Here we area again inTucson, February 22-27

The main reason for returning to Tucson was Joel's doctor's appointment at the VA.  He had to follow up with the cardiologist regarding the "Echo" he had earlier.  The tech had previously told him everything looked good but Joel still had to meet with the cardiologist as well as the primary care doctor.  Well, the cardiologist confirmed everything the tech said regarding no evidence of damage and was extremely positive.  He told Joel to keep exercising and watch his diet (yeah,right) and keep on the medication.  Joel also met with the primary doctor (because going to the VA mandates yearly checkups or some benefits may be lost) and she confirmed everything  excellent and basically said "carry on".  So, with all of that out of the way it was time for exploring Tucson a little more and relaxing.

We spent a few hours tracking down solar wiring and parts in order to add another Solar Panel and batteries to the existing system, but we also made time to go on a short hike near the Tucson Mountain Regional Park which is near Saguaro National Park.  The day was cool, but great for hiking.

We hiked to t he top of the farthest peak.  Doesn't look like much but it was nearly a 400' elevation gain in about 1/2 mile. 

Neat views of the valley

 Of course Joel had to show off his  new cowboy hat

Lots of big Saguaro.

Later in the week we went to the Pima Air and Space Museum. The air museum is the third largest of its kind in the US and the only one to be privately funded. The entrance fee, tram and bus fee totaled about $25.00 but well worth it.  We met up with some friends of Joel's and explored the museum and and took the tram around the grounds.  It was pretty interesting seeing all different kinds of planes.  This is just a sampling of those in the interior hanger:

This set a record as the smallest bi-plane known as the bumble bee, and also one of my favorites.

This was called a micro jet.

 This was a Viet Nam Huey

I think this was called the Gyro copter, suppose to work in every one's driveway.

Black Bird

I don't know what the little red plane is called, but it was tucked under the wing of the Black Bird above.

There were some many unique planes I couldn't remember the names of all of them. I didn't realize there were so many different sizes and colors of planes.

We took the tram to explores the outdoor aircraft exhibit.  Walking was an option, but by taking the tram we got a real good explanation of what each plane was used for, and how it was unique, by the volunteer docent who did an excellent job.

   The Guppy.

 Sort of looks like a guppy but I think it looks more like a whale.

The giant bubble on top of this airplane is a radar.

This is a crane helicopter used in the gulf war and today

After the tram ride, we took a bus tour of the "bone yard" where over 4000 plans are stored.  It's basically a parts store for airplanes.  Parts are salvaged; other planes are kept in readiness as replacements; some for sale; and some later broken down and sold for scrap metal.  You can see the planes from the road, but the bus tour gave a much better perspective on how the planes were stored and the mass amounts that were  in the yards. The "bone yard" is located on the military base so we had to stay on the bus.  The pictures were taken from inside the bus through the window, so some of them aren't as clear because I've had to enlarge them up.

 These are containers which house jet engines.

Wings are salvaged and reused.

The windows are coated which provides protection and also keeps the interior about 15 degrees color.  

The plane is on "saw horses" and will be sawed apart and taken away as scrape metal.

Our final day in Tucson was spent at the Old Pueblo Winterfest put on by the Barrio Brewing Company.  There were many vendors offering over 100 beers.  The tickets allowed only 15 samples...but there were two of us so really we could sample 30.  That a lot of beer.  We were given little mini mugs that held about 6 oz.  Most of the time I only had them fill mine half full.  That's a lot of beer and micro brews and craft beer is generally higher in alcohol than your Bud Lite or GMD.  There was food and a band.  There was also a nice place for dancing on the asphalt but, apparently the band wasn't playing the preferred dancing music so no one was partaking.  There were suppose be over 1000 attendees but there certainly was that many there. It was suppose to get really windy and cold, which it didn't

Interesting stage.

Lots of vendors were prepared for hot sunny skies, but at least they were covered if the rain came.
Note all of the empty chairs.

The balcony was set up for spectators to watch the band and dancing, but nobody danced.

Looks like Joel is having a good time.  But what is that under his arm?  Water?  Special Icelandic water was being given away.  Guess Joel decided he needed to purge some of the beer.



Sunday weather prediction called for rain and snow.  I heard it rain in the middle of the night but I wasn't prepared for what I saw when I got up:

I just can't seem to get away from it.  By mid-morning most of the white stuff was gone so we got diesel (which is up to $3.72 at the corner station), and propane (its suppose to turn really cold) , and mosied down the road to Sierra Vista, hoping we don't hit more snow.