Sept 30, from Ramona (California) to SkyRanch/Carefree (Arizona)

We drive back to Ramona airport on Interstate 5, which on Sunday morning is very light on traffic (see the video on the left) , and took off from California towards the east, leaving the Pacific behind us.

We are now looking at “Salton Sea” lake, crossing lots of  MOAs (for the non pilots, "Military Operations Areas"), which luckily are closed on Sundays. (Usually wars have a day off on Sundays…)

 Airports are very scarce, and strange places are to be seen, such as the Z"city" of with a Borrego, a private asphalt airstrip.

 We cross Salton Sea, and admire the local street pattern with very few houses The local airport reports 39C temperatures (about 105F), and we cross again Interstate 10.

Solar panel farms are under construction in what seems to be a huge farm, and green fields start to be seen, which points to water further down the “road”.

The city of Blythe also reports similar temperatures, luckily we are high up where it is cooler.

The city of Blythe also reports similar temperatures, luckily we are high up where it is cooler.

Geometrical fields forever along I 10, and strange rock formations point towards us.

More strange rock formations, and dirt roads in the middle of nowhere coming from nowhere and leading to nowhere.

Our airplane, Cessna 172SP, N985GE, lands in Wickenburg, Arizona, our entry point into another state, for a refill of its tank.

Temperature is 36C (about 101F). 

 

We take off from Wickenburg on Rwy 5 eastbound towards our destination of the day, a private strip in the outskirts of the city of Scottsdale (Arizona). We had gotten clearance prior to take off to land there, and arive at SkyRanch/Carefree on Rwy 24, a 4000 ft asphalt runway, north of Phoenix.

Ed picks us up, and we drive to his wonderful home in Scottsdale,
where his wife Susan is also waiting for us.

A nice smile from the receptionist 

                                                                                                                              at the Carefree Airport.

We enjoy a marvelous sunset on our way to dinner at a Honky Tonk place close to Scottsdale.

                  Another heavy protein dosis for today brought to our table by our tatooed server.

Football fans leave the restaurant, despite that their team lost the game, while indoors the dance lessons have started and Werner has another smoke.