Montgomery Field - Phoenix / Beechcraft Bonanza A36 (N3758W) / VFR

I would have preferred to fly this route during the day, but there just wasn't time. So I filed VFR for a nighttime flight from Montgomery Field in San Diego to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

I figured at first that I'd follow Interstate 8 all the way to Gila Bend. I noticed, though, that this meant following quite a winding route, part of which even slips through some restricted airspace. I didn't have a lot of time for this flight and many other matters were competing for my attention, so I eventually decided to go direct HAILE and then follow the Victor airways to IPL, BZA, and so on, with a turn at MOHAK shortly after which I could follow I-8 directly to Gila Bend. I climbed as high as 7500 over the mountains as I left SoCal, but then went back down to 5500 and then down to 3500 after Gila Bend. I followed the highway from Gila Bend to I-10 east of Buckeye, as usual, and then on into Phoenix. Wind was calm so I took runway 8 and managed to swing right over to the GA ramp near the threshold. The weather was very clear, with lots of stars, and a very faint glow to the east, even though it wasn't even 4 AM yet.