Field trip with Chris Ryan

Friday, July 15, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Participation is limited to 25.
Advance registration required at synature@west.net or 693-5683.
Members free/nonmembers free.

South Vandenberg Air Force Base offers spectacular views of the Channel Islands and seldom-seen natural history displays. The base archeologist, Chris Ryan, will host our group to see the flora of Tranquillon Peak, including a lush stand of tan oak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), and bishop pines (Pinus muricata) and Chumash rock art of Honda Ridge. Along the way we will see multiple launch complexes including the Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6), once configured to launch the Space Shuttle. We will conclude with lunch at the restored Coast Guard boathouse site, used for ocean rescue missions during the 1930s and 1940s.

To comply with Air Force Base regulations, all participants must be U.S. citizens and provide their date of birth and driver’s license number (this information can be provided separately from reservation requests). The list of participants will be “frozen” three weeks prior to the trip, so please be sure you can attend if you sign up. We will not be able to fill the space of anyone who cancels after June 23.

The weather can be difficult to predict; layered clothing, including a wind jacket, is recommended. Bring lunch and water. We depart from Buellton park-n-ride at 9:00 a.m. (please arrive by 8:45), and return at 3:00 p.m. We will travel as a group in compliance with Base policy, and participants must remain for the duration of the trip; there can be no early departures.

Featured photo at top: Vandenberg Air Force Base rock painting site photo by John Evarts.