China Lake, CA

Sidewinder missile.

Ridgecrest and the adjacent Navy base at China Lake were within easy reach of Death Valley and a few days were split between both places over the 2011 Thanksgiving holiday.  I was born on that Navy base when my dad was stationed there, but had never been back, though I’d visited Ridgecrest a few times.  While traipsing around town visiting a couple of local museums and historic sites (nice ones), a fellow at the old USO building informed me that I could get a visitor pass at the gate to get on the base and that they had a rocket museum there that I should check out.  So, of course, I did.  And as a result, I learned far more than I thought possible about the top secret work that was done to develop the Sidewinder missile and a sizeable portfolio of the Navy’s rocketry.  Fascinating place.  I’ll have more to say about that when I finish up my dad’s biography, which happens to be an interesting endeavor for a whole host of reasons, at least to me anyway!  But more on that later.

Sidewinder rattlesnake.