Desert Trip (Day 1)

We are off on another road trip with Big Mother and the Green Machine, this time to the desert in Southern California. We left Nevada City at 8:23 am, twenty-three minutes later than our planned departure time. The weather was great, as it has been for the last month-and-a-half. The traffic was moderately heavy with no delays. We drove south on Hwy 49, southwest on I80 and south on Hwy 99, where we were passed by another lime green bug.

















We had lunch in the RV (meatloaf sandwiches) in Chowchilla, CA, the site of the 1960's kidnapping of a bus full of high school students, along with the bus driver. Obviously, the kidnappers were not the brightest crayons in the box to kidnap a whole busload of teenagers. Who wants that kind of stress. Anyway, the kids were very clever and resourceful, because although the bus was buried in a ravine in a remote wooded area, they got free and walked out to civilization bringing the bus driver out with them. (Apparently, the bus driver was terrified and was no help during the ordeal. ) The criminals were eventually caught.

We drove south on Hwy 99 to Bakersfield, Ca with Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park in the Sierra on our left,magnificent and snow-covered. Some of the fruit and nut trees in the valley were starting to bloom and there were lots of grapevines (raisin grapes). We turned east at Bakersfield on 58E to cross the Tehachapi Range. Still heavily agricultural with orange groves and more vineyards. Some vineyards have oil wells scattered throughout. Weather still perfect.

Over the Tehachapies, rugged, semi-arid terrain with lots of medium trees without leaves. It is still winter here, but no snow at around 4,000 '. Past the town of Tehachapi there were hundreds of huge windmills set up on the hilltops providing electrical power.

We arrived in the high desert on the other side of the mountains, now in the arid land of Joshua trees and tumbleweeds. Snow-covered mountains off to the west were the coastal range behind San Bernadino.

We arrived at Edwards AFB at 4:15 pm as planned. This is our 3rd time here at the Famcamp so it is a little like coming home. We got set up, walked to the BX and Commissary (both great), came back to the RV and ate dinner (ribs, homemade macaroni & cheese, Italian asparagus). A clear sky, mild temperature (60's) and and a beautiful sunset marked the end of a good first day.

Tomorrow it is off to Palm Desert for 4 nights at an RV resort - an hopefully, good weather. Right now the forecast is low 80's and sunny.