Fans, Jets, Spaceships; What else is hiding in the desert?
We drove to the 'MARIPOSA GROVE OF BIG TREES.' The worst named collection of Giant Redwoods anywhere in the world.
The trees themselves were impressive though, Big Grizzly here is nearly 3000 old. That’s really fucking old! And big too.
Here is 'The Fallen Monarch,' spot the tree elf.
After visiting Katie's Kountry Kitchen for breakfast, (including biscuits and gravy - a strange fairy cake and thick soup combination Yanks class as an alternative to toast?!?) We headed south via Fresno and Bakersfield instead of going back through Yosemite. I saw the town of Delano on the map, it bugged me as I recognised the name from somewhere. As we drove down highway 99, I looked out and saw some tall towers, which I immediately recognised as shortwave broadcast antennae. 'Ah! Of course, I remember Delano from work!' I thought. Followed by 'Ah! Nuts! I hate it when I remember I'm a sad bastard.'
Winding our way down to Bakersfield, we planned to stop for a coffee and an email check. Unfortunately, Bakersfield seemed to be full of Bail Bonds places (seriously, they seemed to be every other shop). We stopped off at a convenience store so I could ask if the Internet was available anywhere. I asked the Mexican woman behind the counter if there was a library or Internet cafe in town. "I'm sooorry." She said, "I've never heard of theese plaaaces."
Riiiiiiiight
We decided to head East into the desert, maybe it would provide a cup of coffee, and maybe even a net connection.
After about half an hour of crossing the Southern Sierra Nevada ranges into the Mojave Desert, we saw hill full of power generating wind turbines. As we followed the mountain round, we saw the hills and mountains ahead of us were covered in them. Some big, some small, all spinning almost in time up, along, over and everywhere along the ridge. I guessed there were at least a thousand, though the more we drove, the more we saw. In hindsight, I reckon there was at least 2000.
We drove past the fan mountains and crossed into an open desert plain. I thought I saw some aircraft tails a long way in the distance which, as they dipped behind a hill, I tried to see again as I knew Edwards Air Force Base was nearby. The closer we got, the more aircraft tails I saw. 747s, 767s, Lear jets, trainers, 737s, all kinds of jets sat in the middle of the desert next to the town of Mohave.
Apparently they go there for an aircraft MOT or just for storage if the airline doesn't need them. They stay there as the same hot dry wind that turns the turbines, keeps the planes in optimum condition for storage. (I heard later that after 9/11, you couldn't see the desert for planes.)
We pulled into the town of Mojave with its massive horn-honking 100 car cargo trains and its tumbleweed blowing across the streets and I knew I liked the place. Maybe it isn't the nicest place in the world, and I'm sure I wouldn't want to stay too long, but its finding strange little towns like this that compounds the joy of traveling!
We checked into the 'Best Western Desert Winds' and then went out for a drive to see if we could see if we could see anything of Edwards AFB, which has a massive runway where the shuttle sometimes lands. We drove for half an hour or so out into the desert and passed through the town which supports the base, and continued on through the unguarded gates that said 'Edwards Air Force Base and NASA Research Center.' As the road was pretty busy, we carried on driving until out of nowhere, a small check point appeared with a bunch of army blokes with M16s stopping and checking all the cars for I.D. The first guard looked a bit confused when Dad cheerfully said, "Oh I think we've taken a wrong turn somewhere. We were just in the area and thought we'd see what we can see of the base :)" The second guard who'd heard the conversation cheerfully came over and said ":) Sure you can see something. You can see the road you just came in on as you do a U-Turn and drive back again Thanks Bye Bye."
So what if it was September 12th, we had to try?!?
Check out how flat it is. Perfect for landing a shuttle on. 
That night in a bar, Dad started talking to a thoroughly interesting bloke who was working with some people on the base trying to be the first non-governmental agency to put a man into space. They've made a two stage craft for doing it which looks like something from a '50s 'B' movie! The bloke worked on the ultra-lightweight heat shielding (of which I now have a piece) but had loads of marketing pics/info to give us. Check out the website here...
Leaving Mojave the next day, we went North East towards the central entrance to Death Valley. We'd been driving for ages on long straight roads so I asked if I could drive for a bit (I wasn't there when they got the car so I'm not insured. I'd driven it around the car park a couple of times though!)
I'd been driving for about five minutes when we rounded a corner and the desert suddenly and spectacularly dropped away from us as we looked out on an immense plain stretching for miles ahead of us, with mountains on either side. Dad immediately clung to the ceiling by his fingertips (and toes if he could've) as I drove down the twisting mountain road with its sheer drops on his side of the car. Thinking about it, its the stuff that family sitcoms are made of - The Dad who hates heights and the confident son driving the hire car on a mountain holiday!?! Anyway, we got through fine and I carried on driving along more long, straight roads through the desert. Though Dad made me swap before we started the ascent (then descent) over the mountains into Death Valley.
Once in Death Valley, (a journey which wasn't too bad as the roads weren't half as scary) we watched the temperature rise, the lower we got. It peaked about half way through the valley (200ft below sea level) at 109 degrees.
It was so hot, all the birds had their mouths constantly open! It was like they had some amazing secret they were dying to tell but couldn't as they were still too amazed. 
We checked into 'The Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch,' an expensive Inn (and Ranch), the only one in Death Valley and spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool.
For a place that’s meant to be barren and lifeless, I'd forgotten how beautiful the desert is. With the right equipment, it can be a colourful, grand, unique, humbling and an overall, quite amazing place!