I'd like to take this aerial tour some day. It was published in Pilot Getaways magazine a while back.

Here's a Skyvector map I made of it.

http://skyvector.com/?ll=34.329525913289814,-115.27954101798764&chart=301&zoom=5&plan=G.33.673265,-115.783349:A.K2.L77:A.K2.CN64:G.33.911526,-115.273288:G.34.054935,-115.11505:G.34.099865,-115.15844:G.34.061584,-114.815032:G.34.076657,-114.761685:G.34.357467,-115.392177:G.34.520666,-115.5082:G.34.5604,-115.745004:G.34.545343,-115.790087:G.34.736393,-115.282828:G.34.773274,-115.219987:G.34.798669,-115.224956:G.34.918822,-115.070053:G.34.93703,-115.068315:G.34.973681,-114.84007:G.34.970393,-114.823311

And here are the names and waypoints...

ID Name LatD LatM N/S LonD LonM E/W
2CYNG Camp Young 33 40.4 N 115 47.0 W
L77 Chiriaco Summit 33 39.9 N 115 42.6 W
L64 Desert Center 33 44.9 N 115 19.4 W
2CCXM Camp Coxcomb 33 54.7 N 115 16.4 W
2CGRN Camp Granite 34 3.3 N 115 6.9 W
2CIMT Camp Iron Mountain 34 6.0 N 115 9.5 W
2RICE Rice Field 34 3.7 N 114 48.9 W
2CRCE Camp Rice 34 4.6 N 114 45.7 W
2CDZD Cadiz Dunes 34 21.5 N 115 23.5 W
2CDZS Cadiz Siding 34 31.2 N 115 30.5 W
2AMBY Amboy & Roy's 34 33.6 N 115 44.7 W
2AMBC Amboy Crater 34 32.7 N 115 47.4 W
2CCLP Camp Clipper 34 44.0 N 115 17.0 W
2ESX Essex Field 34 46.3 N 115 13.2 W
2CESX Camp Essex 34 47.9 N 115 13.5 W
2CGFS Camp Goffs 34 55.1 N 115 4.2 W
2GOFS Goffs Field 34 56.2 N 115 4.1 W
2IBIS Ibis Field 34 58.4 N 114 50.4 W
2CIBS Camp Ibis 34 58.2 N 114 49.4 W

Actually even more info here: http://skytrail.info/new/home.htm

Scott. When I'm able to fly back down to SoCal often, this would be fun to do!

Even though Desert Center is privately owned now, I'm pretty sure the owner of the airstrip and race track is more than happy to have visitors. Just call before you head out there to make sure there isn't any special or private events happening on the day you'd like to visit. I encourage anybody that fly's into Desert Center/Chuckwalla Valley Raceway to find and meet Mickey the owner. He's a supper great guy and also a fellow aviator and FBO owner at one of the Palm Springs/Indio area airports.

Let me know next time you're heading down there. I might come along as long as it's not too windy or hot. You know, those two days a year that it's not windy or hot...

Well now that you mention it, I flew out to Blythe with a friend and while we were there he told me about an old training base north of town. We used the airport crew car to take care of my business and then went and checked it out. It's was called Morton Air Academy found here scroll down http://splashurl.com/ms6j3hd.

Control tower then:


Now:




The place is in pretty sad shape all in ruins but did reek of history.

This is the part of history that I love. History you can still visit and see. Visiting some of the ghost towns and airports down there would be really cool. Does it look like the runway is still landable at Morton?

It would be cool if we could ever land at some of the old tactical fighter runways. Flew over it years ago and my Grandfather trained there before being pulled out of 4th Cav, sent to help form another recon cav unit and off to run across France with Third Army.

I still have his Zeiss Binocs! Be fun to visit the place someday.

svanarts wrote:This is the part of history that I love. History you can still visit and see. Visiting some of the ghost towns and airports down there would be really cool. Does it look like the runway is still landable at Morton?

Big tires only lots of what I call pucker bushes, clumps about basket ball size. It was all dirt, level and all but a lot of growth. I've been to a few others like Rice, Essex and you can see a lot of these old fields all over the desert from the air easily. I haul (my trucks) Calcium Chloride off of Cadiz Lake Dry lake and you can still see the tank tread impressions in the desert floor after 70 years and after a rain you can find 50 cal casings with 43 stamped into the bases and the bullets.


Roys Cafe on old 66 Amboy CA

There looked like there was a dirt road near Amboy's. I was gong to ask if anyone ever landed there. Or are y'all just landing on Rte 66?

svanarts wrote:There looked like there was a dirt road near Amboy's. I was gong to ask if anyone ever landed there. Or are y'all just landing on Rte 66?

Dirt airstrip on the west side of town. Might be good to call ahead for conditions. Info can be found on Shortfield.com. Good place to land for a snack, drink, and restrooms. They have picnic tables if you bring your own lunch.

In many areas south of Amboy in the desert, you can still see tank tracks across the desert. I have pics somewhere in my FB albums.

Was anybody at Desert Shield 79 or Golden Eagle 82, Division size training exercises at Ft. Irwin? I was doing the actual Med Evac for two weeks at each of those with the 717th Med Det, Helicopter Ambulance..

Scott:

If you are in the area, stop and Borrego and buy the Sky Trail handbook for $5. It is an aerial tour of some unique desert formations. It takes about an hour to complete and is much quicker than hiking into each of these destinations. The tour was documented by a State Park Ranger (John Muench) that published the handbook in 1995. You will see things that are only available if your are in your plane. I think it is the only park in the state with an airplane tour.

Here are the co-ords:

I. 33° 16' 42. 81"N.116° 05' 44. II"W.
2.33° 00' 43. 59"N. 116° 06' 53. 78"W.
3.32° 58' 33. 16"N. 116° 11' 40. 75"W.
4.33° 00' 16. 53"N. 116° 04' 27. 10"W
5.32° 55' 49. 09"N. 116° 03' 23. 51 "W.
6.32° 45' 38. 65"N. 116° 03' 12. 20"W.
7.32° 50' 41. 28"N. 116° 09' 44. 34"W.
8.32° 52' 57. 01 "N. 116° 12' 23. 51 "W.
9.32° 56' 34. 58"N. 116° 18' 25. 23"W.
10.32° 59' 23. 60"N. 116° 25' 40. 84"W.
11. 33° 05' 47. 67"N. 116° 28' 35. 18"W.
12.33° 19' 17. 22"N. 116° 33' 59. 83"W.
13.33° 27' 25. 89"N. 116° 35' 28. 21 "W.
14.33° 23' 47. 52"N. 116° 25' 26. 69"W.
15.33° 24' 40. 87"N. 116° 20' 51. 38"W.

Contact me if you want more info, or we can talk about it at Red Hills.

Rich

Rommel, you magnificent bastard... I read your book !

Scott, Let's talk at Red Hills. I have wanted to explore those sites. This could be a good fly-in. Thanks, Mike

Cool. I've got the coord for the Anzo-Borrego Sky tour too. Pilot Getaways covered that one too. I was looking for that book online but no dice. $5 isn't to steep a price to pay.

Sure, I'd love to talk to anyone who's familiar with the area.