PHOTO TOUR - PAGE THREE ... Around the Area

Surrounding Rosamond you will find an eclectic collection of interesting facilities and attractions, ranging from advanced technology operations to relics of the desert past.  Links scattered throughout the text will lead you to added details.

Click on the thumbnails to view full-size pictures or associated websites

Edwards AFB We have to start with EAFB because it is the 800-pound gorilla in importance to our town!	A National Asset Huge though it is, the base is dwarfed by the dedicated test airspace associated with it.	A Long History Virtually every major combat and research aircraft since WW-II has been tested here	Not Just Air Force NASA, Jet Propulsion Lab, the Marine Corps and others share the Edwards facilities.	People Facilities An ancillary benefit of EAFB flows to area military retirees in the form of commissary, BX and recreational facilities

Willow Springs Raceway Endless SoCal development has swallowed up most of our pioneer racing facilities.  Willow Springs is taking over as THE racing center for the southland.	Pick Your Track Boasting almost every type of racing surface, Willow Springs attracts operators of all sorts of fast hardware.  It's also a favorite site for media production operations.	Mojave Spaceport Widely known as home of Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, Mojave is now officially a civilian spaceport, offering the possibility of access to the huge block of restricted military airspace.	Our Local Cat House No, we're not talking Nevada - style social recreation. The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound is dedicated to preserving threatened bloodlines.  Open to the public.	Willow Springs Townsite Willow Springs was an important stage stop on the LA-San Francisco route that died with the coming of the railroad in the 1870's. Today it's not that far west of new development ...who knows what the future will bring?

Tropico Gold Mine Mega-dollars came out of the ground here, then for years it was a tourist attraction , filming site, and home of the World Chili Championship cook-off.  Today, thanks to the "benefits" of our wonderful tort system, it can only be viewed from outside the fences.	Golden Queen Mine One of the few area mining locations still active, Soledad Mountain just north of Rosamond is home of Golden Queen's operations.	Indian Museum Just re-opened to the public after extensive renovation work. Definitely worth a visit.	Wind Generation "Farming" the wind off the nearby mountains is a thriving enterprise and worth a short drive to observe up close.  Major expansion projects are ongoing. Several large Solar Energy sites are also under construction nearby.	Sky-Diving, Anyone?   (Well, jump ops recently suspended after many years at Cal City..but we'll leave the picture up for a while...who knows?)

Soaring The terrain from Rosamond  northward generates every kind of "lift" a soaring pilot might want.  From basic desert thermals to the world-record supporting Sierra mountain waves, all can be accessed from area airports.  Tehapachi's Mountain Valley is a major local site.	Off-Roading Yes, we know it's the bane of the environmental movement, but there is room for all.  North of Rosamond the Jawbone Canyon off-road area is a huge draw for SoCal off-roaders and is but one of many.	Desert Poppies More environmentally correct, the California Desert Poppy Preserve and nearby desert areas offer seasonal views of more poppies than you knew could exist.  Unfortunately, they do march (bloom, rather) to their own drummer.	Our Desert While the desert may strike the uninitiated as a sere wasteland, it has a beauty of its own.  Drive a bit off the beaten path, get out and spend a little time looking closely.	Sky & Stars This writer spent decades under the dull marine layer clouds of LA.  You know what? This is better.