Air & Space

More than 300 aircraft are on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum.  Le Roy couldn't believe that the plane he was Crew Chief for in Thailand in the late 1960s was on exhibit as was his squadron patch for Satan's Angels.

We took a tram tour to view outside aircraft that provided a walk down memory lane of aircraft history.



Russian MIG-15



P51D Mustang



F4U-4 "Corsair"



WWII Buzz Bomb"



A-4E Skyhawk (type of plane Senator John McCain flew over North Viet Nam)

My Air Force warrior was excited to find the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Bone Yard where over 4,000 aircraft are housed.  It is the United States' third-largest Air Force and the only one that makes a profit as it is a tourist attraction.  These planes are capable of being restored to service if necessary.  Some of these planes will fly again, some will be used for parts for planes still flying, and for others this is their final resting place. Tucson is a logical choice for a major storage facility with its low humidity and rainfall, alkaline soil and high altitude of 2,550 feet.




Largest Aircraft Bone Yard in the World

Lots of Tail

We stood on the front line of Cold War history at the Titan Missile Museum, a National Historic Landmark site and once one of America's top secret places.  Only one Titan II site remains for museum purposes to give visitors a rare look at the technology used by the United States to deter nuclear war.

The Titan II Missile is the largest missile ever built by the United States.  During the Cold War, 18 of the 54 Titan II missiles stood alert in underground silos in the Tucson area.  In 1987 the last Titan II site was deactivated.  We were able to visit the underground silo and the massive Titan II missile up close. 

 I had to buy a Fallout Shelter coffee cup as I had flashbacks from elementary school when we were instructed to hide under our desks if we were ever attacked.



Launch Control Center Where Keys and Codes Were Kept to Launch Missile

Titan II Missile




Tipsy Security Ear

San Xavier Mission and Tanque Verde Swap Meet

Mission San Xavier del Bac

The San Xavier church was built under the direction of the Franciscans.  Construction began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The church continues to serve as the parish for the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation and a shrine church to visitors.

The exterior and intricate interior underwent restoration and received national attention.

The Tanque Verde Swap Meet is held each weekend.  You can find everything from new clothing to Talavera pottery to cowboy boots as well as items that are destined for garage sales.  There are many used child car seats that most likely would not meet federal safety standards today.

Tucson Lazydays KOA




Our Desert Oasis

We stayed at the Tucson/Lazydays KOA for two weeks, met up with RV friends from Minnesota who just bought a park model at the Voyager RV Park, and explored the area. The KOA has anon-site bar and restaurant.  The park has 385 full hook-up 50 amp sites and 65 are pull thru sites with complimentary Wi-Fi and Cable TV.  There is a fitness center, two heated outdoor pools, dog park, and pickleball courts in a large covered event center. 



Look on top of wall for razor wire security system

We were awed when we saw fruit trees bearing ripe lemons, oranges and grapefruit on each of the RV sites and then found out we could help ourselves to all the fresh fruit we wanted.  I shared fresh lemonade I made and when John and Alice arrived they put their juicer to work and shared fresh squeezed orange juice.

We tried to learn the basics of Pickleball, attended a convection oven class, and went to Spanish class but it was canceled.  On Christmas Eve we had carolers right outside our door who sang a long version of "Frosty the Snowman" including the thumpity, thump thump verses.

It seems that most RVers travel with one or two pets.  And they are all spoiled rotten.  One man was pushing his dog in a baby stroller and another day I saw a man on his bicycle pulling a dog carrier.  I think my dog, Mavis, is jealous as I make her run alongside my bicycle.

Old Tucson & Saguaro National Park

If you love Western movies, you will want to visit  Old Tucson, a world famous film location for westerns. The location has been used for more than 300 old west movies since 1939.The set for the movie "Arizona" was built by Columbia Studios and has been used for the filming of several movies and TV westerns since then.  A fire in 1995 destroyed 40% of the sets but several of the original buildings, many which are adobe, from the 1939 set are still standing.

In 40 days, without the convenience of running water, tribal members known as Papagos, used traditional methods to help construction crews hand make more than 350,000 desert earth bricks used to build over 50 structures to recreate the City of Tucson circa 1860s.

 

We took a guided walking tour to explore the streets where many television and movie stars have worked over the last 75 years.  We took a train ride around the movie sets, walked through the set of High Chaparral, watched a botched bank robbery where outlaw greed brought down the criminals, and saw costumes from Little House on the Prairie and Bonanza along with a few others.



Some of the movies made in Old Tucson include "3:10 Train to Yuma", "Joe Kidd", "Tombstone", "The Three Amigos", "Gunfight at the OK Coral", "Rio Bravo", "The Quick and the Dead" and TV shows "Gunsmoke and "Bonanza."



I love old westerns and seeing where some were filmed was a thrill for me.  Old Tucson is where the spirit of the Old West comes alive.



One of the rebuilt sets

 

Since 1933 the giant saguaro cactus has been protected within the Saguaro National Park. This area of Arizona hosts the largest growth of saguaro cactus in the world. Here, it's not unusual for months to pass without a drop of rain.  Less than 12 inches of rain falls in a typical year.  Few seedlings grow to adulthood.  Seedlings growing under palo verde and mesquite plants are shaded from the intense sunlight, blanketed from winter cold and hidden from rodents birds, and other animals.

Almost all of the saguaros have holes in them as birds excavate new holes each spring to raise a family. These holes do not harm the saguaro and when the original occupant leaves, the cactus gets a hard scar and other birds and critters take over the nest.

While one saguaro may produces tens of thousands of seeds in a year, odds are against survival. They grow best on sloping plains at the foot of desert mountains. After 75 years it may sprout its first branches, or arms. By 100 years, the saguaro may reach 25 feet. Saguaros die of old age, but they also die of animals eating the seeds and seedlings, and lightning and winds kill large saguaros.  Droughts weaken and kill all ages.   

There is no way to accurately tell the age of a saguaro without knowing when it started growing.  Growth rates vary depending on rainfall, temperature and soil conditions.



Saguaro Cactus (see saguaro skeleton on its left)





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vegetation in the Southwest

Pink Prickly Pear Cactus




Looks like Brain Cactus to Me




Silver Candle Cactus
 

Prickly Pear Cactus



 

Saguaro (sa-war-o) and a Saguaro Skeleton to Left of It

 


Barrel Cactus



Pencil Cholla (choy-a)



Palo Verde (Green Stick)



Limber Bush



Jojoba




See the Baby Saguaro?




Creosote Bush



Walking Stick Cholla



Christmas Cholla looks dead to me

 





Teddybear Cholla (choy-ya)

 

 

Yucca

 

Ocotillo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Kartchner Caverns & Bosphere 2

Kartchner Caverns State Park - Two young cavers followed a narrow crack in 1974 only to discover a "living" cave.  Dazzling formations in unique sizes, shapes and colors drop down thousands of feet and are still growing after starting to form over 200,000 years.  It has the longest soda-straw formation in the U. S. It measures 21 feet, 2 inches.  It is the tallest and widest column in the state of Arizona.  The skeleton of an 80,000 year old Shasta ground sloth was found in the cave.




Shasta Ground Sloth

A colony of common cave bats returns to Kartchner State Park each spring. The State Park Rangers count the bats each summer by climbing into the sink hole at twilight. As the bats leave the cave the rangers use a hand-held counter to count each one they see. In one season the colony consumes half a ton of insects, including flying ants, beetles, mosquitoes and termites.




"Fried Egg" Stalagmite

"Soda Straw Stalagtites
 

Artificial Earth In the Middle of the Desert

Time Life Books called Biosphere 2 in Oracle, AZ one of the 50 must see wonders of the world. Texas oil magnate Edward Bass donated $150 million to fund the building of Biosphere 2 in the middle of the Arizona desert. (Planet Earth is Biosphere 1.) He donated $250 million. This sealed glass house was an attempt to completely recreate the conditions and environment of Earth including a rain forest, desert, marsh and a mini ocean.



In September, 1991 eight Biosphereans walked into Biosphere 2 which was sealed behind them.  They signed a two-year contract to grow their own food and conduct environmental experiments while sealed inside the complex.  What started as a science project turned into a psychological experiment.  Crew members grew to despise each other due to loss of weight and oxygen.  When they emerged their experiment was largely dismissed as a scientific failure. 



Inside the Biosphere
 

Some of the early designers and managers were interested in space travel and the possibility of colonizing the Moon or Mars.  By building and sealing people inside, they hoped to learn what problems would arise from living in a closed system.

Unused for many years, the facility was bought by the University of Arizona.  They are currently developing a Landscape Evolution Observatory, the first major renovation of Biosphere 2 since its original construction.  Scientists are studying water resources and global sustainability.