Thursday, December 15, 2011

Blast Off!!!

So, driving home from the desert on Sunday we couldn't resist making a quick right (north) turn off Highway 62 onto Sunfair Road.  There was one of those classic desert scenes:  a semi-crazy looking guy on the corner with flags and canopies and other-worldly-looking vehicle and a sign advertising "hand-made Christmas Gifts".  How could we possibly not stop?
Turns out the hand-made gifts consisted almost entirely of pipes for smoking pot.  A nice enough guy with a really interesting vehicle that resembled an Airstream trailer.  He said he bought it from a guy who worked at Lockheed and used airplane-grade aluminum and other parts to build it!  Truly one of a kind!  It has a Cadillac engine, and the door handles, hinges, lights, etc. really did look unique.  A sticker on the door said "High Voltage", and I couldn't help chuckling at the overall impression the vehicle had on me.  Here's a cropped close-up.  No one on my Christmas list is in need of a hash pipe, so we said thanks and moved on.
A little further down Sunfair Road on the left is the small private Roy Williams Airport.  In case you're wondering, Roy Williams was a Disney cartoonist who did the original script for the Mickey Mouse Club TV show and (drum roll please) invented and designed the famous Mickey Mouse ear hat!  What an interesting tidbit of information!  Below is the airport logo and a picture of Roy.

In front of the airport they have what probably in it's day looked very 'space-age' and ultra-modern:  a miniature jet mounted on a pole.  This is what caught my photographer's eye as we were driving by.  Very cool, and now in nearly 2012 it looks like another one of those strange things you see in the desert and wonder what the heck it's doing there.  I decided to use black & white/high contrast to give it that vintage look.


Have you closed your Flight Plan?  
Happy Skywatch Friday, and have a great weekend!

Posted by

24 comments:

  1. CarlettaDecember 15, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    No Christmas pipes for me either. :)
    I remember Roy from the Mickey Mouse Club. He always looked like his eyes were closed when he smiled. Funny, I can almost remember his voice.
    Love your vintage look for the jet images!

    ReplyDelete
  2. forgetmenotDecember 15, 2011 at 10:36 PM

    Great post--I watched the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid and certainly remember Roy as well as Jimmy and all the Mouseketeers. I like your B&W photos of the plane too. Have a great weekend. Mickie :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LewDecember 15, 2011 at 11:08 PM

    Interesting folks you can meet in California! Love B&W for this scene - both the plane and the desert beyond it. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 16, 2011 at 2:53 AM

    Looks awesome cool :) The B&W HDR effect is really cool

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 16, 2011 at 3:33 AM

    What great shots! And what a great place...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nancy JaniolaDecember 16, 2011 at 3:44 AM

    I had fun reading this. Must have been a great day for you. :D

    Great shots!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousDecember 16, 2011 at 5:34 AM

    Great Post. Love the B&W's. Thanks for stopping buy my blog.
    Happy Skywatching.

    ReplyDelete
  8. TexWisGirlDecember 16, 2011 at 6:44 AM

    neat area you live in!

    ReplyDelete
  9. John @ Beans and I on the LooseDecember 16, 2011 at 6:55 AM

    I first thought the RV was a Cortez but then "no, that is something very different". Cool. I wonder what the inside looked (and smelled) like. The black and white on the airplane really worked. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lap Dog KnitsDecember 16, 2011 at 8:19 AM

    You always find the coolest stuff to photograph.
    Love the B & W's...
    the "dude"..very cool.
    There was a time in the 70's he would've had
    a line of cars waiting
    B & W's remind me of the Twilight Zone shows.

    ReplyDelete
  11. theconstantwalkerDecember 16, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    A lovely post to read and the images are wonderful to see...

    ReplyDelete
  12. My name is RietDecember 16, 2011 at 12:45 PM

    What a great post. Love that shiny vehicle an your pictures look great

    ReplyDelete
  13. AlDecember 16, 2011 at 6:36 PM

    Nice shots - a pot pipe would certainly make a unique and different Christmas gift!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Martha ZDecember 16, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    You can find some interesting things out in the desert.
    I like that high contrast image, very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  15. desertsandbeyondDecember 17, 2011 at 5:38 AM

    You always find the most interesting things that I honestly never spot! Now that I'm off for 3 weeks for winter break, I'm going to have to get up to Joshua Tree and go exploring with hubby!

    ReplyDelete
  16. MyMaracasDecember 17, 2011 at 9:21 AM

    What fun! That bus stop is a hoot, and I love the black and whites of the plane. It's the land time forgot out there.

    ReplyDelete
  17. ReenaDecember 17, 2011 at 11:53 AM

    Awesome b&w photos of the airport! Awwww, memories of the Mickey Mouse Club ... I'm ancient!

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousDecember 17, 2011 at 4:36 PM

    I really like your black-and-white pictures. It really brings out the clouds in the last picture, and gives an other-worldly appearance to the rocket (or jet) in the other pictures. The vehicle in your first two pictures was very interesting as well.
    Thanks for visiting my site.

    ReplyDelete
  19. LadyD PianoDecember 17, 2011 at 5:44 PM

    Awhhh, I remember watching Roy in B&W. That's all there was!! Your photos are amazing, what a gift!

    ReplyDelete
  20. K SoucyDecember 17, 2011 at 6:37 PM

    I like the different ways you edit your photos. The plane pictures, very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  21. KateriDecember 17, 2011 at 7:05 PM

    I love those airplane photos--so dramtic. Not sure anyone on my Christmas list needs a hash pipe either. Too funny, but you got some interesing photos of his RV.

    ReplyDelete
  22. PatDecember 18, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    When I saw the picture of Roy Williams, it took me back to the 1950s when I was in elementary school and sometimes watched "The Mickey Mouse Club" in b&w. Roy was the guy who could draw anything from some squiggle on the chart paper. I didn't know his last name till today. He was just Roy and seemed like a really nice guy who could draw anything. Thanks for the memories! Interesting story about the guy selling "home-made gifts!"

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oakland Daily PhotoDecember 21, 2011 at 10:40 AM

    Because of his size, Roy was called a "mooseketeer" on the Mickey Mouse Club. Didn't now he invented the ear hat. Uncle Walt was known to be a tightwad, so I bet Roy never got royalties. Haha.

    Your b&w shots of the jet are so good.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Max-eDecember 25, 2011 at 9:21 AM

    Our local pot smokers usually use the neck of a broken bottle, but like you I have no pot smokers on my gift list.
    Hope you have a great Christmas and New Year

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)