February 18 2023 – an epic day filled with nostalgia, ashes, hummingbirds, Ole Bessie’s (our family Suburban) last hurrah, cheesesteaks, beer, exceptional desserts, song, dance celebration of our time here in Ridgecrest and John’s graduation from work. Where to start – the people are always the most important. But first the birds as there were two that had significance to the week – Eagles in the Super Bowl and the rearrangement of arrival dates for Ann and Ed to the West and the hummingbirds, marking Grand mom and Poppy’s resting place with Jesse at Short Canyon along with some unexpected adventures, but that will come later. It was so nice to have Ed and Ann here for the week, finally to visit Terri and Steve in Arizona (Super Bowl Location) and the Honeys(my three camping girlfriend) also came to see just what shakes here in the Crust. A nice long week with family, the excitement of the great game, the energy of the other Eagle’s fans at the Watch Party which was right next to the Stadium, and finally to lament over their loss.
Back to the people and the original reasons for the Sibling trip – John’s Retirement. People that flew to join us including former students, Katrina and Alan, Al David (Albert Bermudez) and Paul – and we know that it takes a lot of effort to get Crustside. The Retirement Party was conceived over 6 months ago as John pounded down beers at the Flightline each weekend, and in this particularly interactive state got to talking with Reese at the Ven Food Truck which regularly served this location. As we know from many years back, no celebration of John’s is complete without Cheesesteak, so the two devised a plan for this celebration. One of the things that John really enjoyed about Flightline was that he almost always met a former student with whom to banter, but also those that regularly met him there like Gloria and Ryan, and completely unknown people who had anything that was printed on their T-shirts that sparked his interest.
This could be hockey teams to Monte Python to Star Trek themes to name a few. John received his permanent Flightline Coaster early on.
So the nostalgic part of the day began with three – four wheel drive vehicles heading up to Short Canyon. Usually that is not required but since the day before we had traversed the dirt road north of Sand Canyon and and finally ending up in Short Canyon, never finding the petroglyphs that were to be found off South Brown Road not North Brown Road. We knew from that day that the road was very sandy in spots.
This would be Ole Bessie’s final hurrah after keen olfactory Ann said she smelled burning electrical as we got on 395. No one else smelled anything until we were on the dirt road headed up, finally other clues as we almost didn’t make a turn in the sand dune since the power steering had ceased to exist. This happened about half way up, but we were going ! Phone Calls from the trail vehicles confirmed that smoke was showing as we kept going. Full-turn around heading down the hill at the parking area. Yes, we could just roll down now – no problem. We had business to attend, so the hood was open confirming loss of the serpentine belt.
Hike up the canyon with the ashes and glass hummingbirds to the spot where we buried Jesse’s ashes. Poppy had told us this is where he wanted to be laid to rest and since Grand Mom is always by his side she was coming too. We were in our last week in the Crust and since a quorum of siblings and grandchildren were in attendance, we decided to place Poppy and Grand mom with Jesse to a beautiful place where we could alway return and remember those times. There was also the hummingbird issue which also was a perfect place to have our family permanently overlooking Ridgecrest and alongside our loved ones. John had had a glass piece made by a friend many years ago of humming birds perched on a glass branch. There was one for each of us with our birthdays etched in each and an egg for Jesse. We had gotten it repaired once already because the hummingbirds just needed to fly and after the July 2019 earthquake, they had all flown, none broken just separated from the glass branch. As this stage of our life is getting rid of stuff time, it was perplexing about what to do with this very delicate sentimental figurine. It came to me as we were preparing for Ashes that we could place them secretly at Short Canyon. So there our family is in the branches of a creosote facing Grandmom, Poppy and Jesses and Ridgecrest where our family started.
Tears and memories and no slipping down the mountain accompanied this perfect impromptu ceremony. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we will have plenty of memories in photos and videos, and these won’t take up any space in Vinny. This important item was accomplished before leaving the Crust.
And now onto the celebration side – Flightline Party. But first getting down the Short Canyon Rd is on the docket. No more smoke – all is cool. The battery would need a jump, and we were off followed again by the two other vehicles. Good thing John still works out because no power steering on a suburban makes for just that. We made it all the way down the two mile dirt road and even through the high sand. And we thought Old Bessie was gonna lose her brakes first, hah.
We parked her under the Brady’s Market highway sign and said good-bye to this relic of 20 years, and 200,000 miles, more nostalgic memories for this nostalgic filled day – of road trips and camping trips, and the numerous times that Jazmine was car sick. What an adventure, and the real party has not even started.
Flightline Time..So many desserts came through that we decided that dessert could start anytime. Peter made cheesecake and tiramisu, the Cosners made Caramel Brownies and Jenny Twix Bars. Beer was flowing and it was so fantastic to meet up with so many people that have made life in Ridgecrest so special as Al David played and sang. And the cheesesteaks were delicious.
No party is complete without “Jenny, Jenny” and “Rhiannon” which ended the night as we remembered all the music at our Meadowview House that was integral to our Ridgecrest experience.
Travels with Vinny VanGo 