The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • C6

THURSDAY AUGUST4 2016 6C FACEBOOK.COM TWITTER.COM SACBEE.COM Explore THE OUTDOORS tearman biplanes are sailboats of the skies. Not only because their tails have big, curved rudders that appear to have been swiped off yachts, or because steered by a wooden stick that resembles a tiller. They also bob on the shifting currents of air like a sloop breasting the waves. And when you ride in a biplane, you sail at a stately pace above a landscape much like a ship cruising along an enchanted shore. These aspects combine to make a biplane ride relaxing and thrilling at the same time.

The aircraft transport the rider back to an era when taking flight was both a romantic event and a beguiling adventure the polar opposite of scarcely tolerable commutes aboard jet-powered cattle cars. Pull off Highway 121 at the Sonoma Valley Airport just a few miles south of town and it becomes clear about to pass into a different realm. First, the toothy grin of a logo painted on a fully restored P-40 Warhawk fighter plane greets you. Next, a line of restored World War II-era jeeps, poised as if ready to run pilots from a ready room out onto an airstrip to mount a raid. As you start believing a rigid martial discipline permeates the entire place, that impression wafts away like a puff of blue exhaust smoke with an introduction to the low-key Chris Prevostand his charming wife, Sheryl Prevost.The Vintage Aircraft operation was founded in 1975; Prevost acquired the business in 1984.

His broad shoulders and barrel chest fill out a sun-faded T-shirt, and his face bears a perpetual tan from open-cockpit flying. A reassuring aura of calm emanates from this highly experienced pilot, suggesting that nothing short of a tornado vacuuming up his airfield at F-5 strength would be cause for any alarm. of airplanes is something I think I was born Chris Prevost said. always just found them naturally He first glimpsed this airstrip as an awestruck schoolkid from Marin, out on a field trip. Now, at 53, after also buying the airfield in 2008, he owns the entire shebang.

Between those time brackets, he flew his first solo in a Citabriaas soon as he could (at age 16), buying a Sopwith Pup (World War I British fighter) as his first plane at 17, and flying to New Zealand at age 36 to harvest the wrecked hulk of the P-40 after which he spent eight years and $600,000 restoring it to airworthiness. Now, with an estimated 11,000 hours of flying under his seat harness, Prevost (and his compan- ion pilots) purvey rides on fleet of four Stearman biplanes four days a week. his bread and butter, bringing in $175 for one rider or $270 for two, on basic 20-minute flights. As for the steak and truffles? Well, that comes with rides in his three restored World War II warbirds: 20 minutes in an AT-6 Texan, $399; 20 minutes in the P-40 Warhawk, $949; 30 minutes in his P-51 Mustang, $1,699. we sell Sheryl Prevost said.

people see our planes up close, they seem happy to plunk down some money for a ride. And many look beyond thrilled after they come back in for a landing, just completely over the While I was present at the Sonoma airfield, a pair of test cases showed up in the form of two Coast Guard who drove over from that training center west of Petaluma. Matt Becker, 23, and Jay Hewitt, 25, both veterans of small- boat search-and-rescue teams, said they had now gotten halfway through training to become petty officers. found Northern California was plenty beautiful as seen from a car, so we thought it was high time to take a look from the air as Becker said. we hope to get our adrenaline pumping a bit, so we decided to add on the aerobatics Heads clad in canvas flight helmets, they were strapped into the front cockpit of a Stearman PT-17 Kaydet the primary training aircraft for the U.S.

Army Air Corps and Navy both before and during World War II. However, this plane had PAUL MCHUGHSpecial to The Bee A restored P-40 Warhawk sits poised for flight near the Vintage Aircraft airstrip in Sonoma. VINTAGE AIRCRAFT This time machine comes with wings BY PAUL MCHUGH Special to The Bee The double wing of a Stearman biplane frames a vintage WWII fighter plane. SEE AIRCRAFT, 7C Vintage flights Mark Napa Valley Biplane: www.napavalley biplane.com Chris Vintage Aircraft Co: www.vintageaircraft.comor www.northbayair museum.org/NBAM/ Most people think of the town of Lee Vining as a pit stop outside Yosemite National Park a place to find lodging or a meal before moving on to grander sights. But the oft- overlooked town in the eastern Sierra has its own gems to explore, and passers-by should be careful not to miss Mono Lake.

Covering 45,000 acres, Mono Lake is something of an ecological wonder. Because it flow into any rivers or oceans, the closed basin retains high levels of salt and is home to algae that give the water a turquoise tint. roughly three times saltier than the ocean and ranks as the ninth saltiest body of water in the world, falling just two slots behind the Great Salt Lake and one above the Salton Sea in Southern California. The main distinguishing feature by far is the tufa towers unusual rock formations that line its shores and islands. The tufa was created many centuries ago, when calcium springs far beneath the surface shot upward and interacted with the carbonates in the water, creating limestone towers.

They grew slowly over years to as tall as 30 feet, but become visible until water diversions brought down the lake level drastically in 1941. Today, visitors can get a close-up look at the rocky sculptures by taking the South Tufa Trail, an easy 1-mile walk lined with educational placards. Though the path is flat and easy, walkers can easily lose an hour or two staring at the twists and turns of the hundreds of tufa spires. Like snowflakes, no two are the same. You can take a side trip to Navy Beach for a swim, but be warned the water is extremely briny.

In fact, home to tons of brine shrimp that help sustain the regional and migratory birds who rely on Mono Lake, such as sandpipers, snowy plovers and California gulls. Dozens of different bird species live there, so bring binoculars if like to see them up close. Whether you just spend the day at Mono Lake or add a stop at the nearby 200-foot-wide Mono-Inyo craters, bound to learn something new about the eastern Sierra environment. And even if you read a single informational sign, the views are well worth the trek. Sammy Caiola: 916-321-1636, WEEKEND HIKE Ecological anomalies await at view-packed Mono Lake BY SAMMY CAIOLA MATTHEW CROCKER A tufa tower rises out of Mono Lake in the eastern Sierra..