Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Monday, March 06, 2006
Pima Air and Space Museum
We toured the Pima Air and Space Museum today. It is the 3rd largest air museum in the US. We spent over 6 hours there and did not see everything. We will definity return to this museum. They have Air Force One which was used by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. We were also able to see the plane Al Gore used and which was also used to return hostages from Iran. There were 2 hangers for WWII planes, one of which contained the same type of plane that dropped the atom bomb over Japan. We also took a ride on the Morphis-Movie Ride which simulated flying in the early planes to the ones that go hundreds of miles an hour. (My rear sure feels sorry for those early pilots.) We also took a bus tour of AMARK- the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. There we saw the planes that are no longer used, some are designated to be destroyed, some are just stored for future use or future sales to other countries. We also saw the world's smallest plane and the world's smallest jet, which, incidently, was used in a James Bond film. We took a guided tour. Next time, we will take the tram tour. We also saw the Super Guppy, an X-15, and a Blackhaw the flew coast to coast in 68 min. I have posted lots of pictures to our travel photos.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Tombstone, Arizona
We enjoyed our visit to Tombstone. The weather was really great. We got to see reinactments of shootouts, including the Shootout at the OK Corrall. Another thing we got to see was the world's largest rose bush. The original root came from Scotland in 1885. The rose bush now spreads over an arbor that covers over 8,000 square feet. The rose is a white Lady Banksia which is a tiny white blossom. Would like to see it in the spring time. I charged my camera battery and forgot to put it in my camera, so I had to purchase one of those one-time cameras to take pictures. What a bummer. Wasn't able to get all the shots I would normally take. Oh well, there will be another time. To visit Tombstone will cost you nothing, unless you want to see the shoot-outs and museums, then it will cost from $3-$4 to see a shoot-out or museum. You can purchase a copy of the October 1881 Tombstone Epitaph which reports on the shoot-out of the OK Corrall. The report includes testimony from witnesses and from Wyatt and Vigil Earp, plus the decision of the court. Were the Earps quilty of murder or where they defending themselves? That is a question which remains unanswered to this day.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
We attended the museum today and truly enjoyed ourselves. We arrived just in time to get a tour by a docent who used to live in Atwater. She was really great. We learned quite a lot about the different plants that grow in the desert. For instance, most of the tall saguro cactus started growing when Thomas Jefferson was president. The cactus's that look dead in the middle portion are still alive, but suffered from a frost. They have a wonderful humming bird area that you can walk in and the humming birds litteraly fly right by your head. I have posted a picture I took of one of the humming birds sitting in a nest. They also have a bird avairy that you can walk through. Besides being a museum, it is also a zoo of animals one can find in the desert. Those pictures are on the webshots page. They offer a Raptor Free Flight Program in which birds of prey, we saw the Harris hawks, hunt for their food. These birds came swooping down over the audience in search of their food. If I lived in this area, I would have a membership so I could return every month to see how things have changed.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Old Tucson Studios
We went to Old Tucson Studios on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The studios were built for a movie called "Arizona". The buildings used in the movie were built out of adobe. After the movie, the place became a set for other movies and tv shows. "Have Gun will Travel", "Little House on the Praire", and "High Chaparral" were some of the tv shows that were filmed at Old Tucson Studios. Of course John Wayne filmed quite a few movies at this site, "Rio Lobo", "El Dorado", and "Rio Bravo". For those of you who saw Will Smith's movie "Wild Wild West", the train used in the movie, the Reno, is located here. In 1950 Ronald Reagan used this site for his movie "The Last Outpost". The comedy "Three Amigos" was also filmed here. They also have a museum that includes costumes worn by Hoss Cartright, Little House on the Praire characters, Big Valley, and one of Clint Eastwood's costumes from the movie "Joe Kidd". The museum also includes many drawings and photos of people such as Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Belle Starr (just to name a few). It also has Davy Crockett's Old Betsy. They put on free shows during the day. I have posted quite a few more pictures on the webshot site. So, you would like to see more, remember to click on our travel photos. Enjoy
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