Tucson

Planes everywhere...

Our son flew on CH 53 in the Marine Corps -

like this one decommissioned and in storage

We also found a B-29 - which Mark's dad trained on 

the Air Force during WWII. 

Old Tucson

Old Tucson would not be complete without a cowboy shootout  

Old Tucson

The Palace  Hotel and Saloon

The Mission in Old Tucson

Photos from Tucson

The mountain sides are filled with Saguaro cactus

This is actually just a regular size Saguaro

Lots of cactus everywhere

more cactus

cactus everywhere - everything is covered with spines too-

 so you have to be careful walking 

Notice the hole at the top of the cactus- woodpeckers

 drill holes in the Saguaro cactus and make their homes in them 

along with other animals

A couple of days exploring the Tucson, AZ area

      We ended up spending several nights in Tucson, AZ.  We ended up with a large RV site in the RV park on a corner.  The management led Mark/RV to our site where we were diagonally parked on the two end sites  which gave us lots of room to park the CRV and we did not have too look in to our neighbors windows. We were also close to the lounge, laundry room, pool and office. We decided to join the "locals"/winter residents for happy hour after we arrived for some "local knowledge" about the area. Most people here were here for the winter and arrived before Christmas.  We also agreed to join them the next morning for their weekly breakfast get-together in the social hall.

      We drove out to the Saguaro National Park  to see the unique Saguaro cactus which are called the monarch of Sonora Desert and a symbol of the Southwest. The national park is the only place where the HUGE - giant  Saguaro cactus have been protected since 1933. We also made a stop at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Lots of desert plants and wildlife helped us understand the 100,000 square miles of the lush Sonoran Desert that extend from central Arizona through Sonora, Mexico.

      A trip to Old Tucson was also on the agenda for us - located next to Saguaro National Park.  Old Tucson is famous for the close to 200 films produced there on the grounds with the Catalina Foothills and plentiful mountains for a backdrop. Movies such as Tombstone and Rio Bravo and more recently, The Three Amigos. Several TV programs were also filmed here such as Little House on the Prairie and Bonanza.

      Another day was spent touring the Pima Air and Space Museum where we took the "boneyard" tour and the large collection of aircraft on the field there. The "boneyard" tour was through 4,000 military and government aircraft that has been prepped for storage on the air base located here -some permanently and some go be put back into action if needed. WOW!!! The air and space museum was 80 acres and housed more that 300 retired planes from legendary military aircraft ranging from Thunderbolts and Falcons to seaplanes and amphibians.

      We spent more time hiking the trails in the desert which was amazing. Next stop is Phoenix...

Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks

Mark in the Big Room part of the cave

Carlsbad Caverns - Big Room

Carlsbad Caverns -The Big Room

Parked at Guadalope Mountains National Park

New Mexico Sunset

Cactus  ready for spring blooms

A Journey Underground at Carlsbad Caverns

       We left San Antonio and headed West on I-10 through miles and miles of Texas oil fields (too many oil rigs to keep count) and headed for Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico,  In 1930, Congress created Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It has since become one of the world's most celebrated  cave systems and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1995. The park has since expanded and now includes 46,766 acres and over 100 other caves. We spent two hours on a self-guided tour  of the 1.25 mile Big Room Route after descending the 750 ft. to the cave itself. Fascinating tour.From the visitor's center we could 130 miles that day - the ranger said that was a rare event as their is usually haze out over the miles of vast land. The ranger said you can only see that distance one or two times a year. Carlsbad also gets snow at least once a year. There were signs of plants sprouting buds - just as we saw in San Antonio - we were told by the locals that it was a sign of an early spring - a month early actually.    

      The next morning we headed on back into West Texas to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Guadalupe Mountains highest elevation is 5, 695 - no snow to be seen anywhere on the mountains. The only town near by is White's City - more of a one block tourist location - motel, restaurant, gas station and trading post with a no frills first come-first serve campground. Our plan was to drive on into Deming, New Mexico for the night. The drive was 135 miles to El Paso, TX with no gas stations -(we had fueled up in Carlsbad before leaving)- the views were beautiful.

      From Deming, we continued on to Arizona for our stay in Tucson. Looking forward to hiking and enjoying the desert.

San Antonio

The Alamo - located in the center of San Antonio now.

Mission San Jose which is a completely restored mission in the
United States with its famous Rose Window.

A stroll down the El Mercado after a short shower .

The Texas Buckhorn Saloon with all the wildlife exhibits on the walls.

The cruise down the river through the river walk area.