Two videos, long and short, take you over the best parts. Checking out the east end of Highway 94 in the May 2007 Weekend Driver column in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Jets Replacing Cows? : With the talk of putting a new San Diego airport near Boulevard, I decided to take a drive to Tierra Del Sol and McCain Valley. Ran April 30, 2005. GO> By the way, like so many other San Diego airport plans, this idea is dead.

In the way are the rugged and sometimes cruel mountains that lead to an equally cruel desert.

One of the earliest routes east is the subject of today’s drive -- since the 1930s known as California Highway 94. Histories of the area are incomplete, but it appears this was the first route east that was entirely in the United States, existing before the inaugural stagecoach run in 1870.

Over the 54 miles from the Jamacha Junction to Boulevard, the highway snakes through the mountains and valleys of southeastern San Diego County, and communities with names like Jamul, Dulzura, Potrero, and Campo, close to Mexico before ending in Boulevard. There are plenty of places to eat, plus p’arks, campgrounds, and lots of twisting, rugged driving.

Old alignment of Highway 94.

Transportation history also  abounds. In addition to a route possibly dating back more than 150 years, there are auto, truck, and train museums along the way.

It’s also one of the few highways with its own club and Web site; the Highway 94 Club meets regularly and has lots of historical tidbits on its Web site. Shirley Bowman has written a great history of the route and the people that created it. We’ll keep Lou Stein’s San Diego County Place Names handy for other historical details.

If you want to go the full length of today’s 94, head east from the end of G Street in downtown San Diego. Originally called the Crosstown Freeway, this stretch was one of San Diego’s first, opening in 1957. Stay with SR-94 as it swings east at the SR-125 interchange to the “Casa De Oro Connector.”

The scenic stretch begins after the freeway ends, with a turn onto Campo Road at an intersection once known as Jamacha Junction. The first reminder of the age of this route is the old Sweetwater Road bridge, preserved to the right of the span built in 1987.

The bridge has been preserved for walking, horses or biking; if you have time, turn off at Singer Lane and enjoy the river view.

Things are becoming more built-up on this twisty road to Jamul, but they are still pretty rural. Pens hold horses and other farm animals, while the biggest fences keep human teenagers corralled at Steele Canyon High School.

Jamul is a wonderful, close-in stop for fresh vegetables (Steele Canyon Produce), to dine or spend the afternoon. Shopping for a saddle? Check outage several tack shops along the way.

Dulzura Cafe is a great road house.

For green thumbs and car buffs, Simpson’s Garden Town Nursery is a must see. Right in downtown Jamul at Campo and Proctor Valley roads, owner Lee Smith has two barns and much of the nursery grounds filled with more than 50 vintage autos, pickup trucks, boats, travel trailers, and assorted automobilia. Car clubs hold shows on the grounds.

Stein credits the native Kumeyaay with naming Jamul: it could be “foam or lather,” “place where antelope drink water” or “slimy water.”

Beyond town, civilization thins even more as drivers roll through the valleys that are home to Rancho Jamul and the Daley Ranch, longtime cattle lands. The valleys are gorgeous and green in years with normal rainfall, but dry spells can leave them pretty brown.

Past Otay Lakes Road, the real challenging driving begins. Traffic is heavy at times as trucks headed to Tecate can clog the road. The hairpin turns, narrow lanes, and disappearing shoulder also add to the thrill.

Dulzura is the next hamlet on the way. The Dulzura Cafe, a great spot for burgers and cold beverages, is one of several surviving roadhouses along SR-94. Out front is a portico where gas pumps once sat.

Cross through another mountain ridge and we’re at Barrett Junction, home of Leon Herzog’s cafe, another classic road house known for its fish fry. A turn here will take you to the lake, which has limited fishing.

Just past are remnants of old 94 that are still derivable. It’s hard to see, but after crossing the Cottonwood Creek bridge, start up the hill and take the left at Barrett School Road. Wind around onto the eastern segment of Barrett Smith Road and the old highway. The western segment of Barrett Smith Road is no longer connected as the bridge over Cottonwood Creek is long gone.

Willys Jeep Station Wagon at Simpson’s Nursary in Jamul.

The pavement is a bit rough, but the extra twisting grade is marked by some vintage mileposts, a sure sign of the old highway. It offers a spectacular view of the Potrero Creek gorge that’s only partially visible from today’s 94.

This stretch of road is used occasionally as an “extreme sports” course, hosting international racing events. Watch out for cyclists, skateboarders, and the occasional street luge.

Rejoin the highway at the top of the grade. If you missed the turn at Barrett School Road, make the left here and loop back; it’s well worth the detour.

The valley quickly disappears as 94 climbs along the edge of Potrero Creek and the junction with SR-188, the two-mile link to the border. It’s a great side trip to Tecate, considered more of a typical Mexican town than its bustling neighbor, Tijuana. The namesake Tecate Beer brewery towers above the skyline.

Back on 94, we’re headed to Potrero, Spanish for “meadow or pasturing place,” according to Stein, who notes it was first settled by Maine sea captain Charles McAlmond in 1868. Spacious Potrero Regional Park has picnic areas, camping, and RV hookups. The Potrero Store and Cafe is also a great spot to stop for refreshment, as summer heat is intense in the back country.

Back on the highway, the San Diego and Arizona Railroad makes its first appearance as a “Subway Ahead” sign alerts drivers to the narrow underpass. Yet another attempt to connect the markets of the east with the San Diego Bay, the railroad was completed by sugar magnate John D. Speckles in 1919. Washed out by storms in the 1970s, it’s now been reopened for freight by the Carrizo Gorge Railway Co.

This stretch of track is used by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, headquartered up ahead in Campo. Saturday and Sunday, 16-mile train rides are run to the east.

Watch for the turn to the museum just before crossing the railroad tracks and the old Gaskill Brothers stone store. The brothers defended the store in a classic Wild West shoot-out with Mexican desperadoes in 1895; today it is open as a museum and antique store.

The wide valley at Campo was home to Camp Lockett, where the Army’s famous Buffalo Soldiers black cavalry regiment trained. German and Italian prisoners of war were held at the base during World War II.

Just past Campo is Cameron Corners, a onetime stagecoach stop named after Thomas Cameron, an early settler, reports Stein. Egg and horse ranches dot the area.

Towering above the valley is the old feldspar mill, now home to the Motor Transport Museum, a private antique truck museum. Feldspar, a mineral used in production of porcelain items such as toilets and sinks, was mined in nearby Hauser Canyon, ground, and shipped out on the railway. The mill closed in 1949.

A high bridge marks the last appearance of the railroad as Highway 94 gently winds through ranchettes toward the Campo Indian Reservation. The tribe has built the Golden Acorn Casino   on the other side of the property, adjacent to Interstate 8.

The highway then hooks north at the town of Boulevard toward Interstate. In 1963, the year the team won its only American Football League championship, the San Diego Chargers held their pre-season training camp here.

With the freeway in sight, drivers can decide how to get back to San Diego. After a day of mountain driving, a nice smooth trip back on I-8 might be just the ticket, retrace your route back over SR-94, or cruise old U.S. 80, which parallels Interstate 8 most of the way.

Either way, you’ve had a great trip through some of San Diego County’s most challenging and historic territories.