We decided to take a flight over the California Poppy Preserve near Lancaster today. At the height of the bloom a few weeks ago we weren’t able to go as there was an airshow at the Lancaster Airport and a TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) that extended almost to the edge of the Preserve. I probably could have worked around it but decided to just stay clear and go a different time. There were still some patches of orange/gold left but most of the blooms were gone. Looking down at the lines of cars on both sides of the road and the packed parking lot I was glad to be flying above all of them.
The hills of Chino Hills State Park were still covered with the yellow mustard flowers, but portions of the hills that were bright green two weeks ago were already starting to turn brown. A not so gentle reminder that soon all the hills would be brown and remain that way until the winter rains return again next year.
As we flew over the mountains to the Antelope Valley we passed by the Mt Wilson Observatory. On the flight I was amazed at the number of lakes and reservoirs there were scattered around through the hills and mountains.
Later as I was entering the flight into my logbook I found that I now had 100 hours of flying! Another milestone passed. I’m at 39.4 hours in the Mooney and with another 20 hours will have surpassed the time I spent in the Cherokees.
