Most of us don't give the state highway that slices through Taft a second thought.

There are even bumper stickers that say, "Pray for me.? I drive Highway 33."

Les Clark thinks there should be bumper stickers that instead say, "Thank you Lord for Highway 33."

And after listening to some of his stories along with his views on Highway 33, you start agreeing with him that the venerable two-lane asphalt ribbon is more than meets the eye - a lot more.

Clark, a longtime resident and vice president of the Independent Oil Producers Association, was one of the speakers Thursday at the unveiling of signs designating the 48-mile stretch of Highway 33 from Maricopa to Blackwell's Corner as "Petroleum Highway."

Calling the designation "a tremendous tribute to the oil industry," he talked about the significance of a highway that goes through the heart of the vast Midway-Sunset oil field and the billions of barrels of oil the region has produced.

"I grew up on 33," Clark said.? "Actually, I've walked 33 because it seems I always had cars that broke down a lot."

He talked about all the landmarks along the route, from Blackwell's Corner to Maricopa and recalled memories of growing up here and how important the highway was.

"I remember the time we had an invasion of tarantulas.? There were millions of them, and they had to close down the highway for a time."

He remembered hearing stories about George Bush selling oil tools out of the back of an old Ford somewhere near Fellows - just off Highway 33.

The presidential family partially got its start in the oil business in this area.

"So, he must have driven Highway 33," Clark said.

He also highlighted the companies and leases that dot the highway, many of which he worked in.

"My son always liked the name Cymric, so my oldest grandson's middle name is Cymric," he said.? "I told my son if he ever worked at Cymric, he probably wouldn't like that name so much."

Clark recalled as a kid digging in the McKittrick Tar Pits adjacent to the highway.

"Sometimes we actually dug up fossils, but we didn't tell anybody.? If we did that today we'd probably go to jail."

Calling the tiny roadside hamlets along the highway "wonderful spots," he recalled being in Derby Acres one time "and Adlai Stevenson drove by in a blue Buick."

A prominent politician, Stevenson once ran for president.

Don Gillaspie was one of the people who came up with the idea of memorializing the highway as a founding member of the Westside Sunset Railroad Historical Society.

"Ten years ago we started talking about how to promote tourism," he said, "but people said the oil fields aren't very exciting."

He recalled taking people from other areas on tours of the Westside "and how excited they were about those steel mosquitoes sucking oil out of the ground.? They were intrigued by? the pipelines and the silver steam pipelines.? They thought they were something that looks like special effects in a movie."

Gillaspie called the 48-mile length of Petroleum Highway "a drive-through museum."

He recalled the effort that began in 2004 to get the designation and thanked Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, then a state assemblyman representing Taft, who got the legislative ball rolling.

Chamber of Commerce Director Randy Miller thanked Gillaspie and the others who worked on the project.

"It just shows what can happen when a group of private citizens get together and accomplish something," he said.