| Edwards Air Force Base, located near Mojave, is where
General Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier and where
many new aircraft continue to be tested. Edwards features one
of the premiere flight test museums in the nation. NASA's Dryden
Research Facility, located on the base, is the nation's top
space flight research area and the place where the space shuttle
conducted its first tests and early shuttle flights returned
to earth. Tours are available. Because both facilities are located
on a working military installation, advance clearance and reservations
are required.
The U.S. Naval Museum of Armament and Technology is
a showcase for past and current developments in American weaponry.
Located near Ridgecrest, the museum contains one of the finest
publicly accessible collections of tactical air weaponry and
technology anywhere, ranging from World War II-era rockets
to cutting-edge guided missiles. Again, the museum is located
on an active base so reservations are required. The newest
addition to Kern's military attractions is the Col. Vernon
P. Saxon Jr. Aerospace Museum, part of the Twenty Mule
Team Museum at Boron. Nearly six years in the making,
the museum opened in April 2003. Memorabilia collected from
throughout the high desert's "aerospace valley" is now on
display. Civilian aerospace is also a big part of Kern County
lore. Mojave Airport is a world-renowned civilian flight
test center and is home to some of the most unique and exotic
aircraft ever built. The Voyager, the only aircraft to round
the globe on one tank of fuel, was born here, as was the White
Knight reusable spacecraft. Tours of the main flight line
are periodically available.
The history of Kern's role in the petroleum industry is celebrated
by the West Kern Oil Museum in Taft. Natural history
is the focus of the Tehachapi Museum, the Maturango
Museum at Ridgecrest, and Bakersfield's Buena Vista
Natural History Museum.
 From
historic buildings to western artifacts, Kern County is the
real "Wild West." The days of the pack mule and the wagon
train aren't forgotten - the Twenty Mule Team Museum
and the U.S. Borax Visitors Center, both located near Boron,
chronicle the early days when wagon trains pulled ore, and
people, across the vast Mojave Desert.
Army life in the Old West is accurately depicted at Fort
Tejon State Historic Park near Lebec. Once the headquarters
of the U.S. Army Dragoons and Camel Corps, the park now includes
an interpretive center and regularly scheduled battle re-enactments.
Visitors can kick up their heels to Kern's "Bakersfield Sound"
pioneered by hometown heroes Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
Kern is the hotbed of Cowboy Swing. The legendary Owens still
calls Bakersfield home and his combination restaurant and
museum, the Crystal Palace, is a favorite of visitors
and residents alike.
Kern has long been a big part of movie magic. Whether the
script calls for the Old West or the distant future, for locations
around the world, or for a site out of this world, Kern is
credited in a long and growing list of films, both classic
and contemporary. Each year, the Kern Film Festival
showcases some of them at the historic Fox theater in downtown
Bakersfield.
The Kern County Board of Trade has a comprehensive website
for planning travel to county destinations.
See the information box for
more details.
<< 1 :
2
<< Back to Destinations
|
