Bridge to Nowhere

Munday's Hideaway

Uncle Rob drives up the curvy San Gabriel Canyon Road, past the San Gabriel Reservoir, then turns onto East Fork Road, which follows the San Gabriel River into Shoemaker Canyon.

The road narrows, and the pavement becomes gravel. As they drive deeper into the canyon, the road degrades to a dirt track through the wilderness.

The extra weight of the X-37 strains the old truck. After five miles of driving through huge potholes and traversing the shallow river three times, the dirt trail takes a sharp right turn. The truck drives up a long steady rise before the road widens and levels out.

As they crest the hill, the screens inside the old truck display the image of an arched bridge spanning a canyon. There is a large flat gravel area in front of the bridge and an old rusted shipping container on the left. Rob brings the Suburban to a stop. The white cement bridge glows in the bright beams of the aircraft lights mounted on the X-37.

"Wow, that's cool," says Alyssa.

"Did somebody misplace a bridge?" asks Courtney.

Rob is tickled by their reaction. "It's the Bridge to Nowhere."

Ethan's mood has not changed, but he can't hold back his interest in the strange bridge. "Because it's in the middle of nowhere?"

"Because it leads nowhere. See, it's a dead end," Alyssa says, pointing.

"You're both right. A long time ago, a road was being built between the San Gabriel Valley and the small town of Wrightwood on the north side of the mountains. During the winter of 1938, there was a flood that wiped out the road. The bridge construction was already complete. After the flood, they gave up building the road, so here sits a bridge in the middle of the canyon, leading to nowhere. I present the Bridge to Nowhere."

The kids and Courtney laugh and Rob laughs with them.

"For many years, the road was no more than a narrow hiking trail. Weekend hikers and bungee jumpers were the only people to visit this lonesome bridge. That old shipping container stored bungee jumping equipment."

"Bungee jumping. I wish we could try that," says Alyssa.

"Before there was a bridge to nowhere, do you know what the San Gabriel river was known for?"

"Fishing?" Ethan offers.

"Nope. Gold mining."

"Gold mining. Here? I thought they did all the gold mining in Northern California," says Courtney.

"People have mined the San Gabriel River, off and on, for over one hundred and fifty years. In the early 1930s, there was a small village with huts and shops for miners. There was a large mining excavation in the riverbed a mile downstream from the bridge. Mines were dug into the mountainsides. The gold rush didn't last, neither did the village. The flood of 1938 wiped out everything including the road. Then in 2023 some guy discovered a large gold deposit, and gold fever was back! The road we just traveled was re-built."

"I wouldn't call that much of a road," Courtney declares.

"Well, like most gold strikes, it soon went bust, and they stopped maintaining the road. Now, we drive over the bridge and we're home."

"Is the bridge safe?" Courtney asks in a concerned tone.

"Rock solid. They built this bridge to last. It's in great shape. I drive across almost every day," Rob says, as he slowly drives onto the bridge.

"On the far side of the bridge, we take a quick right turn, or we'll drive directly into the side of the mountain." Rob maneuvers the sharp turn, drives sixty feet to the end of the dirt road and stops. He leaves the aircraft lights on, pointing up the canyon.