Friday July 3, 2009  
Well then, how is it, Lord, that You weren’t thinking of the laborious death You were about to suffer, so painful and frightful? You answer: ‘No, my great love and the desire I have that souls be saved are incomparably...more
Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle V.2.13
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Flying to Joshua Tree

Thanks to my pilot friend Amos Collins, we had the amazing opportunity to take a weekend trip to Joshua Tree National Park...by plane! Amos and his fiancee Heidi flew up from San Diego and picked us up at the nearby Fullerton Airport Friday afternoon. We stuffed our camping gear into the small 4-seater, and then flew to Yucca Valley, a small town close to Joshua Tree. Not only is flying in a small plane tons of fun (especially with friends), but it's also quite gratifying when you can look down below at the traffic on the 91 freeway that you would otherwise be stuck in. We rented a car in Yucca Valley so we could drive into the park, and managed to find a camping spot despite the campground being "full."

On our way back, we had a bit of extra time, so Amos let me do some flying myself, including taking off twice (though he did most of the work during the takeoff, like worrying about the flaps and throttle). We also got to fly over the park, which was great. It was really interesting to see the huge rocks from above.

Besides the flying, we really enjoyed hanging out with Amos & Heidi, and spending some more time in Joshua Tree.

Amos looks up during his pre-flight check.
This plane has a simple GPS, and an even simpler notepad which straps onto the pilot's knee to keep track of all the flight-following stuff that goes on. Amos explained that the southern CA airspace is the busiest in the country. Even for our short little flight, he had to worry about a bunch of different airspaces and air traffic controllers.
Daniel enjoying the front. All 4 of us had headsets so we could talk over the noise of the plane (and listen to all the airtraffic chatter).
This was taking off from the Fullerton Airport.
Checking out the map.
Lake Perris
As we headed East towards Corona we passed over some hills, which Amos flew pretty close to. You can see the effects of one of the recent fires in the area.
Unloading our camping gear in Yucca Valley
We landed just before sunset.
We spent many hours talking around the campfire.
Katie
I somehow managed to capture this amazing photo of Amos & Heidi.
They're newly engaged, so I had to take a lot of photos of them.
One of the trickier parts of the first set of rocks we climbed right near our campsite (Hidden Valley Campground).
Heidi cresting a different boulder pile.
Amos shows off his sandal climbing skillz
Amos lost his camera right here, but didn't realize it until we had climbed all the way down. Fortunately, he was able to run/scramble back to this spot later and retrieve it.
Amos found out the hard way that these guys do indeed have stickers even though they don't look like it.
Notice the cool rock veins on either side.

Recent photo comments

You're going to have to view the larger version of this one to see the glitter. I have no idea why.

Katie: dehydration

Sher: When it dries, it will make a great fire log.

Checking out the map.

Amos: Daniel, I thought YOU were flying?

Daniel: Doh! No wonder we started to roll!

Sher: Co-Pilot Daniel. Isn't flying great?

Amos looks up during his pre-flight check.

Sher: No, Amos, NOT the Interstate-125 . . . You're cleared to land at Joshua Tree!

I somehow managed to capture this amazing photo of Amos & Heidi.

Katie: i love this shot. this is totally how i'm going to remember heidi.


just kidding heidi.

heidi: ARRRRRR...that's right....this is what happens when you mess with a dutch girl, the claws come out.
is ANYONE intimidated??

glad you find the photo so amusing,katie. might need to say a prayer for amos though, hope he knows what he's getting himself into;)

debi mangiameli: I think Amos got Heidi w/ his big toe- you know how he pinches w/ his toes.....

Amos: Aunt Debi, you're embarrassing me, when nobody knows what you're talking about. (I thought it was funny though)

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