Goodbye Tucson.

Our final days in Tucson Arizona comprised of a tour of Old Tucson Studios and a visit to Saguaro National Park.

Old Tucson Studios is a touristy amusement attraction with a can can musical, gun fights, card shark show, pistol & lariat shows. But the real attraction is that it is the site of the most active filming locations for Western-themed movies, TV & cable shows in the USA. The history dates back to 1939 when Columbia Pictures chose this site to build a replica of 1860’s Tucson for the movie Arizona starring William Holden and Jean Arthur. Local carpenters built the town from scratch, erecting more than 50 buildings in 40 days. Without running water, they made more than 350,000 adobe bricks from the desert dirt to create authentic structures for the film, many still standing today. Over time it was the site for The Bells of St. Mary’s, The Last Outpost, Gunfight at the OK Corral, The Lone Ranger, Cimarron, Lilies of the Field & Have Gun Will Travel to name just a few. The Gambler, Three Amigos, The Quick and the Dead were some of the films in the
1990’s and early 2000’s.



Stunt man falling from tower at a Wild West Comedy show.



Bullwhip demonstration by Pistol Packing Paula



Joan with Pistol Packing Paula...the only female pistol twirler.


Location for a film shoot


We were hoping to see the desert in bloom before we left Tucson, but our visit to the Saguaro National Park, although awesome, was still a little early. We did see some blooms along a short hike.

















Balancing rock formation.


We packed a lunch and had this little visitor serenade us!


Trail up into the mountains


Joan along the trail.



Ron along the trail.


Our friends Tom & Sue finally pulled the trigger and bought a beautiful 5th wheel. They spent a couple of days at Beaudry RV resort in the space next to us. We went to the dealership to see the rig they chose and spent a day shopping. Tom & Ron hit the hardware store and where back in 1.5 hours. Sue & I hit Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Wal-mart and 5-6 hours later we were back. How do guys do that?


Not only did they have to decide on which RV to buy they had to shop for a new truck too!


Tom & Sue with their new home!

We attended the Stations of The Cross on Good Friday at Santa Cruz Catholic Church. The stations were simple crosses positioned around the outside of the church & school complex. With Father leading the group and the participants taking turns carrying a large wooden cross we walked from station to station. Interesting!


We liked our 2 month stay in Tucson. They do things different down here though. The city has very few storm drains so when it does rain the washes fill and the streets flood. Instead of spending money for a storm sewer system, they just purchased signs to place all over the city.





Their highway overpasses are very artistic. I guess this is where all of their tax dollars went.










There is one exit off of I-19 with an exit sign and ramp that leads to nowhere???? We were told the original plan was the development of a casino that never took place.









But you can't beat the sunsets!






Our next destination is Las Vegas to visit friends.

Hope all is well

Joan &
Ron

Picacho Peak State Park

Arizona has some of the most beautiful and awesome state parks. Unfortunately they do not have the funds to support them and are closing all but 9 of the 34. Picacho Peak is one scheduled to close June 3rd. How sad! We are glad we were able to visit. It is located about 30 miles northwest of Tucson - in the middle of nowhere.


Approaching Picacho Peak is the best way to view the unique shape of the 1,500 foot peak.

We ate lunch at an isolated picnic table overlooking the mountainside starting to bloom. We were hoping the desert will be in full bloom by the time we leave, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.



It has about a mile driving loop and several hiking trails. I chose the medium length trail which was just under 1 mile but pretty much up hill and moderately rugged. An hour later - I was hot, dry and my muscles were already rebelling but I got some great pictures.


Callaway Trail


Cactus with 2" thorns surrounded by beautiful flowers.



Mexican Gold Poppies.


Desert enhanced by the color of purple.


Not all Saguaro's are as shown in a picture perfect postcard.



Besides the beauty of the flora there were some unusual rock formations along the trail.






Finally made it to the top.


Another view from the top.


Picacho Peak’s most noted historic event occurred on April 15, 1862, when Confederate and Union scouting parties met in the Battle of Picacho Pass during the Civil War. This was the only Civil War clash to take place in Arizona.


Memorial to the 4 soldiers who died in this Civil War battle.



Site of the Picacho Pass battle.

Our next trip is to the Saguaro National Park in the next couple of days.

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

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