The Great Southwest Road Trip - Tucson, Desert and Aviation
Other than visiting Gib and Ben, I wanted to get another National Park under my belt, as well as see the air force plane graveyard located in Tucson. So, my one full day there, I drove the relatively short drive into the desert to Saguaro, including a stop at the Arizona Senora Desert Museum located very near by. It being October, I did not expect to see much color, but was pleasantly surprised to see a number of cactus in bloom.
Barrel Cactus orange...
The cactus in the foreground is a "Teddy Bear" Chola cactus.
Barrel Cactus yellow...
I have no idea, but it was pretty, and pretty prickly!
The hills are alive, with Saguaro cactus!
After hiking around in the desert heat for about 3 miles (lots of water consumed), I drove back to town to the Pima Air and Space Museum located near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the military plane graveyard. Much to my disappointment, I was to discover that though the museum was open, the tours of the graveyard were not as since 9-11 the base closes entirely on the weekends, so no tour. No matter, the museum grounds are HUGE with a large number of planes and displays regarding aviation history, and the role of Tucson and Arizona in that history. It was another TON of walking as the grounds were nearly around a half mile square, and I basically went in circles to see everything possible, much of it again out in the sun as most of the aircraft is displayed outdoors, with displays in scattered hangers dedicated to specific subjects such as space exploration, the development of jet aircraft, WWII Pacific theater, WWII European theater, etc. So, even without the graveyard, it was quite a lot to see and well worth the admission.
So, one thing I learned is a nearly full day in the Arizona sun, even in October, can be a bit much. It was a nice evening in with Gib an Ben again as we had a wonderful dinner and good conversation, and were joined by a friend in common who stayed at their place Saturday night as he drove between Dallas and California. I hated that I felt I had hardly spent any time there, but the adventure of a stop in Tombstone, AZ on the way to Las Crucis the next day awaited.
Barrel Cactus orange...
The cactus in the foreground is a "Teddy Bear" Chola cactus.
Barrel Cactus yellow...
I have no idea, but it was pretty, and pretty prickly!
The hills are alive, with Saguaro cactus!
After hiking around in the desert heat for about 3 miles (lots of water consumed), I drove back to town to the Pima Air and Space Museum located near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the military plane graveyard. Much to my disappointment, I was to discover that though the museum was open, the tours of the graveyard were not as since 9-11 the base closes entirely on the weekends, so no tour. No matter, the museum grounds are HUGE with a large number of planes and displays regarding aviation history, and the role of Tucson and Arizona in that history. It was another TON of walking as the grounds were nearly around a half mile square, and I basically went in circles to see everything possible, much of it again out in the sun as most of the aircraft is displayed outdoors, with displays in scattered hangers dedicated to specific subjects such as space exploration, the development of jet aircraft, WWII Pacific theater, WWII European theater, etc. So, even without the graveyard, it was quite a lot to see and well worth the admission.
So, one thing I learned is a nearly full day in the Arizona sun, even in October, can be a bit much. It was a nice evening in with Gib an Ben again as we had a wonderful dinner and good conversation, and were joined by a friend in common who stayed at their place Saturday night as he drove between Dallas and California. I hated that I felt I had hardly spent any time there, but the adventure of a stop in Tombstone, AZ on the way to Las Crucis the next day awaited.