Away Mission to the Final Frontier

March 21: The USS Angeles will beam down at noon to the Trona Pinnacles, the filming site for Sha Ka Ree, the planet of God, from “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.” While there, we can ask, as Capt. Kirk did, “What does God need with a starship?” The Trona Pinnacles are about 20 miles east of Ridgecrest and lie in the California Desert Conservation Area. Access is on a Bureau of Land Management dirt road, RM 143, which leaves State Route 178, 7.7 miles east of the intersection of SR 178 and the Trona-Red Mountain road. The dirt road is accessible for two-wheel drive vehicles, but may be closed after a heavy rain, according to BLM. Its more than 500 tufa spires made it an ideal planet for “Star Trek.” For more information, see comicconrevolution.com/ontario.