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July 4th.
Edwards AFB.
My folks, girlfriend, and I sleeping between cars and cooking eggs on my Coleman.
Totally clear skys.
Shuttle landing (Columbia?) about 9AM.
Brief on-site speech by Ronald Reagan!
747 take off with shuttle on its back (Challenger?)about 11AM.
The longest and dustiest hour or four I've ever spent to get out of the camping/observation area.
Crappy quality Tee-shirt that I still have and won't wear for fear it'll rip or disintegrate.

Basically a 16 hour (plus infil/exfil) sober party with several thousand patriotic, happy, dirty, dedicated, Americans.

Not like it was one of my life's major highlights or anything.

Notes: That 747 might be hard to fly, but they circled and banked plenty good enough to let us see the shuttle in full silhouette - after the longest takeoff run I've ever seen or imagined.
From the ground the shuttle landings were simply spectacular, that thing was dropping altitude and speed like you can't imagine unless you've seen it. I think we saw the shuttle from every angle possible just during descent.
I don't remember what the President said but everyone there felt it and cheered their throats out.

And; underneath the talcum powder fine (caliche?) dust of the dry lake you're basically looking at the crust of the earth.