On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 06:40:14 GMT, "Eric Fletcher S.O.C."
wrote in ::

On 10/9/04 6:39 PM, in article ,
"Larry Dighera" wrote:

Have you ever explored the remains of General Patton's WW-II Desert
Training Center in the Mojave?


Where might that be and what is their to see there?


The DTC was created in April 1942 shortly after the seven simultaneous
Japanese attacks against Pearl Harbor, Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam,
Philippines, Wake Island, and Midway Island. This is where the first
US troops to fight in WW-II were trained to invade North Africa to
prevent Rommel from reaching the oilfields of Arabia. It covered the
western desert from Yuma to Searchlight and Pomona to Prescott, 12
million acres in all. In the desert climate the evidence of the
divisional campsites still remains today.

Here's a link with pictures of the DTC today, and a Sky Trail (similar
to a nature trail) that the Bureau of Land Management is creating for
GA pilots:
http://home.worldnet.att.net/~SkyTra...disclaimer.htm
.. The username is: dtc, and the password is: blm. Click 'Pilots
Guide' on the right of the banner to see the sky trail. There is also
information he http://www.pilotgetaways.com/skytours/index.html

The DTC Sky Trail adds interest and education on the flight from Los
Angeles to Las Vegas/Laughlin.

I'd like to get the BLM to create a similar sky trail over the
intaglios along the Colorado River basin. But that project will have
to wait for motivated volunteers; I just don't have any more time to
devote to these projects.

The sky trail concept is well suited to very large surface features
that can only be appreciated from an aerial vantage point. The
California State Department of Parks established one over Anza Borrego
many years ago (the first and only in the US to my knowledge). I
think GA and the American public would benefit greatly if sky trail
creation were continued throughout the nation. But it takes time. I
originally conceived of the DTC Sky Trail in 1998, and it's still
grinding through the bureaucracy today...