Free travel home page with storage for your pictures and travel reports! login GLOBOsapiens - Travel Community GLOBOsapiens - Travel Community GLOBOsapiens - Travel Community
 You are here: Member pages
Login
 Forgot password?
sign up


Top 3 members
wojtekd 50
Member snaps
el2995 Ridgecrest - A travel report by USC
about me      | my friends      | pictures      | albums      | reports      | travel log      | travel tips      | guestbook      | activities      | contact      |

Ridgecrest,  United States - flag United States -  California
6232 readers

el2995's travel reports

Ridgecrest

  7 votes
Page: 1 2 3

The town of Ridgecrest is situated in the scenic high desert region of Southern California. Ridgecrest is perhaps the largest town for quite some distance and is the home of the Navy's famous China Lake research and test facility, officially known as the Naval Air Warfare Center – Weapons Division, which is essentially the sole reason that the town exists. A road trip to the area by car on business proved to be quite enjoyable given the variety of the environs that are encountered along the way.

Favourite spots:
As you leave Hwy. 5 and head East along Hwy 178 through Bakersfield, the surroundings soon transition from flat and agricultural to rocky tree-studded canyon walls that tower above as the road snakes its way through the narrow Kern River Valley and affords sporadic glimpses of white water cascading between smooth boulders. Soon the forest begins to thin and the ears begin to plug as you ascend into high desert and pass the sizeable Lake Isabella, whose volcanic landscape and very scant vegetation conveys an almost lunar feeling. As you lose a bit of altitude, the hilly and rock-strewn surroundings become studded with desert scrub brush and only occasional hints of civilization. As you approach Ridgecrest the topography changes to expansive flat lands with majestic mountains in the distance.




What's really great:
My work took me onto the base and out to one of the many test and processing facilities, which gave me an appreciation of just how large the base really is. The best part of the trip was a visit to the China Lake Museum. At the time, the museum was accessible only to those allowed on the base, but they are in the process of moving the museum to just outside the main gate so that the general public can experience the museum. The Sidewinder Air-To-Air Missile was developed at China Lake and is featured prominently with photos and cross-sectioned hardware. There are inert samples of all the missiles and weapons developed at the facility on static display which includes Air-To-Air, Surface-To-Air, Air-To-Ground munitions and remotely-piloted aerial vehicles, in addition to videos that cover the history of the base and provide some dramatic footage of the tests being conducted. If you’re a fan of military technology, this museum is not to be missed.

Accommodations:
A variety of hotels are available.

Restaurants:
Bangkok House Restaurant, located on Hwy. 178 a short distance from the main gate, is perhaps the only Thai cuisine for at least a hundred miles, and is definitely worth a try. Try the Beef and Chicken Satay, the Pad Thai Noodles, and the Musman Beef Curry. The service was good, and the waitresses were friendly and quite attractive to boot.

Published on Monday September 30th, 2002


send travelogue via e-mail    Publish on Facebook  



Information:
Login if you are a member, or sign up for a free membership to rate this report and to earn globo points!

 Burma
   Bago average user rating for this report
   Inle average user rating for this report
   Kyaikto average user rating for this report
   Kyauktan average user rating for this report
   Mandalay average user rating for this report
   Mingun average user rating for this report
   Pagan average user rating for this report
   Rangoon average user rating for this report
   Twante average user rating for this report
   Yangon average user rating for this report
 Cambodia
   Siem Reap average user rating for this report
 France
   Paris average user rating for this report
   Saint Malo average user rating for this report
 Germany
   Heidelberg average user rating for this report
   Koln average user rating for this report

 
Publish your own story!
 More on United State.

   San Francisco average user rating for this report
   Boston - andreas average user rating for this report
   Key West - jgannon average user rating for this report
   Memphis - wolfie average user rating for this report
   Grand Canyon Natio. average user rating for this report




  Terms and Conditions    Privacy Policy    Press    Contact    Impressum
  © 2002 - 2024 Findix Technologies GmbH Germany    Travel Portal Version: 4.2.8