Road Trip: Fullerton, California

I'm always game for a road trip. My Honey flew N350ET from Valdez, Alaska to its home at South Coast Helicopters in Fullerton, California. He could have flown home commercially, but why? =]

[Click any photo to see a larger version]

On the road, I-10 West.


Construction cones as far as I can see.


Tonopah is home to the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. It's also known for its hot springs, with well water temperatures that can range from 70 - 95F and as high as 110 - 120F.


I don't know much about Quartzsite. I think it's a popular RV site, and known for its gem/mineral swap meet.


The "Q" mountain in Quartzsite.


Busted. The Highway Patrol passed a long line of cars to get to the black car at the front of the line.


California's Agriculture Station. This is where you stop and they ask if you have any plants or animals on board.


This is a horrible photo taken with my prehistoric iPhone3. I have a dog kennel in my back seat that is large enough to house a baby elephant. "Do I have any animals?". I figured it wasn't a good time to be sarcastic with the nice officer. I told her yes, I have my dog.


Some desolate area in Southern California.


Getting closer. The pollution is really bad, *cough* *cough* *wheeze*


I think this is where I crossed the Colorado River, near Blythe.


My Honey: "Where are you now?"

Me: "There are propellers everywhere"

My Honey: "Those are wind turbines"

Me: "Yeah, those"

Regardless, he understood where I was at.


These are big, ugly suckers. According to Google, the average windfarm requires 17 acres of land to produce one megawatt of electricity. The blades can measure up to 33 yards (99 feet).


Getting closer.


Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
My dog and I were doing the pee-pee dance right about here.


Sometimes when I'm traveling, I see this fancy picture on my GPS that actually shows me the freeway I'm driving on and the signs I should see. It's never done this in Arizona.


Getting closer to Fullerton.


4pm traffic -- ugh!


Eeee!!! Really close now!


At South Coast Helicopters, N450CC.


The helicopter PJ flew heli-skiing in Alaska. My eyes are closed, so typical.


N350ET, outfitted for its next job, filming movies.


Cierra is ready to go, she knows how much fun helicopters are.


Inside N350ET, it has air conditioning. I can't say any of the helicopters I've flown in had air conditioning but flying with the doors off trumps air conditioning.


On our way home, we got off the freeway for a more scenic route.


Along with a long line of cars, apparently we're not the only ones looking to avoid the freeway for a bit.


California wildflowers. I would have photographed each and every one of them, but I probably would have been left behind.


Dairy farms.


Dairy farms are extremely fragrant, and not in a nice way.


Southern California sunset.


A cell phone tower.


Idyllwild sunset.


Idyllwild sunset.


We drove up to Idyllwild so that I could see where PJ used to live on the mountain. It's nice up here. Tall trees and cooler temperatures, almost makes you forget you're in So. Cal.


On our way down the mountain, overlooking Palm Springs.