Lucerne Valley, CA

[weatherlover427]

I was in the Lucerne Valley of the high desert of southern California yesterday watching a rocket launching show called Rocstock (there is no K in it). It is where people launch homemade rockets to see whose can go the farthest, some get certified on different levels (of what I do not know), and others go for fun. That is what myself and my friend were there for. It is in the middle of a dry lakebed, so it gets mighty hot there. It must have been at least a hundred degrees on that hot desert floor. I almost passed out because it was so hot. I was getting lightheaded and dizzy. Word of advice: TAKE COLD WATER WITH YOU!! Anyway, we were there from noon till 4:30 or so. The show started at 1 PM, so for that first hour we watched for dust devils (we saw about 4 or 5 total, but we did not chase any). When the show started, we drove over to it and I got a major sunburn (again). But I have a nice tan now. Overall, it was a fun trip and I'd gladly do it again. (BUT WITH COLD WATER THIS TIME!!!!!)

[ColdFront77]

Wow, Joshua, what an experience. What was the rocket for specifically? Just to see how far different individuals rockets go up in the air?

Hopefully you won't have a problem with that sunburn... as bad as skin cancer. You should use suntan lotion next time you are in the sun for a long period of time.

[weatherlover427]

The rockets were mostly homebuilt as far as I know. Some people got their certification tests at this event. And I am using sunscreen next time.

[coriolis]

I took the kids to an exhibition last summer and it was pretty fun. Some of the builders make very elaborate models, and there is competition.

I built a couple model rockets as a youngster. The ones I did came in kits by Estes, and back then Century. The "engines" are solid fuel in cardboard tubes about 3/4" dia and 2 or 3 inches long. They have a lot of power in a small package. As a kid, I probably had more fun with "alternate uses" of those rocket engines than with their intended use.

[weatherlover427]

They launched a lot of Estes rockets at this event. I forget the exact model numbers but I know a lot of the names the announcer said began with "Estes".