Tuesday - we leave!!!

Last-minute preparations...adding the Airmar to the roof (it logs and displays current conditions as we are driving). We've got this thing down to a tee now! None of the "running around with our hair on fire" like the last two years. And amazingly - we drove off at 10 am!!

The day's drive was relatively uneventful. The lunch stop at Coalinga ("Harris Ranch") was as stinky as ever, we drove right past Craig's house in Bakersfield (and waved!), and the high desert was high and "deserty". Once again we didn't see ANYTHING interesting near Edwards AFB. I always assume we'll be strafed by top-secret jets, but nothing.

Clouds on the eastern horizon - promising for tomorrow! Overnight in Barstow at the Ramada Inn. Kudos to the manager of the Sizzler who gave us a 10% discount for showing up as a crowd - thanks! The Ramada, on the other hand...most of us could not get the wireless to work. The desk clerk gave us a phone number to call for help...not helpful. The lack of internet killed our plans to forecast in detail on our first night. And since we expected today to be active, it was a drag not being able to get a head start on forecasting.