Merry Christmas, 2008

Remember the reason for the Season!

December 7, 1941---Never Forget

Aircraft and midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy began a surprise attack on the U.S. under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Despite long-standing assertions that this attack could have been predicted and prevented by the United States Military, the U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor appeared to be utterly unprepared, and the attack effectively drew the United States into World War II. At 6:09 a.m. on December 7, the six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 183 planes composed mainly of dive-bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters. The Japanese hit American ships and military installations at 7:55 a.m. The first wave attacked military airfields of Ford Island. At 8:30 a.m. a second wave of 180 Japanese planes, mostly torpedo bombers, attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The battleship Arizona was hit with an armor-piercing bomb, which penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart and sinking it within seconds. Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and twenty-one ships were severely damaged. Three of the twenty-one would be irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,350, including 68 civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. The first shots fired were from the USS Ward on a midget submarine that had surfaced outside of Pearl Harbor, the USS Ward did successfully sink the midget sub at approximately 6:55, about an hour before the assault on Pearl Harbor.

Death Valley, California---Beatty, Nevada

It has been cold, wet, foggy and down right depressing here in the southern San Joaquin Valley the last couple of weeks. This is fog season and we can go for weeks without seeing the sun. So, this past week-end my buddy Jim and I took off for an over nighter through Death Valley with Beatty Nevada as our final destination. Beatty is 35 miles south east of Scotty's Junction.
Click on map to enlarge.

Here we are packed and ready to roll.
We left Bakersfield heading east on Highway 178 through the Kern Canyon up to Lake Isabella. We stopped at the "Dam Corner Cafe" which is located just below the dam that holds back the waters of Lake Isabella and had breakfast.
After breakfast we saddled up and continued east on Highway 178 until we hit Highway 14. Riding north on Highway 14 we soon merged with Highway 395 ending up in Lone Pine. After gassing up in Lone Pine we traveled east into Death Valley.
Stopping at "Stovepipe Wells Village" we ran into this group of riders who were also from Bakersfield.

When Bob Eichbaum envisioned a resort in Death Valley he could never have imagined that one day a million people a year would visit the park. Stovepipe Wells Village, a modest oasis named for a historic site located a few miles to the northeast. There, long ago, an old stovepipe was sunk into the sand to form the shaft for a much used well. Stovepaipe Wells is at sea level and just east of here a few miles the elevation drops to 232' below sea level. The lowest point in Death Valley is Bad Water at 282' below sea level making it the lowest point in the United States. Just 76 miles to the west is Mount Whitney which is the highest point in the continental United States standing at 14,505'

Panamint mountain range in the background.

We arrived at Beatty around 3 in the afternoon, finding this hotel, reserving a room then cleaning up for an evening in the casino...
After a few hours in the casino and having no luck what so ever we turned in for the night. Sunday morning we headed north out of town, after a few miles we came across this site...it was closed.
This plane was there...I would like to know the story behind it?
About 60 miles north of Beatty is "Scotty's Castle" named after "Death Valley Scotty". He told everyone that he built this castle in northern Death Valley with money from his "secret" gold mine. That was not quite the truth. A Chicago millionaire and his wife built their "Death Valley Ranch" in the cool of Grapevine Canyon and they let their friend Scotty live there as a guest.
Hidden in the green oasis of Grapevine Canyon in far northern Death Valley, the Death Valley Ranch, or Scotty's Castle as it is more commonly known, is a window into the life and times of the Roaring 20's and Depression 30's. It was and is an engineer's dream home, a wealthy matron's vacation home and a man-of-mystery's hideout and getaway. Walter Scott, Death Valley Scotty, convinced everyone that he had built the castle with money from his rich secret mines in the area. Albert Mussey Johnson actually built the house as a vacation getaway for himself and his wife Bessie. Scotty was the mystery, the cowboy, and the entertainer, but he was also a friend. Albert was the brains and the money. Two men as different as night and day, from different worlds and with different visions - who shared a dream.
Here you can see the "Castle" on the left, the guest house is on the right and in the background is the clock tower.
This is a generator that is powered by water. The valve you see in the front controls water flow into the volute which turns a generator that is coupled to it. Direct current is sent from the generator to a bank of 12 volt batteries which are used for lighting.There are many tunnels under the castle. The tunnels were used for all plumbing and electrical. Services like food, laundry and maids also used the tunnels. The tile you see in the photo below was purchased and shipped in from Spain for the pool which was never completed.After going through two different tours of the castle and guest house we headed south to the "Ubehebe Crater". The crater is a large volcanic crater 600 feet deep and half a mile across. This crater was created by steam and gas explosions when hot magma rising up from the depths reached ground water. The intense heat flashed the water into steam which expanded until the pressure was released as a tremendous explosion.After taking in the sights around the crater we made a bee line back to the cold, wet, foggy and down right depressing San Joaquin Valley... and that ends another Lumpy Adventure!


Note: I found the following information on the plane at the National Transportation Safety Board web site.

THE PILOT LANDED ON A 1700 LONG STRIP AT THE ELEVATION OF ABOUT 3500 FT MSL. HE ELECTED TO TAKEOFF TO THE NORTH IN CALM WIND CONDITIONS AND AVOID SUN GLARE OFF THE COVER OF HIS ENGINE AND ON THE WINDSHIELD. HE STATED THAT SOFT FIELD PROCEDURES WERE USED IN ORDER TO CLEAR A 30 FT HIGH POWER LINE CROSSING HIS PATH AT AN ANGLE. DURING TAKEOFF, HE PULLED THE NOSE UP TO CLEAR THE LINES. HE STATED THAT HE GOT ABOUT 20 T0 25 FT AGL WHEN THE POWER LINES STARTED COMING UP. HE BANKED LEFT TO AVOID THE LINES AND THE STALL WARNING HORN SOUNDED. WHEN HE KNEW THAT HE COULD NOT CLEAR THE LINES, HE SET THE PLANE DOWN IN A DRY WASH. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 600 FT FROM THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY AND ALL GEAR COLLAPSED BEFORE IT CAME TO REST.

Thanksgiving 2008

Though many competing claims exist, the most familiar story of the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, in 1621. More than 200 years later, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state in America, with a planned production total of 49 million in 2008. Just six states—Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and Indiana—will probably produce two-thirds of the estimated 271 million birds that will be raised in the U.S. this year.

In a survey conducted by the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88 percent of Americans said they eat turkey at Thanksgiving. The average weight of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds, which means some 690 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the U.S. during Thanksgiving in 2007.

The first time the Detroit Lions played football on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when they hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit stadium, in front of 26,000 fans. The NBC radio network broadcast the game on 94 stations across the country--the first national Thanksgiving football broadcast. Since that time, the Lions have played a game every Thanksgiving (except between 1939 and 1944); in 1956, fans watched the game on television for the first time.

Deer Lodge, Ojai, California

Took a ride recently to the Deer Lodge in Ojai, California. Myself along with six other bikes left Bakersfield Harley Davidson around 9:00AM. Heading west out to highway 43 we went through the oil fields of Taft and the western San Joaquin Valley. Taft is situated in a major petroleum and natural gas production region in California and is one of the few remaining towns in the United States which exist exclusively because of nearby oil reserves. The discovery of oil in the region occurred in the late 1800s.

Oil rigs working 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

We caught Highway 33 going south just before getting to Cuyama. Highway 33 is used heavily by the croch rocket crowd because it is a relitively fast two lane curvy highway that is not traveled much by cars.

The Deer Lodge caters to the motorcycle community and therefore has ample parking for all types of motorcycles.

And all types of riders.

After refueling the bikes we headed back from which we came. About 35-40 miles up the road we headed East towards Frazier Park/Gorman and Interstate 5.
A lot of this ride was in the Los Padres National Forest.

Summary: The ride was great, the friends were good, the food was o.k. the service was terrible.

John F. Kennedy, 45th anniversary

The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p.m. CST (18:30 UTC). John F. Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding with his wife Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy in a Presidential motorcade. The ten-month investigation of the Warren Commission of 1963–1964, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) of 1976–1979, and other government investigations concluded that the President was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. This conclusion was initially met with widespread support among the American public (1964–66), but polls conducted after the original 1966 Gallup poll show as much as 80% of the public hold beliefs contrary to these findings.

November 15, 2008---A very happy day in my life.

I gave my daughter away in Holy matrimony. I gained a great son-in-law into the family. Plus, he is a avid Dodger fan! My hope is that they have many happy years together.

Veterans Day Parade

I made my way to the Veterans Day Parade today. There was a great turn out and much appreciation was shown. All I had was my cell phone, so here are a few shots that I took.

Veterans Day, November 11

Armistice Day was first commemorated in the United States by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and 30 states made it a legal holiday. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 inviting all States to observe the day, and made it a legal holiday nationwide in 1938. It has been observed annually on November 11 since then - first as Armistice Day, later as Veterans Day.

November 10th, Happy 233rd Birthday United States Marine Corps

On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that “two battalions of Marines be raised” for service as landing forces with the fleet. This established the Continental Marines and marked the birth of the United States Marine Corps. Serving on land and at sea, early Marines distinguished themselves in a number of important operations, including their first amphibious raid on foreign soil in the Bahamas in March 1776, under the command of the Corps’ first commandant, Capt. Samuel Nicholas.
HOORAH!

Change

Change, I guess we will see over the next four years.

Election Day 2008

Freedom is liberty; it is not being under someone else's control. It is having the right, indeed, the responsibility, to take a stand on issues that affect our nation. There is no greater way to exercise our freedom, to ensure that freedom, than to vote. Nevertheless, many Americans do not take that freedom seriously, as evidenced by the lack of strong participation in elections.

People use a variety of excuses to rationalize why they do not vote. Some say that they are too busy to vote. Still others say they do not vote because small numbers cannot make a difference, or because one vote will not matter at all. There are also those Americans who do not vote, because they simply are not concerned about doing so.
The most important right citizens have is the right to vote.

My Ride Today, Pismo Beach, California

Met up with a bunch of people today in Delano, California for a ride to Pismo Beach, California. The map shows the route that I took.

The ride was a fund raiser for a guy at work that is fighting cancer.

The skies showed some threatening clouds, but the weather was absolutely fabulous.Of course, if you go to Pismo you've got to have some clam chowder from Splash Cafe. This chowder has been voted the "BEST CHOWDER" on the Central Coast for many, many, many years.Across the street from Splash is the "Famous Harry's Bar". Some people think that if you go to Pismo you have to enjoy a cold adult beverage in Harry's to make your trip complete.Pismo Beach, looking North. The weather was perfect, mid 60's.

The Pismo Pier.The grunion are running now on the Central Coast. These guy's were getting their quota.
Grunion are sardine-sized fish. They are found only off the coast of California, USA and Baja California, and Mexico. Grunion are known for their very unusual mating ritual. At very high tides the females come up on sandy beaches and dig their tails into the sand to lay their eggs. A male then wraps himself around the female to deposit his sperm. For the next ten days the grunion eggs remain hidden in the sand, but at the next set of high tides the eggs hatch and the young grunion are washed out to sea.

This guy was also getting his fill.

If you were inclined you could take a ride up and down the coast in this vintage bi-plane.

I think this coup is a kit car, looked like they were having fun.