Fort Bowie

In a land that is very dry, an unfailing water supply becomes a resource worth fighting and dying for and in this part of Arizona in the 1800's that is exactly what happened. Once white settlers found this resource through the heart of Apache homeland the troubles began and with increased hostility Fort Bowie was built to protect both the pass and the spring. Named after Col. George Washington Bowie the fort was the center for campaigns against the Apache, led by Cochise and after his death by Geronimo. Today visitors can see the remnants of the original buildings and photos of the fort when it was in it's full working days. It is a mile and a half hike in but we enjoyed the rangers discussion and a walk around the historic grounds.

Chiricahua National Monument

As we start our slow journey home we travel road we have been down before and seek new experiences, this time, it is the Chiricahua National Monument. Not close to anything of note, it is a drive into the park and sad for us, the campground has a size restriction 4 feet short of our rigs length. But the trip was worth it with a beautiful day and views that go on forever. On our way back to the campground in Wilcox we took a side trip to Fort Bowie, but that is another blog. Would I come back, yes I would because we learned that there are a few nice spaces in the national forest area to boondock.

Rainbow for Don

After a day of fun hiking in the desert we had our last evening with Don, the clouds dropped just enough rain to give him a colorful farewell. See you back home Don!

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

The Desert Museum is a fusion of zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum and aquarium sitting in the heart of the Sonoran Desert west region. This was our second visit, Dons first. I was excited to see the free flight bird show again but one of the hawks flew away during the morning show causing a postponement of the afternoon show. Don and I had a chance to see this wonderful raptor display the next morning.

Sabino Canyon and a trip up Mount Lemon

Sabino Canyon sits on the south side of the Catalina's and makes for a great day of hiking and a starting point for a drive up to Mt. Lemon. Sabino Canyon was a bit crowded but still made for a fun tram ride up the canyon with short hikes to points of interest. The rest of our day was spent driving up the winding road to the top of Mt. Lemon to gather in the fantastic vistas and enjoy the cool mountain air near the ski resort, an nice break from the heat in the valley.

Biosphere 2

NearTucson, just north of Saddlebrook sets an Earth systems science research facility known as Biosphere 2 is an science research facility. The size of two and one half football fields, Biosphere 2 remains the largest closed system in existing today. Biosphere 2 had two closure experiments, Missions 1 and 2, during which the structure was sealed with researchers living inside. The first, with a crew of eight people, ran for two years from 1991 to 1993. The sealed nature of the structure allowed scientists to monitor the continually changing chemistry of the air, water and soil contained within. Health of the human crew was monitored by a medical doctor inside and an outside medical team. Experiments continue today through the University of Arizona

An evening with Don, Marilyn and Jim

The cold weather back home has pushed Gary's brother Don to the South West for another week in the sun with us near Tucson. And when we are in Tucson, we have the great fortune of spending time with Marilyn and Jim at their beautiful home in Saddlebrook. When it comes to a great evening with family, Marilyn and Jim know how to make it special.