Walnut Canyon National Monument

The next day after my Verde Canyon Railroad ride, I traveled to Flagstaff for a few days. I camped at a great little campground called Black Bart RV Park. They even have a Steak House there that has a dinner show ( I did not attend).



Located about 7 miles from my camp was the little-known Walnut Canyon National Monument.



I spent several hours there thinking back to what it must have been like to live in this primitive location. They did have a great view of the deep canyon just a few steps from their front door. Their source of water was from a small river at the bottom. From the Visitors Center, there are 177 steps down to the ruins that are about half way down the canyon walls.



Looking across the canyon, you can see one of the places where the Indians lived around 1100 AD to 1250 AD. They do not know how many lived here but I would guess no more than 100 at any one time.



A closer view



Closer still.













Those same 177 steps now have to be climbed up. That would not be so bad but remember this is place is over 7,000 feet in elevation. (double click on pic. below to see stairs)

Verde Canyon Railroad

IF YOU EVER want to experience the thrill of riding on a train with the option of using an open-air car to observe baled eagles flying overhead, while riding so close to red, sandstone cliffs that you can reach out a touch them, then you will certainly enjoy the Verde Canyon Railroad that is located in Clarkdale, AZ.

Once the train leaves the station for its 4-hour, 40 mile round-trip journey, most of the riders leave the comfortable climate controlled coaches and walk out onto the open-air car where we had a great view of things.

I know that is making quite a statement, but it really was. In my opinion, better than the Durango to Silverton train ride. We traveled along the base of the cliffs just above the tops of cottonwood trees that carpet the floor of the canyon along the river.

We saw eagles flying overhead and what looked like their nests on the jagged sandstone cliffs. Each open-air car had an attendant to point out such things as eagles nests and other points of interest.

We went through one 600-foot tunnel

This is what it looked like when we exited the tunnel.

Pima Air & Space Museum

While in Tucson, I just had to visit the Pima Air & Space Museum. They have a very extensive collection of mostly combat planes that I have ever seen. They have one of the very few remaining F-14s that are left. They had just about everything from the Wright Flyer:

To the SR-71 Blackbird

I took the tram ride that took over an hour to listen to them talk about all the planes they had outdoors. Somehow, I was fascinated by the B-36. I can remember seeing one fly over the house where I grew up after WW II. It has a very distinctive sound. I walked around it and took pictures from every angle.

Probably the smallest flyable plane is the Bumble Bee.

They have a whole hanger dedicated to a B-17 bomber wing. You could find out just about anything you ever wanted to know about the B-17 there.

They have a B-24 Liberator.

And a B-29.

They all looked like you could fire them up and fly away in them.

Titan II Missile Site

After traveling across the windy dry desert of west Texas, I found myself in Tucson, AZ. I plan to see several things while there for a week. At the top of my list of things to do was the Titan II missile Museum located about 30 miles south of Tucson. They are part of the Airo-Space Museum next door to the Bone Yard.






One of the first things we did on tour was take a look into the silo.





Then we went 30 feet underground to the Control Room. All the instrumentation panels were of 1960s vintage




Our tour guide spent 20 years stationed here at this site. He had two of our group sit at the controls. He gave them the special keys to use to simulate a launch. The lady at the console that had the buttons to push for launch could not read what the buttons were for because she did not bring her glasses. But the guide told her to just push any of the buttons.




Well, when the tour guide told them to turn the keys together and for her to push the simulated launch button, she got confused and pushed the wrong button.



Sirens went off and Red Lights started flashing and the place started shaking.




In about 10 seconds . . . . . .








WOOPS!!!

Fredricksburg, TX

After a month in San Antonio, I am heading for Tucson, AZ. I will be spending a week there enjoying the many attractions in that area. But first I am stopping in Fredricksburg to take in the National Museum of the Pacific War. What a wonderful museum!

They set you our on a self-guided tour through a maze of rooms that show you what happened in the various stages of the Pacific War. They start with "The Seeds of War" that covers the events before Pearl Harbor. Then as you progress through the museum, you are exposed to the chronological events of our march to Japan. One such event was the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942 with a group of B-25s that took off from an aircraft carrier in a storm. While you are in one of the rooms and are viewing film of the event. Suddenly a wall opens up and there before you is an actual B-25.

They have have several aircraft (what's left of them) displayed with lighting effects that are very theatrical. There were dozens (mostly men) of my age going through the museum and there was not a word spoken. You would have thought you were in a church somewhere. You could tell they were reliving those war years.

They had an actual Japanese sea plane in one of the rooms.

At another facility of the Museum, they take you into a simulated hanger deck of an aircraft carrier where they have displayed and actual Avenger torpedo plane.

I can certainly recommend this museum to anyone who lived though the time of WW II. Even if you didn't, you will be very impressed with their presentation. They even let you stand on a wharf next to a very real PT Boat that is getting ready to go out on a night mission. On and on it goes.

If you are ever in the Texas Hill Country, be sure and stop in Fredricksburg and take in the marvelous museum.

Battle of Flowers Band Fest

The most important event that I wanted to attend out of all 110 events that happen during Fiesta week is the Battle of Flowers Band Fest. This was held in the Alamo Stadium under cloudy skies that threatened to rain, but held off.

There were 32 bands from the area's high schools and Jr. high schools that participated in the competition. Of course to me the Number One band was the band that played for half an hour before the competition started. That was my old band that I played in for two years while in the Army. The 323rd Army Band or what is also called the Medical School Command Band still plays on. My seat for the event was high up in the press box area so I had a birds eye view of the action.



You will notice the camera man. They were all over the place. The event was broadcast on local TV that evening.





Here are a few pictures of one of the high shcool bands warming up.





Each band had 2 minuites to march in and perform their thing in front of the judges. After the compatition, all the bands assembled on the field to play several numbers in unison. WHAT A SOUND! Can you emagine several thousand bandpersons playing at the same time? Take a look.