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Editors' Note
Okay, friends and fans -- thanks for your patience with a flurry of updates of occasionally dubious quality and, as the Imperial Grand Pooh-Bah kindly took the trouble to complain, a variety of editing problems. We've corrected (via a "quiet publish" feature that didn't send a new email every time we fixed an existing entry) the stuff we had. The good news is that we invite you to VISIT THE ACTUAL BLOG to see a significantly-improved, edited, re-sequenced, and illustrated set of entries. Geoff and Ruth have provided plenty of commentary and notes to enable Judy to correct the fragments that had been available so far, and we hope you'll enjoy the smoother record, possibly around the Electronic Campfire of the CFC Tuesday night meeting....
All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go
What we'd hoped would be an early start was once again foiled by a weak battery in 624 (which would be eventually diagnosed as dirty terminals, but we didn't know that yet) and we needed a jump-start from the FBO before taking off with about at 20-minute delay...
May 16th, Tucson to Porterville
Today's travels took us from Tucson AZ northwestward to Porterville CA,
halfway between Bakerfield CA and Fresno CA, up the San Joaquim Valley. We went from Tucson's relative civilization through the most desolate reaches of the United States we'd yet seen. There were absolutely NO roads of any description whatsoever for as far as we could see over large sections of our passage above southern Arizona. No off road trails, nothing. Our pilotage skills were tested ... though we won't say whether or not we turned off the GPS just for the challenge of it all.
Much of the terrain appeared to be rough, jagged volcanic rock, pushed up into rolling hills and small mountain outcroppings, probably impassable to most vehicles. Upon reaching the Colorado River -- the Arizona/California border -- we were suddenly greeted by the green of the irrigated fields SOCAL, and picked up I-10 for easy navigation to our planned gas stop at Banning CA.
While following I-10, Geoff was able to pick out several hikes that he and Ruth had done four months previously, in January, in Joshua Tree National Park, just north of the highway. To the south, we observed the Salton Sea and areas west, where they had explored the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on the same trip.
Now Geoff is going to tell a tale on himself. Passing over Indio CA, near Palm Springs CA, we entered the locally notorious San Gorgonio Pass (1500 feet elevation) for our gas stop landing at Banning. This is where we get the story...unbeknownst to the pilots, but remembered by Geoff from his previous trip through that pass in January, this pass possesses fantastic Bernoulli effect properties....and had he known that was the intended destination, he says now that he'd have STRONGLY advocated choosing almost ANY other airport except that one! "WINDY!" say Ruth's notes.
However, the pilot were up for the challenge, and landed safely.
A brief stop and we were on our way once again, FINALLY turning northwestward to begin the northbound portion of the trip. Leaving Banning, we had to dodge around several local mountain peaks and circle to climb to clear the terrain. Once over the nearby mountains, the terrain fell away to form the lower end of the Mojave Desert. We proceeded northwest over virtually barren land punctuated by occasional near-incongruous housing developments. We skirted around the southwest edge of the restricted area known as the famous Rogers Dry Lake and Edwards AFB (the former Muroc), the famed military and civilian aircraft testbed. We could see two gigantic runways from a great distance, but no OBSERVABLE activity that day... just 'cause ya can't see it doesn't mean they're not testing it, as Bob knows well...
Continuing northward, we skimmed the eastern edge of the desert near Bakersfield, finally arriving in Porterville CA around 4:30 pm local. This was our record hot experience on the tarmac -- 100 degrees in the SHADE -- outstripping anything we'd felt in Arizona.
Red Stars Rising
Before we even landed, we were VERY surprised by what we saw as we set up for our approach to land.
We noticed that the tarmac and adjacent grassy areas were FILLED with aircraft! Upon landing, it became apparent that we had landed in the midst of preparations for an airshow the next day! Well over 25 trainer aircraft of Chinese and Russian design, driven by members of the Red Star Pilots Association, had flown in and were gleaming in the late afternoon sunshine, all tarted up for performance demo the next day. While we disembarked, they were taking off, landing, and practicing their formation flying overhead. We learned that this was their practice for their 50th anniversary performance slated for July at Oshkosh, where FIFTY of them will wow the EAA visitors. "We'll see you there!" we told them.
We tied down in the far reaches of the available space, and were lucky to be on the airport property all. Then we had to beg the FBO to truck us back from where we parked. As for accommodation, our big concern was that we'd be baking in our beds under the wing. Ruth found a Best Western -- a nice place, though a bit pricier -- that had a Denny's, where we dined, attached to the back and featured a giant pool in which rose petals were floating , to Ruth and Janice's delight. While they floated in the pool, they overheard lots of hangar-flying and observed the "NO VACANCY" sign light up. The hotel also had a much-needed laundry facility...all most welcomed.
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