Planes, Trains and Automobiles...

[MikeO]

13th July 2024 - continued

So, I spent the day relaxing, listening to some podcasts and generally chilling out. At around 1830 I decided I was feeling well enough to go out and find something to eat - having last eaten at breakfast.

I get to the car to find...

...that some asshole has dinged the bottom of the driver's door...

Thankfully I have paid the extra and have zero-excess insurance. In fact the cover is so comprehensive, AVIS may now owe me money...

I don't have to travel far before I find an Alberto's Mexican Restaurant. That'll do nicely...

Beef nachos - that'll do the trick. They were delicious...

(but no, Adrian, not as good as Benny's)

I stagger back to the hotel, clutching a huge cup of lemonade, and start moving stuff about to pack.

My plan is to see how I feel in the morning. If I feel OK, I'll visit the Planes of Fame Museum here and then set off to Mammoth Lakes, up close to Yosemite, where I have a Motel 6 room booked for two nights.

If I'm not feeling so hot, I'll have to (reluctantly) cut the museum out of the plan.

I'm being driven in my planning by the extreme temperatures that are being experienced around California and the western deserts at the moment. Ironically, it was a coolish 28C here today, but is set to get toasty again at the weekend.

I know I can always put the roof up and lean in on the AC, but I rented a convertible to use with the top down, so I'm aiming to plan to allow this.

Sorry it's another boring entry...

 

[Traffic893]

Hope you start feeling better as the day progresses.

 

[MikeO]

14th June 2024

I sleep fitfully, but wake feeling much better. I decide against a lardy breakfast, so just had some yoghurt and a bagel. I filled my water bottle up with ice and water, then roll all my stuff out to the car.

To find I'd left the car key in my room...

Eventually I have the car loaded and I'm ready for the off. Except CarPlay has decided not to - play that is. I try all sorts of resets and nothing works. I jam my phone in the cupholder and use Waze to navigate. It's less than ideal, especially as I'm in a busy city environment, when I need to keep my eyes on the road...

Despite this handicap, I arrive at the Planes of Fame Museum at the stroke of 1000 - just as they are opening.

As I open the door, there's a roar of a piston engined aircraft - it's nothing flying, just a sound effect when you open the door...

I'm greeted by Laura, Lizzie and Lauren, who run the gift shop. They find out I'm British and can't do too much for me - I'm let in at 'Veteran' rate (despite being an RAF vet) and they give me a great run-down on the Museum and supply me with a map. Everybody seems very keen I don't miss seeing the Mosquito that they are restoring to flying condition...

Fair warning - if you aren't interested in aircraft, you might want to go and have a cup of tea...

If there's a drip tray under the aircraft, that means it is in airworthy condition and is flown regularly, like this beautifully finished Boeing P26 Peashooter...

There are some easily recognised warbirds here, like this P51 Mustang...

Apparently, they have Tom Cruise's P51 here, but it must have been hangered elsewhere...

This lovely Stearman has just arrived apparently...

For some reason I didn't take a pic of the plaque for this - any guesses? I think it's a Curtis, but may be wrong...

There are a couple of racing Mustangs, their finish is like glass...

Tom, who is one of the many volunteers who act as guides, tells me that this...

...is going to be restored. The story is, that it's the next solo aircraft to cross the Atlantic solo after Lindbergh. It was flown by Lindbergh's mechanic, who put it together and turned up at Newfoundland, where the authorities forbade him from making the attempt as they felt the aircraft was not in a fit state. The pilot (I must do some research on this story) said, "OK - I'll go and fly back". He then got airborne and landed in Ireland...

Look at this tiny aircraft. It's a Culver PQ14 - and is a target drone, but can be piloted...

They have some really odd and interesting stuff here - like this Seversky Guardian (with drip tray - so airworthy) - I hadn't heard of this type before...

Some more easily identified metal nearby...

Beautiful Bearcat

Standing imposingly at the door to the hangar, is the unmistakeable bulk of a P47 Thunderbolt...

...which is temporarily without its engine. Apparently, they found metal chips in the oil, so it's being fully stripped and refurbished.

Here's an interesting one - P51-A Mustang. This had the original engine, which proved to have disappointing performance. Once they fitted the Merlin (later produced under licence by Packard), it became the long-range saviour of the Eighth Air Force bomber formations, as it was able to escort the bombers all the way to Germany...

Next hangar - Curtiss Warhawk (I think)...

...and a P51 polished to within an inch of its life...

I wander over to the renovation hangar - which you can only stand at the door of. To everyone's relief I've seen the Mosquito

They seem well along the way to restoring it to flying condition. The airframe apparently came from New Zealand...

I think this is their "To-do" list...

There are some really interesting old airframes there...

They have a couple of Gloucester Meteors here - in superb condition - but not airworthy...

Fokker Triplane, with...

A Hanriot C1 Scout - another new one on me - above it...

Mitsubishi Zero...

...and a rather surprising exhibit - no points for manufacturer, but plenty for model and year...

Recovered Bf109G...

V-1 flying bomb - an early cruise missile. Guidance and targeting were crude to say the least - it maintained the course it was launched on (on a rail with a rocket launcher, needed to get the device up to a sufficient speed so that the ram air pulse jet could take over) and a clockwork mechanism was set to cut the engine after a certain time had elapsed. If you're attacking a large conurbation, it's not the worst system...

Lovely old Bristol Fighter hangs from the ceiling...

Now, I'm familiar with the Messerschmitt 163 Komet...

...but I hadn't realised that the Japanese had something similar. I presume that the Third Reich shared the plans...

They have some excellent experimental aircraft here - this is a Natter (Viper)...

This is a Heinkel He162 - became operational in the very last days of WWII...

Hiding over there is an FW190 - one of the most effective German fighters of WWII...

Now that is a project

I don't know whether they have the rest of it hidden away...

QF86 Sabre target drone...

Alongside the QF100D Super Sabre drone - both these aircraft were used on the White Sands Testing Range...

Very tired looking Skyhawk...

In its own hangar at the end of the strip - this P38 Lightning...

I think I'm right in saying that the P38 was the most successful fighter in the Pacific theatre in WWII.

From the Korean war...

...F86 Sabre...

...and its opponent the MiG 15...

Czech MiG21...

... and a MiG17...

I exit through the Gift Shop - loading up on gifts to take home...

I put the roof down, get Waze to come up with a route, jam my iPhone in the cupholder and start heading north.

Planes of Fame is a great museum and you should visit if you find yourself in the area...

I stop and refuel - I'll work out the consumption later, but I put $47 worth in, then set off up Highway 395...

My lack of substantial breakfast reminds me to stop...

...where I have a very pleasant Taco Salad with grilled chicken...

...with a large lemonade - natch...

When I finish, my waitress fills my water bottle with lemonade and ice...

I slather myself in SPF50, but pretty soon pull over and put the roof up. It's not the temperature that's the problem, but dust blowing across the road from the left.

Whilst I was having lunch, I powered my phone down and back up - when I plug it into the Mustang CarPlay opens as it should...

I have a couple of hundred miles to do - and most of the view is like this...

It seems like the air is clearing the further north I travel...

Eventually the Sierras appear...

I set 70 on the cruise control and rarely have to change speed. I'm listening to Jonathan Dimbleby's Battle for the Atlantic, which I can heartily recommend. If nothing else, listening to what people went through puts your own tribulations in perspective...

Any takers? Make/Model/Year? I'll be impressed if someone gets it...

It's about 92F outside now, and the sun is starting to drop towards the horizon...

And suddenly I'm here - Mammoth Lakes Motel 6. I'm here for two nights, maybe three. My plan was to visit Yosemite tomorrow, but I saw a flashboard on the way up saying there was restricted access (as there was two years ago). I go online and - sure enough - I can't get a permit for Saturday, but I can for Sunday. I book the permit, which has a $2 charge - which surely must cost more to administer than it brings in...

So, I may have a lazy, see-what-happens sort of day tomorrow, then make an early start for Yosemite on Sunday morning.


It's been a good day...

 

[Sgt Bilco]

A Mike O inspection of the colonies is always a great read.

I'm in......

 

[Doc]

That is some aircraft museum.

 

[MikeO]

15th June 2024

A terrible night's sleep - no idea why, as it wasn't noisy or anything, but by 0800 I got up and felt dreadful - just out of sorts and a bit anxious. I have something to drink and then decide I'll have another snooze to see if I can get some proper rest. I wake at 1430!

I get showered and dressed, book myself another night here, so that I can get a full day in Yosemite tomorrow, then go out to refuel the car - and find myself something to eat...

I find the Good Life Café just down the road, who provide me with...

...a splendid Denver Omelette with sourdough toast - delicious

. I'm sure part of my feeling this crappy is that I'd not eaten since the taco salad yesterday lunchtime

.

I resolve to eat more regularly...

I decide to spend the rest of the day in my room - ready for an early start into Yosemite tomorrow.

By the way - did the sums - the Mustang is doing 27.7mpg

- actually, that's 32.7 miles per UK gallon, so not horrendous...

 

[Hairnet600]

is your hoof not as big as you thought

cruise mode not hammer

 

[Traffic893]

The black car looks like a 1920s Ant hill mob gangster car.

 

[sye]

The black car looks like a 1920s Ant hill mob gangster car.

1930 something Ford Model A?

 

[MikeO]

16th June 2024

Another fitful night's sleep - combined with a mild stomach upset - but I am determined to achieve something today. I have been in the USA nearly a week and have done very little, I feel...

I'm up at 0730, abluted and suited and pop into the hotel reception to get my key sorted for a further night's stay (tonight). It's a beautiful fresh morning, about 55 F and clear as a bell...

I'm in the car, with the roof down, heading north on the 395 just after 0800 - traffic is very light...

Regular readers will know that I tend to use a collection of elderly Canon S100s to take pictures on the move. I have about half a dozen of them but, foolishly, thought it would be silly to bring more than two with me on this trip. I managed to lose one at the motel at Paso Robles (likely kicked it under the bed and didn't notice), but when I discovered this, I thought, "At least I have spare".

Not so much - it operates exactly as it should with one exception. The shutter won't operate reliably. I kick myself for not bringing a couple more with me...

Luckily, today I know exactly where I want to go, so don't need to use my iPhone as a GPS, so I take pics with the camera in the phone...

It's a great road - divided highway (dual carriageway) for most of the distance - the snow-capped Sierras to my left...

The Mustang rumbles on at 70mph with the cruise control set...

The reason I've set off relatively early today is that it's a Sunday. I usually avoid National Parks at weekends, as they can become horribly crowded. At least an early start should give me a good chance of beating the crowds...

I drive past the entrance to Yosemite, via Tioga Pass, and drive half a mile further into the town of Lee Vining, which seems to exist purely because it's located by the entrance to the National Park. I park and walk over to Nicely's Restaurant

...an excellent little eatery...

...with an extensive breakfast menu, from which I choose...

...the Breakfast Burrito...

Delicious

After filling my water bottle with iced water, I put the roof down again and set off through Tioga Pass - gateway to Yosemite...

I set the cruise control at 55mph, but after a while it just gives up, so I drive using the throttle pedal. Like a savage.

It's a beautiful drive - and we're still 10 miles from the entrance to the park...

If you look carefully, you can see the road, carved into the side of the mountain...

It's a continual climb - I stop to get some better pics...

...then get back to it...

I'm cautiously optimistic about how busy this visit will be - it seems quiet so far...

The air is crystal clear - probably the best visibility I have ever experienced at Yosemite...

I'll repeat Jorge's line, "Yosemite has a way of making your camera work better"...

But really, it's just a beautiful day in one of the most gorgeous parts of the world I have had the chance to visit...

Onward!

We're heading down towards the distant Yosemite Valley now...

...and I'm keeping my eye out for wildlife...

...although sadly, all I spot is a marmot - beetling along the road and then disappearing into the bushes...

Quite suddenly, it seems, I'm in the Valley. It's busy, but not excessively so. You can find a slot to stop and take pics etc.

I mosey quietly along the one-way system, stopping to take pics...

Camera's working pretty well, I think...

I start on the Fresno Road...

Traffic on the valley floor way below...

Evidence of past forest fires - the wilderness gradually returning...

I turn off left towards Glacier Point - a 16-mile dead end...

I take the drive up, and eventually get to Glacier Point. It's very busy. I manage to stop near the rest rooms and use them, then decide to retrace my steps for about a mile, where there is a similar overlook, but without the throngs of people...

The view is breath-taking. Everything I have seen on the valley floor is now visible...

After a long look I take pics. They cannot convey the beauty of the view. This is a place everyone should come before they die...

I take a slow drive back down to the valley floor, then back towards the distant Tioga Pass. It's now about 82F - perfect weather for driving with the roof down.

Ultimately, I get back to the 395 and decide to pay my second visit of the day to Nicely's. Maria, my waitress, asks if I want my usual table...

I decide to try their Special...

...which was delicious...

...but needed a little something extra...

I pay my bill - collect another bottleful of iced water - and head back down the 395 to my motel in Mammoth Lakes.

I'm still not feeling quite right. I had a change of meds on Monday and I think this, combined with the altitude I'm at, might be what's causing this weirdness.

To be on the safe side, I book another night in the Motel 6 and start the long job of uploading the pics and writing the journal...

Good day. Damned good...

 

[Monsieur]

Great photos again!
That landscape is beautiful indeed and that pudding of yours looks truly delicious!

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Yosemite is absolutely stunning and you seem to have had perfect visibility and not too busy.......result!

 

[MikeO]

17th June 2024

To all those going to work today...

I wake feeling a lot better. The stomach upset seems to be gone(ish), and I'm convinced that this is to do with me eating in a more regular manner (ie - more than one meal a day

).

I drive around to the front desk to get my key card updated for tonight's stay. Whilst I'm waiting for Anne, the receptionist, to finish dealing with another customer, I take a look at a few pics they have on the wall. There are lots of signs warning you not to leave food in your car, as there are bears in the area. Anne tells me that the Covid lockdown made them far bolder...

...but these pics show them inside the office, by the vending machines

I get my card updated and then drive down the road to somewhere I spotted on my way out of town yesterday...

Now, this sounds like my sort of place...

The owner seems to have a bit of a cow obsession...

...but this is a great little diner...

I peruse the extensive menu...

...before deciding on the Mammoth Breakfast - rude not to...

The lovely and unflappable Kelly takes my order, and returns a few minutes later with...

...the perfect breakfast

As I eat, I watch her deal with two large (eight +) groups of diners who came in since I did. Nothing fazes her: substitutions, requests for egg white omelettes; gluten-free whatever. She takes the orders down and a few minutes later returns with the exact meals they wanted. It's the speed it all happens at that's impressive - they must have an equally professional kitchen staff supporting her.

Eventually I finish my (excellent) meal, stagger up to the counter to pay. Kelly asks if I want my water bottle filled with iced water

I ask, "Where do you get your energy from?" she replies, "Coffee" and laughs.

I drive back up to the hotel and write the journal and start thinking about where to go tomorrow.

More later...

 

[Keith Chapman]

Another great MikeO road trip. Looking forward to the rest of it.

 

[John B]

Really enjoying this report, bringing back memories as we did a similar trip in 2017, even down to the same car (albeit a blue one!) Highlights then included a tour of Ed Ricketts (doc in Cannery Row) place in Monterey, driving over the Sierras in bright sunshine and 30ft high snow walls either side of the road and getting a free ticket at Lagune Seca for a clubbie race meeting (Ferrari owners club!) Enjoy the rest of the trip and hope you feel A1. Cheers John B

 

[MikeO]

18th June 2024



A fair night's sleep - I set my alarm for just before 0800, to give me time to get ready and still make an earlyish start. I wake before it rings and pad around the room that has been home for the last four nights, and pack stuff away in a more logical order. I'll still bring both bags in every night, but only need to unpack one...

I refuelled yesterday (30.2mpg) and cleaned the windscreen, so 'on-the-hoof' pics should be a little clearer. I'm on the road at 0845 and heading south down the 395, which brought us up here a few days back.

It's a glorious day - still only 62 F, but promising to get warmer, and the car thrums along at 70mph...

I have decided to stop at the first café I see with a fullish car park...

I am going to be leaving the Sierras behind me today, and heading inland...

I had a good play around with the Canon camera yesterday and think I've found the problem - the mode dial has a bad connection. If I switch from Auto to Manual a couple of times, it will operate as it should in Auto. It's a temporary fix - I'll throw the bloody thing out when I get home...

I come into Bishop and the first café is - a Denny's

For UK readers, think "Little Chef"

Stick to the plan...

I have a delicious (if slightly under-exposed) chicken fried steak and eggs...

I ask the chap at the till if there's anywhere in town I can get a couple of charging cables - I've left my USB-C one at home and I have two Apple devices, but only one cable.

He points me to a Verizon shop in the next block, where an over-made-up teenager keeps a straight face whilst charging me a total of $54, for two cables made from finest-spun unobtanium...

I have a feeling that my (overworked) Apple cable might be at the root of the problems I have with getting CarPlay to work correctly in the car. Whilst playing around with it yesterday, it was clear that there was an intermittent connection issue. Opening the armrest, I found another USB socket. I plugged the new cable in, turned on the car and voila - instant and reliable connection. I put the problem down to the dashboard socket, which is awkwardly located, and has likely suffered damage from people just yanking the cable out.

Anyway - enough of this geekery - I head south out of Bishop, through their rush-hour, towards Lone Pine...

...where I turn left...

...towards Nevada and Death Valley...

Temperature is now in the mid-eighties Fahrenheit and I stop to put the roof up. Not because of the temperature, but the dust blowing from left to right, which is unpleasant...

The car keeps eating up the miles - the roads around here aren't the most challenging...

As I approach Death Valley, I pull over at Crowley Point (named for a padre who lived in the area until 1940)...

There's a rough gravel track out to a better vista...

It's very bumpy and would require careful navigating in a 4x4. Or complete abandon in a rental car...

It's a starkly beautiful, desolate spot...

I can see my route, laid out like a map in front of me...

As I wind my way down into the valley, a pair of F-18s in about two-mile trail overfly me...

I started today at nearly 8000' above sea level, and have been generally descending all day...

At one point I pass a sign stating we were 100ft below sea level. I shall have to make sure I don't get the 'bends' climbing out the other side...

Ultimately, we leave the National Park (it seems odd to call somewhere so desolate a park).

I say "we" - I should say "I" - Agnes has had a hissy-fit and stopped giving me navigation instructions - just a basic position on a base map - about an hour ago. It's not an issue, because there aren't many choices of route hereabouts anyway. She sheepishly reappears and starts navigating again at Death Valley Junction, where cell service is once again available...

At just after 1500, I pull in to the Best Western Oasis at Pahrump (a town named after the first colonist's digestive reaction to local cuisine) and my beautiful room. The Wi-Fi speed is amazing all my pics uploaded in under a minute...

Good day - where to tomorrow?

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Good write up Mike, there's a low fly zone close "Star wars Canyon" https://www.google.com/search?q=Star+wars+Canyon&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Long wanted to visit area, but watch out for snakes apparently

 

[LOLGEOFF]

Great stuff, any chance of a bridge soon?

 

[Wapping]

it was launched on (on a rail with a rocket launcher, needed to get the device up to a sufficient speed so that the ram air pulse jet could take over)

According to the blurb at the reconstructed V1 site near the Baie du Somme, the weapon was fired up the ski ramp by steam pressure. The steam generator was a separate, wheeled, device, connected to what I take to be some kind of ‘sled’, which carried the weapon forward up the ramp, before the pulse jet took over.

I’ll try to dig out the pictures.

PS Great write-up.

 

[MikeO]

According to the blurb at the reconstructed V1 site near the Baie du Somme, the weapon was fired up the ski ramp by steam pressure. The steam generator was a separate, wheeled, device, connected to what I take to be some kind of ‘sled’, which carried the weapon forward up the ramp, before the pulse jet took over.

I’ll try to dig out the pictures.

PS Great write-up.

They have the complete set up at Imperial War Museum Duxford. I hadn’t realised it was steam powered, but that makes a lot of sense…