1/11TH OF A COMPLETE ELVIS CARD COLLECTION

Because I had such a hard time uploading a decent-sized photo of Greg Parker's Supercharged Horseless Stagecoach, I decided to forego telling the story of my encounter with the former owner of Barstow's A-1 Towing. Maybe someday I'll have a bit more patience. Until then, you'll have to be content with my mini-King collection.

SO, YOU THINK HOUSES GROW IN TREES?

If you happened to be a rancher named Jessie Hoskins in the 1890s, the answer might be yes. He wanted a place to stay during his summer visits to the Sierras and carved out a living space inside what is now known as "The Hercules Tree"

Balch Park is the sight of John Muir's favorite stand of Giant Sequoias. He wrote, "In the northern groves,there are comparatively few young trees or saplings. But here for every old storm-stricken giant there are many in all the glory of prime vigor, and for each of these there is a crowd of eager, hopeful young trees and saplings."





The Grasshopper, ever ISO new natural wonders, decided to visit the dendroids that so impressed the irrepressible Mr. Muir. It is a long and winding road up into the Western Sierras to reach this particular Sequoiadendron giganteum grove, but it was worth the trek. Due to the low-slung carriage of our expedition vehicle, we were only able to scratch the surface of the wonderful forest found there.










Talk about a room with a view!

Flying Fortress Fan

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As our two readers already know, last weekend the Grasshopper found himself aboard the Douglas Aircraft-manufactured B-17G-85-DL, #44-83575, aka “Nine-O-Nine” (née“Lady of Yukka”--atomic test survivor/air tanker). A most wonderful experience, especially due to the fact that one of the other passengers was a WWII pilot who not only flew B-17s, but was shot down over Germany and went on to train B-29 pilots.

What readers may not know is that the Grasshopper has been a fan of the Flying Fortress for more than four decades. This goes back to watching “Twelve O’Clock High” on ABC in the mid-60s, making the models, and requesting Edward Jablonski’s excellent book as an 11^th birthday present. The bomber geekdom continued to manifest itself over the years as I made pilgrimages to fly-in’s and aviation museums far and wide--from Palm Springs to Hendon in the UK .

Of course, the original “12 O’Clock” movie starring Gregory Peck was required viewing. I also sought out both the theatrical and documentary films recounting the tale of the legendary Memphis Belle. You can imagine my disappointment when I tried to visit the Belle on Mud Island and found that the plane was no longer on public display. (Happily, it was rescued by The Smithsonian and is currently being restored.)

So, as a tribute to this magnificent aircraft, TSG presents a slideshow of B-17 images for your enjoyment.