We spent last Saturday at Davis-Monthan AFB for the Arizona Days Air Show with friends Tom and Sue. We thought we would be wise and take the shuttle. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea - it was a 3 hour wait! So we drove to the base and Sue sweet-talked one of the military police to get us into handicap parking because of Ron's knees. A good thing...because even after we got on the tarmack the displays, vendors and show were spread out and required a lot of additional walking. Tom is retired from the Secret Service and had a lot of knowledge of the various aircrafts and served as our "tour guide" Featured were the A-10 "warthog" tank destroyer, 4 Patriot jets flown by the Thunderbird pilots, F-22A Raptor, B-1 Lancer Bomber, F-15 Eagle just to mention a few.


E-3 Sentry AWACS- airborne warning and control system. Premier surveillance system monitors skies around the world providing critical battlefield info to commanders on the ground.


MH - 53 Pave Low


Patriots


Parachutist


My favorite picture taken of the Thunderbirds


Another Thunderbird formation. This year marks their 57th anniversary.



One more. They were originally formed at Luke AFB here in Arizona and since moved to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas.


And what's an event without the infamous Clydesdales?


Tom, Sue, Ron and me....everyone else was smart enough to wear a hat...it was HOT!

We had a good time!

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

"The Town Too Tough to Die"

We finally got to the town of Tombstone. A place Ron has been wanting to visit...a thrown back to when he was a little boy with his toy Mattel Fanner 50 gun & holster playing cowboy. "The Town too Tough to Die" is 60 miles south of Tucson and is the most renowned Arizona old mining camps. It is, of course, the site of the infamous Wyatt Earp - Clanton gang battle at the O.K. Corral. One interesting find was that it really didn't take place exactly at the O.K. Corral but at the rear entrance. The town features lots of tourist type stores, restaurants/bars and attractions such as a reproduction of the shoot-out. The actors were actually pretty good. We saw two other shows that were very mediocre.


Ron and his friends - Wyatt Earp & Doc Holiday



The town, America's example of our western heritage, which is well preserved with original 1880's buildings.



Tucson isn't big on St. Patty's day celebrations. We found an Irish Pub for a corned beef, cabbage lunch, but it was not really crowded like the bars & restaurants in St. Louis. We then ventured down near the university to have a cup of coffee and listen to a live band playing Irish tunes.


We have found if you want to see whats going on in a town find the university and follow the college kids.

The weather has been perfect in the 70's and 80's...at least perfect for us. An occasional 1/2 day or so of rain, but that's ok...we are waiting for the spring blooms in the desert.

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

Titan II Tour

One of the main attractions in Tucson is the Titan II Missile Museum. The Titan II was the largest Intercontinental ballistic missile in the United States Air Force inventory and was on ALERT from 1962-1987. I remember in grade school having bomb shelters and practicing drills during the Cold War.

The Titan II measures 110 feet in length with a 10 foot diameter, utilizing in excess of 200,000 lbs of propellant and produced 530,000 lbs of thrust. It had a target range of 5,500 miles that could be delivered within 30 minutes....scary.

There were 3 sites during that time. One being in Tucson at the Davis-Monthan AFB which is the only one still open as a museum and conducts tours. The other two were in Wichita, Kansas and Little Rock, Arkansas. These 3 sites housed 18 missiles each. To this day the proposed targets for any of these missiles is still classified.

With the end of their life as weapon systems reused Titans became the basis for rockets that have launched dozens of satellites into orbit. The existence of the Titan as a weapon helped to prevent a massively destructive war between the United State and The Soviet Union. And has also served to advance human knowledge and begin the exploration of space. The tour was very interesting and highly recommended if your ever in this area.


One of the missiles on display. Your able to see the entire missile and realize the massive size...but it was hard to get a picture.


T
Command Center. There were 2 retired USAF on our tour who were able to interject some interesting stories. One actually worked on the Titan in Little Rock.


Rocket Engine. One of many exhibits on display. Way over my head...but Ron enjoyed it.


The bowels of the operation. To get here you had to walk 55 steps (down but of course then you had to come back up). Luckily I was able to control my claustrophobia. I'm never sure.



Anyone over 5' 11" had to wear a hard hat...I, of course, had no problem with the low tolerance areas.


Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron