The Inland Empire is a region mainly located in Southeast California, particularly the Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Inland Empire is centered in the region's oldest cities: Ontario, San Bernardino, and Riverside. These cities were established at about the end of the 19th century and were major centers of agriculture including citrus, dairy, and wine-making.
The name "Inland Empire" was first used in the 1950s to distinguish the region from the coastal communities of the Greater Los Angeles Area, and Los Angeles itself. The "Inland" part of the name is derived from the region's location about 37 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean (from Huntington Beach) and east of downtown Los Angeles. The most accepted physical boundaries between Los Angeles and the Inland Empire from west to east are the San Jose Hills splitting the San Gabriel Valley from the Pomona Valley, leading to the urban populations centered in the San Bernardino Valley. From the south to north, the Santa Ana Mountains physically divide Orange from San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The Santa Rosa Mountains, as well as the Southern California portion of the Sonoran Desert, physically divides Riverside from San Diego County. Interconnectivity provided by one of the most comprehensive freeway systems in the United States has eroded any sense of physical boundaries between the Inland Empire and the Greater Los Angeles area.
Since the 1970s a rapidly growing population has led to more residential, commercial, and industrial development in this rural 'intermediate' area east of LA and Orange County, and north of San Diego County. With a population of over 4 million people, the Inland Empire is the 14th largest metropolitan area in the United States.
Click to enlarge map:
REDLANDS
Pg. 4:
“Even the little
pile he rented out in Redlands had a backyard.”Pg. 13:
“This particular agent had a panorama of East L.A. and a layer of smog that reached all the way to Redlands.”
Pg. 41:
“Potts got back to his house in Redlands at midmorning. He was tired and dirty and he wanted a shower and a cold beer. He’d sleep and have a late breakfast and then go out somewhere. He lived out of town at the edge of the desert.”
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California. As of 2007 the population was approximately 69,941.
History
Once part of the Spanish Mission lands, Redlands was incorporated in 1888 following an influx of wealthy easterners and mid westerners. Early settlers brought their cultures, traditions and treasures, adding to the City's reputation as a cultural and educational community. Agriculture prospered with the navel orange and many citrus groves still surround Redlands today.
More than a hundred years ago the seed which became the city of Redlands was planted by two young Easterners who shared a dream of idyllic agricultural and residential community. Redlands was the shared dream of Frank E. Brown, a civil engineer and Yale graduate, and E. G. Judson, a New York stock broker, who met in Southern California in late 1870's.
Naming their Redlands colony for the color of the adobe soil, the two busily laid out a city, brought water from the mountains to the community, introduced the newly discovered Washington navel orange, and recruited settlers. It wasn't long before Redlands proudly proclaimed itself the Navel Orange Capital of the World.
One group of early settlers called itself the Chicago Colony and created what is now the downtown business district. They named the principal shopping street for State Street in Chicago.
In 1889, twins Alfred H. and Albert K. Smiley came to Redlands, and the town has changed forever. The Smiley brothers, well known educators and resort owners from New York, established a tradition of philanthropy with their donation of the A. K. Smiley public library and park in 1889. Two decades later, the Clarence G. Whites gave the prosellis at the Redlands Bowl, and the Robert Watchorns built the Lincoln Shrine next to the library. These and many others built a city that was known as the "Jewel of the Inland Empire." Many of the jewels are still with us.
The Local Economy
The following companies are located in Redlands:
• Five Ten Footwear - Headquarters.
• Environmental Systems Research Institute - Worldwide Headquarters and Learning Center Campus.
• La-Z-Boy - Western U.S. Headquarters\Distribution and manufacturing center.
• Salton Inc. - General Contractors-Industrial Buildings and Warehouses. (George Forman Grills)
• Hydro Tek Systems - A manufacturer of high pressure washers and industrial cleaning equipment
• Gill Batteries (now owned by Teledyne) originated in Redlands. The production plant is still located there. These batteries are used in everything from General Aviation aircraft to Airliners.
Distribution Centers
• Stater Bros. (supermarket chain)
• Hershey's Food
• Payless ShoeSource
• Trader Joe's
• Icon Health & Fitness Inc. - Fitness brands include NordicTrack and Gold's Gym.
WRIGHTWOOD - town without a traffic light
Pg. 124:
Coren speaking to Spandau about Terry: “Yeah, but he’s always right there when it starts, isn’t he? Those three guys he clobbered in Wrightwood, does it ever occur to you he could’ve just walked out of there?”
Wrightwood is a census-designated place located in San Bernardino County. It has an approximate population, 3,300. Only 15 miles off I-15, it's the easiest mountain drive in southern California. The northeastern San Gabriel Mountains cradle Wrightwood in the beautiful Swarthout Valley at an elevation of 6,000 ft, west of the Cajon Pass. Protecting her to the south beyond Blue Ridge, is the majestic Mt. San Antonio (Mt. Baldy) and to the west Mt. Baden Powell. At her feet lies the golden Mojave Desert.
Originally inhabited by Serrano Indians, Wrightwood evolved into a cattle ranch, apple orchard, then finally into a quiet mountain resort community. Wrightwood's history is apparent with buildings from years ago still standing and incorporated into everyday community life.
Wrightwood is a destination for Camping, fishing, skiing, hiking, and picnics.
Hikers can enjoy Mt. Baden Powell, the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, and enjoy the Angeles National Forest.
Wrightwood is home to the some of the finest skiing in southern California. Ski Sunrise offers family/intimate and glade skiing while Mountain High provides nearly 20 miles of runs for more experienced skiers. Throughout the Angeles National Forest there are many areas available for snowplay, sledding, and other winter opportunities.
Click on thumbnail to view larger photo:
Swarthout Valley and Highway 2 to Wrightwood, and Mountain High Ski Resort
RANCHO CUCAMONGA
Pg. 207:
“Martin took Highway 10 out through Rancho Cucamonga and Redlands to just beyond Cabazon. Terry was a mile or so behind him when he noticed the dot veer to the right and off the highway into a blank area.”
Rancho Cucamonga is a city in San Bernardino County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 127,743. By 2008, the city's estimated population had reached 174,308 people. In 2006, Money magazine ranked Rancho Cucamonga as the 42nd best place to live in the U.S. The city was incorporated in 1977, as a result of a merger among the unincorporated communities of Alta Loma, Cucamonga, and Etiwanda.
Rancho Cucamonga is the conjunction of the Mojave Trail, the Old Spanish Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, former U.S. Route 66 (now signed as Foothill Boulevard), and El Camino Real. Its proximity to the San Gabriel Mountains causes the city to be very smoggy.
The Name "Cucamonga"
"Cucamonga" comes from a Tongva place name (perhaps pronounced [kukɑ'mʌŋnɑ]) that probably means "sandy place", although Vera Rocha, Chief of the Shoshone Gabrielino branch, has stated that the meaning is "Place of the villages where the waters come out". Cuc or Kuc = come, come from or come to. Amo = water, wet, spring and Nanga = place of a village. Either interpretation could easily refer to the same place. The northern part of the city is located in the foothills, where there were a number of artesian wells and creeks. The surface soil is extremely sandy and rocky due to repeated storm runoff from the mountains to the north. An alternate theory, that it means "light over the mountain", is almost certainly a fanciful invention, since the "-nga" (or "-ngna") place name ending is found in many other Tongva-derived place names in the region.
In popular media, "Cucamonga" has been recognized as a funny-sounding place name. One of the catch-phrases of the radio show "The Jack Benny Program" involved a train announcer (Mel Blanc) who said over the loudspeaker, "Train now leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc... amonga," taking progressively longer pauses between "Cuc" and "amonga." Part of the joke, for the Los Angeles audience, was that no such train route existed, although all three cities (or at the time, towns) do exist. As a tribute to this 'publicity', the city of Rancho Cucamonga built its minor-league baseball stadium on a street they named Jack Benny Way, and erected a bronze statue of the TV host outside of the building's entrance (Coincidentally, Jack Benny Way intersects with Rochester Avenue, which is not named for the character portrayed by Eddie Anderson on "The Jack Benny Program", but was named in 1889 after the hometown of three investors[citation needed], all of whom were brothers from Rochester, New York). In one of his many popular media crossovers, Blanc used that same catch phrase in Daffy Duck's voice in the 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon "Daffy Duck Slept Here" and later in Bugs Bunny's voice in a 1960s Looney Tunes cartoon.
The Jack Benny Statue
Cucamonga in the Media
• In the movie Next Friday the setting is, and was partly filmed in, Rancho Cucamonga.
• An ABC television movie comedy Camp Cucamonga (1990), presumably takes place in a summer camp in Rancho Cucamonga's forested area in the San Bernardino National Forest. The current city limits barely extend into the forested regions of the foothills, and large parts of Cucamonga Peak north of the city lie in a wilderness area.
• The musical comedy team of Homer and Jethro had a Grammy-winning hit in 1959 with their single "The Battle of Kookamonga", a parody of Johnny Horton's hit "The Battle of New Orleans".
• "Pride of Cucamonga", a wine produced by the Joseph Filippi Winery in Rancho Cucamonga, was used as the title of a song by the Grateful Dead.
• The city hosts the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League.
• Comedian Jamie Kennedy performed a skit for his hidden camera show The Jamie Kennedy Experiment in which he pranked everyone at the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Stadium into singing multiple verses of the national anthem.
• Hometown to pop punk band Rufio, O-Town boy band member Trevor Penick, as well as American Idol: Season 3 finalist Matthew Rogers.
• Cucamonga is part of the Jan and Dean song titled, Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review and Timing Association which was released as Liberty 55724 in 1964 and eventually reached #77 on the Billboard Chart. The A-side of the single, Ride the Wild Surf reached Billboard's #16.
• In an episode of "The Office," Michael Scott tries to entertain a child during Take Your Daughter to Work Day. Blowing a train whistle, he paraphrases the Jack Benny joke, "next stop Cuc-amonga".
• In an episode of The Simpsons, Krusty the Clown mentioned Cucamonga, along with Walla Walla, Seattle, and Keokuk as funny place names.
• In an early Sesame Street sketch, Cookie Monster tries to fool Ernie by claiming that Ernie has a dread disease called "Cucamongaphobia."
• In the 1995 movie A Kid in King Arthur's Court, King Arthur exiles the villain to Cucamonga at the recommendation of Calvin Fuller.
• Lou Costello (Abbott and Costello) states that he once played with "the Cucamonga Wildcats" during a 1947 performance of "Who's on First?"
• Actor Redd Foxx made frequent references to Rancho Cucamonga in the television show Sanford and Son.
• In Crash Tag Team Racing, a Park Drone selling a mad scientist outfit claims that he's going to use the money to buy a first-class flight to Cucamonga.
Click on the thumbnail to see an aerial of Rancho Cucamonga:
CABAZON
Cabazon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County. The population was 2,229 at the 2000 census.
Cabazon was incorporated as a city in 1955. In 1972, due to years of scandal, political instability, and stalled growth, the citizens of Cabazon voted to disincorporate the city[1]. Cabazon thus became the first and, so far, only community to give up cityhood in Riverside County. Attempts to incorporate the area are in progress, in order to re-instill civic pride.
Cabazon is the home of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and their massive Casino Morongo, whose 27-story hotel tower dominates the San Gorgonio Pass. It is one of the largest Native American casinos in the United States. A huge water-bottling facility was established by Arrowhead Mountain Springwater (in partnership with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians) on the eastern edge on Cabazon in 2003.
Casino Morongo
Claude Bell's dinosaurs are icons of roadside America. Some people may remember them from Pee-wee's Big Adventure, while others have grown up with them along the highway in southern California. The dinosaurs were purchased in 2005 from the Bell family for $1.2 million USD by Christian developers.
Click on thumbnail:
Cabazon is a major stop for outlet shopping, home to the well known Cabazon Outlets.
In late October 2006, a major arson fire started near Cabazon. During the course of five days, the Esperanza Fire burned over 40,000 acres and resulted in the deaths of five firefighters.
Sources:
CSU Long Beach, Dept. of Geological Sciences (for the wonderful aerials)
RedlandsWeb.com
Wikipedia
WrightwoodCalifornia.com
Also I have always been fascinated with geology. 
