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This past weekend I drove over the Tehachapis, turned right at Bakersfield and took a left at Visalia. This was a special one. A show for Our Centennial.  F/A-18F of VFA-122 in the Navy Working Uniform Colours for Our Centennial  Classic C-47  Corsair. The insignia on cowling is that of the Original Jolly Rogers, VF-17  North American SNJ  Stearman Kaydets.  Ryan PT. That is a five cylinder Kenner, I believe.  [/caption]
 F-16N of the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center. Aggressor/Bad Guy. The Navy has F-16s!!!!  EA-18G Growler. These are replacing the venerable but aging Grumman EA-6B Prowler in Fleet Service.  F/A-18C of VFA-122 Flying Eagles. Sometimes referred to as The Flying Beagles!!!  From the top: Grumman F8F Bearcat, North American B-25 Mitchell and the North American P-51 Mustang. The sound was beautiful!  VFA-122 F/A-18F Flight Demo.  I said homecoming.........of sorts.........The Argos were at sea on USS Ronald Reagan working up for deployment. So there was no Argo souvenir booth. The parking lot for the show was the ramp at Hangar Three. We were in Mod 2 then as well. I hope all enjoy these few shots. I took many more that one can see at my blog, Old Retired Petty Officer. There is a link over on the right.  It’s funny how I’ve had some time to take pictures, but just not the time or energy to actually get them published. I guess that’s just life, but I wish I had some more time and a bit more energy. In any case, I’ve got two more posts nearly ready to go after this one I’d gotten a bit of a case of cabin fever a week ago Sunday and thought I’d go for a short drive out to the beginning of the road to Mt. Charleston. By the time I got there, I figured I could make it out to Indian Springs. Once I made it to Indian Springs, I figured it wouldn’t be too much farther to Mercury, NV Of course, I got a later start than planned (again) and another ride which started in daylight ended in darkness. I actually really enjoy evening and twilight on the motorcycle. It might not be the safest time to ride, but the scenery looks better in the twilight and the view from the bike is truly superb. The line between daylight and night on a celestial body is known as the terminator. We’re used to seeing it on the moon when it’s anywhere between new and full – it’s the line between light and dark. I don’t know about you, but I don’t often think about experiencing that zone between light and dark even though we do it twice a day.  2 October 2011 - Sun and clouds west of Indian Springs, NV Yeah, I’ll admit that part of the reason I didn’t want to turn back is that I wanted to see more of this sort of scenery  2 October 2011 - Out at Mercury, NV near the Nevada Test Site  2 October 2011 - Out at Mercury, NV near the Nevada Test Site Another reason for continuing west was that I remembered passing an historical marker a while back when I rode around Mt. Charleston and through Pahrump. I passed it by back then in the interest of staying fast in the heat, but I’d wanted to return sometime. I have a sort of curiosity that way – I always want to read the markers if I have the time  2 October 2011 - Panorama - Mercury, NV Mercury, NV is the gateway to the Nevada Test Site where the U.S. Government used to test nuclear weapons. There’s an exit and a sign that informs travelers that there are no services such as gas stations and not much else from the highway. It’s also one of the ways into Area 51, but they still won’t let me use it  2 October 2011 - Sun getting lower near Mercury, NV  2 October 2011 - Panorama - Sunset near Mercury, NV The sun continued to fall as did the temperature. I never noticed how nice it was to be warm in the evenings during summer. Funny how things keep changing and new insights are found in the most ordinary places.  2 October 2011 - Sunset on Mercury, NV If you look just above the guard rail in the center of this pic, you’ll see a small guard building. Anyone who remembers the anti-nuclear protests during the Cold War will remember when people came out here to be arrested in an attempt to prove their commitment to the cause. It really is quite a ways out in the middle of nowhere – click here for a map and then zoom out to see just how far out it is. Those protesters really had to be a bit  2 October 2011 - Panorama - Sunset near Mercury, NV  2 October 2011 - Panorama - Last light near Mercury, NV The sun finally dropped below the western horizon at about 1730 hours. It’s getting darker so much earlier these days. I wish I could get the long days of summer with the temperatures of fall, but I’ll take what I can get. If nothing else, I get to ride on the terminator without staying out too late Have a great day, everyone It’s been a while, but I’m still here In the past few weeks I’ve been working, riding, and taking pictures to post but it’s been busy as well. I’ve got to get moving today to get things ready for some good times after work this week and a special event on Wednesday, so I’m going to keep the words to a minimum here, but I wanted to actually get this stuff posted. Hope you enjoy the pics  14 September 2011 - My bike getting rained on while I was at work and not able to ride it  14 September 2011 - Panorama - Dark skies on my short lunch time ride Ya know what really sucks? Fabulous riding weather like the two pics above show and not being able to go play in it  16 September 2011 - Severe T-Storm over Boulder City, NV while I was at work  16 September 2011 - Italian Harley Davidson at BMW of Las Vegas  16 September 2011 - Panorama - Sunset in Red Rock Canyon This was a good day  20 September 2011 - I'd totally ride it  20 September 2011 - I think it's actually pretty cool I had to swing by Sam’s Cycle Supply to set up my first oil change on my V-Star and saw this Honda Shadow. Yes, I would ride it in a heartbeat  21 September 2011 - Thunderstorm north of Las Vegas Yet another storm I get to watch from work but I don’t get to ride in. At least I can watch it  24 September 2011 - Rainbow over Las Vegas  24 September 2011 - Riding in the rain on the Las Vegas Strip  24 September 2011 - The bike will dry off  24 September 2011 - Caesers Entertainment employee car show  24 September 2011 - Caesers Entertainment employee car show  24 September 2011 - Caesers Entertainment employee car show  24 September 2011 - Caesers Entertainment employee car show  24 September 2011 - Caesers Entertainment employee car show  24 September 2011 - Caesers Entertainment employee car show  24 September 2011 - Caesers Entertainment employee car show (some artistic license here  24 September 2011 - Parrotheads will understand these glyphs at Margaritaville  24 September 2011 - Calypso Mahi Mahi  24 September 2011 - Key lime pie I was back down at Margaritaville for some dinner a couple weeks ago, but the ride and unexpected find were as good as the food First there was the lightning and rain I could see over the south end of the Strip, but then there was that rainbow over the Wynn I didn’t know why the street back to the O’Shea’s was blocked and I had to take the back way through the Imperial Palace garage, but the car show was worth it  30 September 2011 - Red Rock Canyon with thunderstorms nearby  30 September 2011 - Red Rock Canyon with thunderstorms nearby  30 September 2011 - Red Rock Canyon with thunderstorms nearby  30 September 2011 - Red Rock Canyon with thunderstorms nearby We had actual weather here on Friday and I was thrilled to get to ride in it again! I didn’t get to ride through too much of it, but there was a thunderstorm that passed a couple miles to the west of Red Rock Canyon that made the skies a bit more interesting than usual And I did get video for a change That’s it for now, but I promise you’ll see some neat stuff by next week Have a great day everyone Saw this one this morning. It should give one pause to think and think long and hard. For some reason this revisionist, adjusted view of what we as Americans are is becoming the new normal. The Old Retired Petty Officer does not like this at all. Nope. Not one damn bit. http://www.neptunuslex.com/2011/09/30/the-return-of-malaise/ I found this little video over at Lex’s place and figured y’all might enjoy it too I will keep it simple as possible. What happened the other day was a terrible tragedy. So far nine dead and sixty injured, some of those seriously. I never made it to the National Air Races. I would have loved it. For airplane junkies, it is almost as much of a pilgrimage as Air Venture in Oshkosh, Paris, or any of the Navy Centennial events this year. I watched Hannity on Thursday evening. During the All American Panel segment the accident was discussed. The subject of severe restrictions was broached. Sean even wondered why this event is even allowed. But to his credit, NASCAR was referenced. That was possibly due to airplanes not being viewed as “red neck” but the oval racers are. Who knows? I did not know any of the panel members but the liberal was all for shutting this event down…….permanently and grounding all warbirds, midget racers, sportsman racers and the jets that are part of it. Sean did tell this fellow that is a free country. Credit to him. Freedom. Everyone at the Air Races was there because he or she WANTED to be there. I believe all understood that there was some risk involved. I have seen on Facebook visceral comments about this accident. That modified P-51 was one of the most meticulously maintained aircraft on the planet. But sometimes bad things will happen. One of my Facebook friends, a lady from NYC of Sicilian descent said it is simply Karma. That is part of her belief system. She was very sympathetic to the families and friends of the victims. But for those who said things like…….they got what they deserved………need to take a long hard look at their life priorities. Because something is amiss with those folks. But I have no doubt that some member of congress and the administration are already thinking about how to over regulate air racing. Isn’t the FAA enough? My two cents. ORPO1 Out. What vehicle doesn’t usually lean in corners, doesn’t have a roof or doors, uses rather old technology, and isn’t priced under $10,000 (it’s $13,949 if we’re being specific) but has still captured my heart? I’ll give you a few hints. It’s Russian, wears a camouflage paint scheme, has three wheels, requires a unique skill set to operate, and features two wheel drive OK, I’ll tell you – It’s the Ural Gear-up and I’m still :drool2: It’s decidedly not fast and the speedometer bounces around in about a 10 MPH range, but who cares In all seriousness, I’m rather in a quandary here. A BMW F800GS would be quicker than the V-Star and will do off road with ease as it’s made to be a dual sport. It’s about the same price as the Ural and would be a much more capable touring mount. A Suzuki V-Strom would be about half the price, require less maintenance, and go just about anywhere the Ural would. Both are normal motorcycles which lean and do all the other fun things motorcycles do. On the other hand, the Ural with its sidecar would allow me to carry more and different stuff than either of the motorcycles would. Friends and family would probably be much more likely to climb aboard the sidecar than they would be to mount up on the back of a bike. I’d still be on the vehicle rather than in it, still in the weather, and it has plenty of character I’ve still got quite a while to go until I’m ready to buy my next means of transportation, so at least I’ve got that going for me So what do all my readers think? I can almost guarantee I won’t buy another regular car as long as I’m able to operate a bike of some sort, but that still leaves plenty of options open One of the parts of motorcycling I’ve fallen in love with is leaning through corners So what if there was a car that does lean in the corners? Intentionally lean in corners that is If I had to travel in a fully enclosed vehicle, I’d prefer to do it in a Carver or a Persu
I’ve noticed that I really don’t want a car now that I’ve got a bike. Now, that might not seem to strange at first to those who haven’t known me that long, but others remember when I was a total car nut I found this video the other day while cruising through YouTube and I have to say that I’d buy one in a heartbeat if I could I’ve seen a few of the old Morgan Three Wheelers in the past. I’ve seen them raced at vintage events and I’ve seen a couple at the Imperial Palace and they look to be a great deal of fun. This, however, looks like a whole new level of road going entertainment If I had to travel in a vehicle rather than astride it and that vehicle didn’t normally lean in corners, this would be the one I’d take Do yourself a favor and go check out the Morgan 3 Wheeler website and stop by the car creator feature while you’re at it Today the air races in Reno, NV saw a terrible tragedy. Jimmy Leeward lost control of the P-51 known as “Galloping Ghost” while competing in a qualifying race. The plane crashed into the front row of box seats and many spectators were injured and killed along with Mr. Leeward. Videos of the crash and the aftermath have been posted in various places online. I’ve chosen not to link to them. We don’t know what caused this catastrophe and I didn’t see anything in the video that would advance that understanding. I’m going to leave the search for the cause of this terrible crash to the experts. I found the above video posted on YouTube by user FSchmehl and I’ve chosen to post it here as a memory of better times. My prayers go out for everyone at Reno. |
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It had cleared up by the time I got out of work, but it was nice to have some decent clouds in the sky for a change 
), but what’s a guy to do when the bills have to be paid 
I wonder how hard it would be to remove the spotlight from the sidecar and fit a machine gun like the Russian Army used to 
