Northern Sierra Nevada Mountains

I got this great shot of Highland Peak with its 10935 foot peak Tuesday on my flight to SF. Highland Peak is the tallest mountain in the Northern Sierra Nevada that cover about 13300 square miles between California and Nevada.

Sunnyvale Naval Air Station

In 1933, the United States Government commissioned Sunnyvale Naval Air Station which was later renamed NAS Moffett Field. The original mission of the Naval Air Station was to serve as a home base for the Navy dirigible the U.S.S. Macon. Later, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) established what would eventually become NASA Ames Research Center adjacent to the Naval Air Station.Moffett Field was closed as a military base on July 1, 1994. Supervision of Moffett's many facilities, two runways, and three aircraft hangars was turned over to NASA Ames Research Center. NASA now operates Moffett Field as part of NASA Ames Research Center. Adaptive re-use of historic buildings is being planned and implemented by NASA at Moffett Field.

For more visit http://history.arc.nasa.gov/moffett.htm.

High Flight

I took this picture while flying to SF this week. It reminded me of my favorite poem High Flight written by Pilot Officer Gillespie MageeNo 412 squadron, RCAF Killed 11 December 1941.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things you have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence. Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace where never lark, or even eagle flew and, while with silent lifting mind I've trod the high untresspassed sanctity of space, put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Oakland Bay Bridge

Like many important Bay Area structures, the Oakland Bay Bridge was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Subsequent analysis indicated that the eastern span (from Yerba Buena Island to Oakland) could not feasibly be retrofitted. A new span was the only choice if a repeat of the 1989 bridge failure was to be avoided in the coming “big one”!

Unfortunately that has never happened so I have been driving back and forth on a bridge that will in all certainly collapse underneath me if I happen to be here in SF when the “big one” hits!!!

My New Gas Grill

This weekend the Sarc family mourned the passing of our 14 year old 2 burner Duracan gas grill!

But wait...... there's a new gas grill in town made of stainless steal with 4 burners and a side cooking station!!!!

Sacramento, Ca

I had several CVS projects in and around Sacramento during my last trip. It's interesting that in 1839 a Swiss immigrant named John Sutter received a land grant in the Sacramento Valley from the Mexican government. He used the land to create a flourishing agricultural empire and named it New Helvetia (New Switzerland.) This empire established Sacramento’s earliest settlement and the first non-Indian settlement in California’s Central Valley.
In 1847 Sutter sent aid to the Donner Party, a group of immigrants trapped in a winter storm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Word spread and Sutter became known for his hospitality and for providing temporary refuge to travelers. This reputation made New Helvetia the destination for early immigrants to California.

For more visit: http://www.cityofsacramento.org

Sunset in Mill Valley, CA.

While in the SF area last week I spent a night at the Holiday Inn located in Mill Valley CA.

Mill Valley is a picturesque California town located on the eastern slope of Mount Tamalpais. Nestled among redwoods and canyons, Mill Valley is only ten minutes north of San Francisco, yet the quiet, wooded atmosphere feels very rural. I walked the walking path alone Richardson Bay and enjoyed a visit to the Edgewood Botanic Garden.

Shasta/Trinity National Forest

It's a good thing Teddy Roosevelt had the vision and foresight to protect American forests like Shasta-Trinity with it's granite peaks and cliffs, canyons, glaciers, rock pinnacles, and reflective lakes offer a solitude you won't find inside any of California's suburban malls. T.R. set aside Shasta and Trinity as separate national forests in 1905.

It was a beautiful ride from Erecka to Redding CA.