Phoenix Lights

We heard stories about the Phoenix Lights, or "Lights over Phoenix".  There was a UFO sighting in Phoenix, AZ and Sonora, Mexico on March 13, 1997. Thousands of people reported lights of varying descriptions between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.


There were supposedly two distinct events involved in the incident: a triangular formation of lights seen to pass over the state, and a series of stationary lights seen in the Phoenix area.

The United States Air Force later identified the second group of lights as flares dropped by an A-10 Warthog aircraft that were on training exercises at the Barry Goldwater Range in southwest Arizona.


Witnesses claim to have observed a huge V-shaped (several football field sized), coherently-moving dark UFO (stars would disappear behind the object and reappear as it passed by), producing no sound, and containing five spherical lights or possibly light-emitting engines.

 In January of 2015 these lights were once again visible in the Phoenix area.  We thought they were lights from the Super Bowl stadium but local TV newscasts reported sightings.

We have been keeping our eyes on the sky.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Green beer, wearin' o' the green and dancing to the oldies at the Gold Canyon RV Resort Clubhouse.     Everyone's IRISH today!

 

LoveBud and Precious

Old Friends Julee and Bob



New Friends Betty and Orrel

PIR - Phoenix International Raceway

We contacted Tour West America for tickets for the NASCAR Camping World 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway . Our tickets included a ticket in the Petty section (turn 4), a pre-race pit pass, a $10 food voucher and deluxe motor coach transportation from Gold Canyon RV Resort to PIR. 



PIR

With more laps and pit stop challenges, Phoenix International Raceway is recognized as the world's fastest one-mile oval. There were thousands of people in attendance. The race was a sell out.

Seating on Rattlesnake Hill



Checking Dimensions of Race Car




Pre-Race Pit Walk

#24 Jeff Gordon's Last Year Before Retirement

Kevin Harvick #4 won the Camping World 500 race.  It was a smoking hot day at this Arizona race track.  Attending this event reminded me that this is something I enjoyed more when I was much younger when I didn't mind the crowd, the heat and the walking. Oh yeah, drive fast, turn left!



Cactus League - Brewers Game



Maryvale Stadium

Take me out to the ball game
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack
I don't care if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the home team
If they don't win it's a shame
For it's one, two, three strikes
You're out at the old ballgame








Brady and I each won a dollar for answering questions about Brewer records. My question was who was the career leader in stolen bases for the Brewers.  With a little help from the crowd I shouted "Paul Molitor."  Brady had the answer for the last Brewer to steal home plate. Ricky Weeks, of course.

As luck would have it, Brady was in the right place at the right time. he was selected to be a bat boy at the Brewers vs. U of Milwaukee on opening day. He wore a game shirt and helmet for the game and had all the gum and sunflower seeds he could eat in the dugout. However, he was instructed not to talk to the ball players on the U of Milwaukee team unless they initiated the conversation.



Bat Boy Brady

Rooting for the Home Team

The Brewers won 8-0 against University of Milwaukee and we had a great time at the old ball game.  SMACK - the crack of the bat meeting the ball. It's quintessential summer.

Superstition Mountain Museum

Superstition Mountain on a Rainy Day

Jade and Brady joined us in March for nine days in the Valley of the Sun.  Wouldn't you know the temperatures plummeted 20 degrees and rain clouds moved into the East Valley.  Despite the weather we enjoyed their company and planned some activities.  We visited the Superstition Mountain Museum on a rainy day after dining at the Old Mining Camp restaurant.




Garcia Collection on Loan



There was a small collection of art and artifacts on loan being displayed at the museum.  

Garcia Art Collection

Garcia Art Collection

Different Types of Barbed Wire

This museum collects preserves and displays the artifacts, history and folklore of the Superstition Mountains, Lost Dutchman mine history and Native American lore.  There were displays of the geology of the this area along with the different wildlife in this area.

 

 

Javelina (member of the rodent family)

Roadrunner



Gambrel Quail

Assay Office Equipment

Historical buildings on the property include an old church, jail, dentist office, etc. The donated barn and church came from the Apacheland Movie Ranch which was built as a movie set. Many western movies were shot in what was called Apacheland in the early years. 

Fire destroyed all but two of the structures which were moved to new locations surrounding the museum. 

The "Elvis chapel" from the movie Charro was a favorite of Elvis while he filmed the movie there.  He would go in there and play for the crew after shooting.

The old "Rifleman" barn now contains the history of those movie years. The barn has an extensive gallery of actors from classic western movies and TV shows.

There is a 20 stamp mill, an old steam rock smasher, for crushing the ore which was part of the gold processing.

Massacre Grounds

We signed up for another "moderate" hike to the Massacre Grounds. The elevation gain was plus or minus 1,000 feet and took about three to four hours.  The hike started out with a wide path and a gentle climb.  It was a bright sunny day with a gentle breeze blowing. 

 

Teddy Bear Cholla Valentine

The trail quickly changed to up and down with many loose rocks.  We noticed there were rocks placed along the path to guide us farther up the mountain. Again, we noticed how green the desert has become with recent rains.

 

The Greening of the Desert

We hiked about 2 1/2 miles but we ran out of steam to climb to the mesa.  We stopped to allow the rest of the hiking group to go on without us for another 20 minutes as we could not get to the end point at their break neck speed.  We took a short break and began our descent, slowly and carefully, hoping we were on the correct trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Dick Flower

Brittlebush in Bloom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commemorative Air Force Arizona Wing

The Commemorative Air Force, a worldwide, all-volunteer, non-profit organization, is dedicated to the preservation in flying condition of the great warplanes from WWI through Vietnam.  It is a worthwhile museum and tribute to WWII era aircraft and airmen and women. Falcon Field is where over 1,000 WWII British pilots were trained before the U.S. was in the war.


CAF Aviation Museum

The Arizona Airbase has an authentically restored WWII B-17 bomber "Sentimental Journey" and other war birds. Of the 12,731 B-17s built during WWII, approximately 50 survive worldwide and seven in the world are currently in flying condition.  "Sentimental Journey" is one of those.  It is displayed from fall through spring at the museum but flies to approximately 60 cities in the United States and Canada during the summer. 

 "Sentimental Journey" Their B-17 Flagship

While crawling through the operational B-17, it occurred to me the men who flew theses planes were young and thin. Realizing that the pilots, navigators, bombardiers were about 22-25 years old and most gunners were in their teens, who flew and fought in these aircraft risked all, often not returning.
I walked in the footsteps of the young men who fought in WWII. I walked through history!



Ball Turret Gunner

There were several other vintage aircraft here and the museum offers warplane rides. Each plane tells a story from the B-17, to the F4U-Corsair and the P-51 Mustang. The plane that President George H. Bush flew is there. There are artifacts and displays of the Doolittle Raiders, Tuskegee Airmen, WASP, uniforms  pictorials and 1940s newspapers to tell the story.



Tail Gunner

As children of WWII veterans, we were pleased to be greeted and informed by a veteran docent. Our veteran docent, machine gunner Buck Buchanan, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the B-17. When we left the museum we had even more respect for those who served in the war. We appreciate the sacrifices made by the greatest generation 70 years ago.

 



WWII Hero "Buck" Buchanan