Southwestern Potpourri

Located in a radius of a hundred and twenty-five miles from Tucson there are a host of fascinating scientific institutions, historical sites, and tourist destinations.  Within the metropolitan area there are numerous city-scapes to be enjoyed.  The Sonoran region has much to offer in addition to its natural beauty.

Kitt Peak National Observatory, located fifty-four miles west of Tucson, is home to the world’s largest collection of telescopes. Twenty-three powerful telescopes and the buildings that house them sit atop this 6,875 foot peak in the Quinlan Mountains, in the center of an Indian reservation, in the midst of a desert.  There are self-guided or docent led tours.

Kitt Peak National Observatory is home to the largest array
of optical and radio telescopes anywhere in the world

Kitt Peak National Observatory is operated by the National Optical Astronomy
Observatory (NOAO) and is the national center for ground-based nighttime
astronomy in the United States.

Three research-grade telescopes like the one pictured above are available for
visitors to use for viewing during several regularly-scheduled night-time programs

A unique laboratory setting can be explored at Biosphere 2, located about thirty-five miles north of Tucson.  In the early 1990s, eight scientists took up residence in the self-contained 3.14 acre biosphere meant to replicate earth, or Biosphere 1.  The scientists’ intent was to spend two years conducting scientific experiments.  The project was not successful, for a variety of reasons.  

Biosphere 2 is now owned by the University of Arizona, which
uses it as a laboratory to study climate change

Heading southwest from Tucson is one of the more unusual RV parks we have encountered. The Holy Trinity Monastery and RV Park is operated by the Benedictine Monks of the Order of Our Lady of Mt. Olivet (Olivetans) and lay oblates who live as a semi-contemplative community.  Their brochure admonishes guests to “avoid noises that disturb the peace” and” wear modest attire”

To help support their Monastery, in addition to a gift shop, the Benedictine
Monks operate an RV park at their Monastery near the town of St. David, AZ

Probably the town most immortalized by legend, TV, and film is Tombstone, Arizona.  Just mention the name and visions of the gunfight at the OK Corral spring to mind.  Ironically, we found it to be even more commercialized than the movie sets at Old Tuscon.

The Earp brothers - Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan - along with Doc Holliday, stand
on Freemont Street in Tombstone, waiting for the Clanton gang. 

The Clanton brothers were members of a loosely-organized band of outlaws
called "the Cowboys."  The gunfight left Billy Clanton and two other outlaws dead

The stagecoach stops at the OK Corral and Livery Stable.  The "gunfight at the OK Corral"
was a 30-second shootout that took place about 3:00 pm on Wednesday, October 26, 1881

Other than the fact that it was taken in Tombstone, this photo has nothing to do
with the town or the gunfight.  We just thought it was cool to see a dog riding in
a motorcycle sidecar.  He stayed put while his driver was drinking a beer.

Continuing southeast, a piece of the historic western experience can be seen at Fort Huachuca, established by the U.S. Army in 1887.  Most of the war against the Apaches was fought from this fort.  Today the fort houses the U.S. Army Intelligence Museum, and is the home base for  Army Intelligence and the Army Signal Corps.   We almost missed seeing the fort due to lack of “proper ID”.  Since our passports had been stolen (see our blog “Sometimes You’re the Windshield…”  dated April 9, 2017) and since federal agencies do not accept a Missouri drivers’ license  (along with those of six other states) as identification, we really had to work to come with two acceptable, government-issued forms of ID - which we finally did.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Army

The Old Post Cemetery on Ft. Huachuca.  The statue, erected in 1996, is named
"Mourning Heart: A Soldier's Family". It depicts an unknown woman and
her children grieving the loss of their husband and father

The fort's Intelligence Museum houses one of the very first "unmanned aircraft"
or drones.  Drones were developed and tested at the Army's Electronic Proving
Ground at Ft. Huachuca, the largest drone-training facility in the world.

A German "Enigma" machine, used by the Nazis to send coded
messages during WWII in the Military Intelligence Museum 

If you are travelling I-10 and want to stop for hometown cooking, the Horseshoe Café might be just the place.  The café has been a staple in the town of Benson, Arizona since 1938.

Photo courtesy of Horseshoe Cafe's web site

Mural on the north wall of the cafe, facing the parking lot, from the Cafe's web site

About a hundred miles southeast of Tucson, in Cochise County, you’ll find the town of Bisbee.  The town began as a copper-mining camp and became a hub of mining activity and wealth.  The last mine closed in 1970.  The town has maintained its historic charm, with over 350 buildings on the National Historic Register.

The Lavender Open Pit Copper Mine, now closed, in Bisbee, Arizona

Bisbee was founded in 1880 as a copper, gold and silver mining town.
It was named in honor of Judge Dewitt Bisbee, one of the financial
backers of the near-by Copper Queen Mine

Near Mc Neal, Arizona is Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, where each winter, some 30,000 Sandhill Cranes make a stop on their migration route.

Formerly a cattle ranch, Whitewater Draw was purchased in 1997 by the Arizona
Game and Fish Department, and is now a managed wetland area.

As many as 30,000 Sandhill Cranes may be present at the peak of the migratory
season.  We visited in mid-March, and the numbers were down, but still impressive

South of Tucson on Interstate 19 lies the village of Tubac.  Known today as an artist colony filled with many galleries, it was originally a Piman village which became a mission farm and village which, in 1752, transitioned to a European settlement.  It was from Tubac in 1776 that Basque Juan Bautista de Anza ll  lead the first of two overland journeys to establish San Fransisco in what would later be California.  A silver strike in 1860 briefly made Tubac the largest town in the Arizona Territory.

Tubac was the original Spanish colonial garrison in Arizona.  Today, pottery and
metal sculptures are just two of the many arts and crafts for sale in the village

Several miles south of Tubac is one of the earliest European settlements in the area.  Mission San Jose de Tumacacori, established by Padre Kino in 1691. The Mission is now the center piece of the Tumacacori National Historical Park.

Mission San Jose de Tumacacori.  The English translation of the
name is "The Mission of St. Joseph of the Rocky Flats Place"

The Mission was founded in 1691.  The remains that we see today are
from the way the church would have looked circa 1828

No one knows exactly what this circular chamber at the Mission was used for, but
speculation is that it was used for funerals and perhaps cremations.  The Catholic
Church would not have sanctioned cremation, but the Tonoho O'odham people did

Two pieces of pottery in a courtyard at the Mission

Another 20 miles south on I-19 takes you to the twin border towns of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico.

With our passports stolen, we couldn't cross the border from Nogales, Arizona to Nogales,
Mexico.  This metal border fence is already in place for many miles between the two countries

Just twelve miles west of downtown Tucson is Old Tucson.  Built in 1939 as a movie set to replicate 1860s Tucson, it was the location of such movies as “Arizona”, “Tombstone”, and a number of John Wayne movies, including “McLintock”.  Over 350 films and television shows have been shot on location here and filming still takes place on these sets.

You can clearly see that these are just facades, but when they are filmed for a
movie or television western, they actually look like real buildings

Some very well-known movies were filmed here.  They were showing clips of
some of them, and you can recognize many of the buildings in Old Tucson

In addition to movies, some television westerns were filmed in Old
Tucson. The clothing in this display was worn by Michael Landon
(Little Joe) and Dan Blocker (Hoss) in the TV show Bonanza 

Stagecoach on the streets of Old Tucson

Returning to Tucson, a fun place for lunch or dinner is the historic Congress Hotel, dating back to 1931.  It’s also a great place to have Sunday brunch and listen to live jazz music on the patio.  Another family- friendly dining option is Pinnacle Peak Steak House, located in make-believe Trail Dust Town, complete with shoot-outs with the “bad guys.”

Members of John Dillinger's gang hid out from police in the
Congress Hotel, until they were captured and returned to
Chicago by train.  Dillinger, himself, was flown back to stand trial

Pinnacle Peak Steak House doesn't allow ties, and if you show up wearing
one, it could end up being cut off and nailed to the ceiling

A better part of a day can be spent at the Pima Air and Space Museum, which houses over 300 aircraft. Three hangers are dedicated to WW ll.  On display are private, military, and commercial planes. Tram tours are available to tour the 80 acre facility.  The plane that was designated Air Force One in November 1963 and flew John Kennedy’s body from Dallas back to Washington is among the aircraft located here.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

Aircraft from WWII to the present day are on display at the
Pima Air and Space Museum, stored both in hangers and outside

 Another fascinating aviation tour is available at the Aircraft Boneyard operated by the 309th Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group, located on Davis-Monathan Air Force Base.  The tour features more than 4,000 military aircraft from all branches of service parked on 2,600 acres.

Aircraft that might someday fly again are shrink-wrapped to prevent moisture
from damaging instruments or "critters" from chewing up wiring

Aircraft from every branch of service are stored in the "boneyard".  This is a Navy jet

Helicopters as well as fixed-wing aircraft are stored at Davis-Monthan AFB

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group
is the official name for the "boneyard"

The shear numbers of aircraft in the "boneyard" is awe-inspiring

Yet another “boneyard” can be seen along I-10, between Tucson and Benson.  Here in the midst of the desert, nearly three hundred Union-Pacific Railroad locomotives sit idle, part of the 1,600 nationwide that have been sidelined since early 2016, due to a dramatic downturn in rail freight traffic.

The line of 292 locomotives stretches 4.3 miles on a closed section of track in the desert

Harken back to the Cold War era with a visit to a deactivated ICBM missile site.  Scores of Titan ll missiles were aimed at Russia from 1963 to 1982.  The silo was formally decommissioned in 1986 and is the only one of the 54 Titan ll sites that was not destroyed following the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the Soviet Union.  A one-hour tour takes you down three stories to the launch control room.   The eight-story silo itself, with a missile still sitting in it, is visible from that level or from the top, looking down, as the launch doors have been removed.

This Titan Missile was never fueled or armed.  It was used for training
only, and was later moved to this silo to create the museum

View of the mid-section of the missile, on level 3 of the
8-story silo.  The launch control was also on this level

In addition to being used as intercontinental ballistic missiles, Titan missiles
were used to launch all of the Gemini manned flights of the mid-1960's

In stark contrast to the destructive power of the missile, thousands of acres of pecan orchards surround the area.  This is the home of the Green Valley Pecan Company, the world’s largest single source for growing, shelling and packaging pecans.

Hundreds of acres of pecan orchards surround the Titan missile silo.
In addition to pecans, the area is a major producer of pistachios

There are so many things to do and see in Tucson, from attending a mariachi Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral to attending Broadway-caliber plays at Centennial Hall on the campus of the University of Arizona.  In February of each year Tucson hosts the largest gem show in the world.  From million-dollar gems, to ancient fossils to exotic minerals and rocks, there is something for everyone to see or buy.

On Sunday mornings, St. Augustine Cathedral holds one Mass in
Spanish, complete with a mariachi band playing all of the music

Centennial Hall hosts the "Broadway in Tucson" series of live stage plays each winter

The last show that we saw in Tucson was Kinky Boots. 
Several members of the cast came out to visit in front
of the theater before the performance began

The Tucson Gem Show, held each winter, is the largest in the nation,
and attracts buyers and sellers from around the world

In addition to using every available storefront, tents like this spring up all
over the city to sell merchandise.  Some motels even turn all of their rooms
into "gem stores" for the two-week-long show and sale

Geodes like these sell for thousands and thousands of dollars.  These are Amethyst.

Tucson and the surrounding region offers a vast array of activities and experiences, and great fodder for wonderful Road Stories. 

"...and Blossom as the Rose"

The Sonora Desert region has survived, in part, because of the dedicated efforts of individuals, communities, and state and federal agencies that recognized the importance of protecting this unique biosphere.

Within the city of Tucson is Tohono Chul Park, a forty-nine acre desert preserve. It is noted for its native-plant collections and ethno-botanical gardens.  The passage from Isaiah 35:1, “The desert shall flourish and blossom as the rose” is certainly true in this beautiful urban park.

Courtyard in Tohono Chul Park.  For our St. Louis friends, this park has
a reciprocal admission agreement with the Missouri Botanical Garden

The garden is awash in color.  This photo was taken in March

Palo Verde (Spanish for "green pole" or "green stick") trees

Gopher plant

Azurite and Malachite stone, donated to the park in 2002, weighs 4,650 pounds

Agave Americana or Yucca plant.  Early people used the
spines of this plant to make needles and thread for sewing

"Teddy Bear" cactus

Hawk visiting the garden, searching for rodents for lunch

Fountain wall.  Tohono Chul features many cool, relaxing areas within the garden

Also in Tucson, out near the western end of Broadway, is Sentinel Peak Park, better known as “A” Mountain.  Each year the big letter “A” built into the face of the mountain is white-washed by University of Arizona freshmen. There is a gorgeous view of the city from the park.

For a perspective of just how big the "A" is, note the line of
cars creeping up the road just at the base of the big letter

View of Tucson from the top of Sentinel Peak ("A" Mountain).
The Santa Catalina Mountains can be seen in the distance

Eight miles west of the downtown area is Tucson Mountain Park, encompassing 20,000 acres of the Tucson Mountains and adjoining mesa land.  It embraces one of the largest areas of saguaro (pronounced sue-war'-o) cacti and natural growth in the Southwest. Gates Pass, the quickest route over the mountains to the park, offers scenic vistas.  Camping is available in the park at the Gilbert Ray Campground.

The Tucson Mountains as seen from the campground in Tucson Mountain Park

The Saguaro Cactus can grow to 40-50 feet tall.  It does
not begin to sprout "arms" until it is about 75 years old

Saguaro National Park is separated by the city of Tucson into two distinct districts. Fifteen miles west is Saguaro West - Tucson Mountain District.  The scenic Bajada Loop Drive is an unpaved route which allows the visitor to be immersed in nature.  A short walk from the Signal Hill picnic area is a fascinating spot where ancient petrolglyphs can be viewed.  East of the city lies Saguaro East - Rincon Mountain District.  Cactus Forest Drive is an eight mile paved route with pull-offs to allow longer stops for viewing. Together the two districts encompass 91,300 acres.

Although best known for the Saguaro Cactus, the Sonora Desert
is home to many different species of cacti 

Although the Saguaro Cacti can live to upwards of 200 years and
towers 50 feet tall, in its first 8 years, it only grows 1 to 1.5 inches.

Pin Cushion Cactus just starting to bloom in March

Saguaro National Park - West, approaching the area of the petroglyphs

This walkway was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's.
It goes from the Signal Hill picnic area to the site of the petroglyphs

This ancient picture on the rock could depict the sun or the entire universe

More ancient carvings on the rocks at Signal Hill

A crested or "cristate" saguaro.  Some speculate that the crest is a genetic
mutation; others think it may be the result of a lightening strike or a freeze..
National Park Service scientists say they simply do not know the cause.

The crested saguaro is relatively rare.  Only 1 in about 10,000 cacti
develop the crest.  We saw three, but there are more than twenty-five
located within the boundaries of Saguaro National Park

Seventeen miles east of town in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, within the Coronado National Forest, is Sabino Canyon.  As early as 1,200 AD Hohokam Indians built irrigation dams in this area.  It is estimated that 1.25 million people visit this park annually. There are numerous hiking trails but no vehicles are allowed beyond the park gate.  In the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps workers built bridges and 3.8 miles of road.  Today visitors can catch a tram and enjoy a forty-five minute narrated excursion through the canyon.

Looking down Sabino Canyon from near the top

The trams cross several "low-water bridges" in their treks up and
down the canyon.  In rainy season, those bridges can't be crossed

The top of Sabino Canyon

Yvonne's parents, Tracy and Dorothy Brown, spent two
weeks with us while we were in Tucson

In the midst of the Great Depression, former U.S. Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock called in some federal favors and received money and convict labor to begin building a road into the Santa Catalina Mountains.  The CCC eventually finished the job.  During the 1940s a real estate agent sold plots for the town of Summerhaven.  Ski Valley, located within Summerhaven, is the nation’s southern-most ski slope.

A view of Tucson, in the valley far below Mt. Lemmon
This view was from about half-way up the mountain

The road into the town of Summerhaven, near the summit of Mt. Lemmon

Mt. Lemmon was named for botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon,
who trekked to the top of the mountain with her husband and local
rancher E.O. Stratton, on horseback and by foot, in 1881

Cacti only grow about a third of the way up the 9,157 foot mountain, giving
way to scrub brush and trees, and finally to tall evergreens near the summit

Sky Island Highway snakes its way up the highest peak, Mount Lemmon.  Erosional features called HooDoos are prominent here.  The Tohono O’odham people called the mountain “Babed Do’ag” meaning “frog mountain”.

"Sky Island Highway" as it twists and turns its way down the mountain

HooDoos.  The term actually came from white pioneers who, when they
saw these rocks emerging from the mist and fog on the mountain,
thought they looked like magical beings.

Another dramatic geographic feature can be experienced in the mountains about 120 miles southeast of Tucson.  The Apache called this geographic phenomenon “Land of Standing Up Rocks”.  It is known today as Chiricahua (pronounced chair-a-kow’-a) National Monument.  Craggy rhyolite pillars dominate the landscape.  This is a land of myth and legend.

Chiricahua National Monument and the surrounding mountains was the
home of the legendary Apache leader and medicine man, Geronimo

Due to its high silica content, rhyolite lava is very viscous.  It flows slowly, like
toothpaste squeezed out of a tube, and tends to pile up and form lava domes

Chiricahua National Monument encompasses some 11,985 acres
and is administered by the National Park Service

Geronimo lived to the age of 80, the last 23 of which were spent as a.
prisoner of war.  5,000 U.S. Soldiers - nearly a quarter of the Army -
took part in the final hunt for, and capture of, the famed warrior.  

"Other-worldly" might be an appropriate way to describe this land

The Sonoran Desert is far more than just an arid, harsh piece of land.  It is a region full of intense natural beauty that holds secrets and stories from ancient times.  But it must be respected and protected so that future generations of visitors can discover their own Road Stories.