are still around and available for the public to see.

The Schoolhouse

When you gotta go, you gotta go….

The foundation of an old building,

Oil drilling equipment.

A marker for Pico #4 the first commercially successful oil well in the western united states


























Up the hill to Odeen #1. 





The marker for Odeen #1.  A less than successful well but a spectacular view.

Abandoned Oil Refinery/Beale’s Cut

These days the Santa Clarita Valley can be accessed from the south via the 14 and 5 freeways or The old road and Sierra highway. Back in the mid 1800’s the first path through what is now the Newhall Pass was Beale’s Cut.  A crude path cut through the mountain but an important throughway that allowed people to gain access to the Santa Clarita Valley.

Beale’s Cut still exists although it is somewhat challenging to get to.  Access from the south is somewhat available although it has become increasingly overgrown.  Access from the north requires you to pass through what is left of the Newhall Refinery property which is connected to the Elsmere Canyon open space. 

To find out more about this historical site please visit http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/bealescut.htm


Below are some photos and video of my trek to this historic site.

Newhall refinery in the 50s                       and today






Beale’s Cut today

A link to a photo of the same area in the 1870s http://www.scvhistory.com/gif/ap0625.jpg


A view looking north from inside the cut

And a view looking south from inside the cut



A little video of the decent from Beale's cut back through the refinery.

Corriganville Movie Ranch

Southern California is known for Movies and Television.  There are plenty of big studios in the heart of Hollywood.  While these studios are great for the interior portions of a movie the great outdoors is sometimes the backdrop for many movies.  This is where the Movie Ranches of yesteryear came in.





Westerns once dominated the motion picture landscape.  These westerns needed a lot of outdoor shooting and western town sets. Movie Ranches provided the perfect setting for these needs.









Corriganville was a fully functioning movie ranch for years, later becoming a tourist attraction somewhat like a small scale Universal Studios.


Owned by stuntman Crash Corrigan the ranch was in operation until 1965 when it was sold to Bob Hope.  There were a handful of movies filmed there after that but fires in 1970 and 1979 destroyed the ranch. The buildings are long gone but there is still some evidence of the history of this site which is now part of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.



Here are the gates of Corriganvile. 














A shot from the hill above Silvertown back in the day.

Below are a couple of shots from the hill above the former location of Silvertown

Silvertown then…….







































And Now.









This rock formation used to have a facade built on to it to create a Hideout Cave.

This was known as Stunt Rock. A diving platform above an artificial lake.

The famous Gorilla Rock.  I’m sure you can guess where it got it’s name.


For more information please visit http://www.corriganville.net/
If you would like to explore this site yourself it is open to the public.