Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona February 9 thru February 26, 2020
We left San Antonio, Texas, heading west. Spent one night in El Paso, Texas. We arrived at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson,
Arizona on Sunday, February 9. We found a
spot – full hookups are not immediately available, and there are no
reservations. Their estimate of the
number of days before we would get a full hookup was seven days, and that was
spot on. We are very experienced in what
is called ‘dry camping’, that of living on a campsite with no water, electric,
or sewer connection. It is really no
problem for us. The seven days went
quickly.
This Air Force Base is the repository of literally thousands
of all types of planes and helicopters that have been decommissioned! They are parked side by side and fill
acres. The weather here is perfect for
preserving these planes – hot and dry. No humidity to cause them to deteriorate. These types of planes are still in use, so
these being stored here can be used for parts.
The old models, such as those from WWII, have been destroyed.
The whole desert living thing is so different for us! When the sun is out, it might only be in the
low 60’s or upper 50’s, but it feels warm!
As soon as that sun starts down, though, that temp drops quickly. The temperature at night in these parts is in
the 40’s – brrr! The terrain looks
totally different than anything I’ve ever seen before. Dan lived in San Diego for 20 years in a
previous life, so being in the desert isn’t so different for him. In the camping area (and everywhere!), there are
mostly small trees, bushes, and lots of different kinds of cacti. There is NO grass, only gravel
everywhere. They used two different
colors (red and white) of gravel in each campsite to delineate one site from
another and the different parts of the site.
It is a different kind of beauty, but beautiful it is! Everywhere around Tucson, you can see the
mountains. On clear days, you can see
that they are mostly covered with plants.
On a cloudy day, they just look charcoal gray. Always there, always beautiful.
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| cholla Tugboat's nemisis |
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| unusual - didn't get the name! |
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| beautiful cacti in the campground |
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| mountains always in sight |
Our first sightseeing venture was to Saguaro National
Park. The saguaros (pronounced sa-war-o)
are the huge cacti that are so typical on signs and posters about Arizona. The largest can soar to 50, 60, even 70
feet. They have arms that come out and
up. In the national park, they are
everywhere! We learned a lot about them
– to get a good start in life, they need a ‘nurse’ plant – often a palo verde
tree. The nurse plant protects them from
the extreme heat in the summers. At some
point in their life, they do outgrow the need for their nurse. Eventually, the nurse plant dies. The structure of the saguaros is a hard wood
skeleton! We saw their wood used in
ceilings of an old church as structural support.
There are many varieties of cacti, all very different, and
each has their own beauty. Tugboat had a
close encounter with a cholla cactus one morning – he took umbrage that it
‘bit’ him on the leg as he brushed by, so he bit it….hopefully, he connected
the pain with the cactus and won’t be trying that again!
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| up close saguaro |
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| beautiful mountains |
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| so many saguaros! |
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| broke down and bought a hat! |
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| beautiful specimen |
Our next venture was to the Pima Air Museum. They have all kinds: transport, tankers, NASA
aircraft, presidential & other VIP aircraft, bombers, trainers, early US
and foreign fighters, helicopters, commercial and civil…in short, any kind of
aircraft you can imagine. Some inside
space, lots of outdoor space. One
aircraft, in particular, earns my heartfelt admiration – Dan’s life was saved
by a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam, who had to jettison a rocket pod to take Dan on
board. My favorite part of the museum
was the 390th Museum. The 390th
Bomber Group flew out of England starting in 1943. This part of the museum told their stories,
from actual men who were part of that heroic group. They have held reunions every year, even as
their numbers dwindle. My heart was
touched to hear their stories, told in their voices. We could have spent lots more time there, Dan
in particular – but we never found time to get back there for a return visit.
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| the model helicopter that was used to save Dan's life |
Other adventures near Tucson included:
Hike in Madera Canyon – Just long enough and challenge enough
to be fun. Nice vistas.
San Xavier Mission – Truly beautiful mission, another of the
ones the Spanish established as they came out of Mexico. The local tribe still supports the mission,
for the past 200 years! As we exited the
mission, the tribe had tables and shelters set up outside, selling their fry
bread – delicious! We learned about the
history of the mission, and saw the results of restoration efforts. The sanctuary is one of the most beautiful I
have ever seen!
Biosphere 2 – This was quite possibly the most interesting and
compelling site we visited in Tucson.
This installation was built entirely with private funding. The purpose was to see how people would
survive in enclosed separate facility for two years – enough time to spend 6
months going to, 6 months returning from, and 1 year living on Mars. There were eight folks selected for the
experiment, from various skill sets.
Inside there is: an ‘ocean’, complete with a reef, waves, and sea
creatures; a desert; a rain forest, and a savannah. And why, you ask, is it called Biosphere 2? That's because Earth is number 1!
The experiment actually failed – the goal was to be totally
self sustainable. They learned a lot
from the experiment. One lesson, in enriching
soil for growing their food, they found that the microbes in the soil drank in
more oxygen than they had thought. Two,
the vast quantities of cement used in the construction sucked oxygen out of the
air while it was still curing. Towards
the end of the two years, oxygen had to be piped in to sustain their lives.
Now that the two year experiment is over, the facility is
still used for very important and interesting experiments. For example, they turned off the water in the
rain forest for 30 days to simulate what can happen in an actual rain
forest. The damage from just that 30
days was quite extensive and is still being restored.
One of the more interesting features was the ‘lung’ of the
facility. There is a huge room, maybe
100 yards square, with a large rubber diaphragm in the middle. As the pressure in the facility is high, the
diaphragm is suspended high above the room.
As the pressure decreases, it comes down to rest on legs. Mind you, this diaphragm and frame weighs 20
tons!! The guide opened the door to the
lung, and suddenly the diaphragm that was high up in the air started to sink down. The wind created by opening that door was
pretty powerful! Without this lung, the
pressure could have caused critical windows in the cylindrical building to blow
out.
One thing I find intriguing is that we heard nothing during
our visit that indicated NASA had been involved in any of this experiment! Seems strange, just saying.
PICTURES FROM BIOSPHERE2
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| main building |
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| rain forest |
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| rain forest |
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| ocean |
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| ocean again |
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| desert |
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| mountains always in view |
Desert Museum
This museum was mostly outdoors, and included interesting
plants, animals, and a daily hawk show that was quite impressive.
As we left Tucson, we reflected that there was not one of the
attractions we visited that was not really fascinating, interesting, and
enjoyable.
