3/31/16 More Tucson Explorations and Jack in South Korea

Our RV Sunset View Over the Boneyard

The unusual el nino weather has left Tucson hotter and dryer than normal this winter.  Great for living outdoors which is how we spend much of our time.  Walking and biking around our RV park at Davis-Monthan Air Base base for exercise and errands keeps us in good shape.   Coyotes howl in the night and cross our paths during the day, we read lot of books and keep busy touring.  Deb, however, has had her fill of planes for a while.  The RV park overlooks the largest airplane boneyard in the world.  All branches of military have parked over 4,000 of their moth-balled aircraft, as they await being used for parts or scrap, sold, or refurbished for service again if needed.  Planes fly overhead day and night and thank you so much John for taking great pains to describe the dozens of planes displayed at the Davis-Monthan Airshow which featured aerobatics by the  fabulous Air Force Thunderbirds.  Won't miss months of 7 a.m. reveille and 5 p.m. taps blaring over the loud speakers.

Larry, Missy and John at Biosphere 2

We have sooooo enjoyed hanging out with John's Duke family (Grandma Mary Duke) cousin Missy and husband Larry for dinners, touring the artsy town of Tubac, and Biosphere 2. The unique Biosphere research facility was constructed in 1986 to research and develop self-sustaining space-colonization technology.  In early 1990's, 6 researchers set out to live in this sealed dome structure for a year, growing their own food, making oxygen and clean water but found that the systems within this 3 acre facility were not large/efficient enough to sustain life for these 6 people so the experiment had to be abandoned.  Bickering and an unexpected pregnancy added to the stress.  No experiment is a failure; much was learned.  Can you guess what Biosphere 1 is?  Earth

Desert In Bloom

We also caught up with Bob S. (from John's Navy Nuclear Power School days in early 70's and Sonalysts  in late 70's/80's) at his lovely home in Green Valley, and had great fun hiking the Santa Rita Mountain Nature Trail. We had already hiked the surrounding Tucson, Catalina and Rincon Ranges which are covered in magnificent saguaro, prickly pear, ocotillo, and cholla cactus whereas the Santa Rita's along the Mexican Border sport leafy trees and shade.  Deb collected several dead cholla branches to use as hangers for the "ghost town" glass she got in Quartzite.

 Barn Owl at Desert Museum

Harris Hawk

The drive to and tour of the 21 acre Desert Museum on the west side of the Tucson Mountains was spectacular.  We especially loved the Bird Of Prey exhibition where a falcon tucked it's wings and flew within inches of Johns face and several Harris Hawks practically touched the tops of our heads as they majestically flew among the spectators.

At the annual Tucson Rodeo, John enjoyed the horse barrel racing as he reminisced about his Dad, younger brother and sister riding in this event while he lived on his parents racing quarter horse farm in Minnesota while in high school and college.  We left after a couple of other events which clearly were not healthy for the animals involved.

Speaking of "back in the day",  a tour of the only remaining Titan Missile site brought back disturbing child hood memories of Deb's grammar school air raid drills and her Dad's submarine patrols.  John's recalled his early years in Las Vegas where his family watched A Bomb tests to see how the buildings his father (Naval Civil Engineer) constructed reacted to the blast.  Science at the time did not know radiation exposure was cumulative in the body; unknowingly subjecting thousands to unsafe levels with each successive blast. Operational from 1962 to

1983, it only took 3 years to design and build the 54 Titan missiles and silos spread out in Tucson, Witchita, and Little Rock which  is unbelievable considering the technology which had to be developed along the way.  This really boggles our minds as we get news that our condo will take another year to complete - making our little 8 condo unit building a 3 year project as well.  Really... Really.... Oh well, guess we'll just have to hang out with Jack in Hawaii for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years!

Mission San Xavier

The magnificent Mission San Xavier since 1783 stands alone in the
desert south of Tucson.  First under Spanish rule, then Mexican, and finally the U.S., the local Tohono O'odham Nation have guarded this Franciscan church for centuries.

Having finished his Naval War College Project John now spends time writing articles about military strategy that seem to be stirring up a hornets nest, in a good way.  He loves it.  

We have kept in touch with the family who took in our little grey kitty, Luna, when we left Virginia and recently received news of her passing from cancer. She was well loved and lived a particularly pampered life these last few years.  She will be missed by both families and we are happy she is at peace.

Buson Baseball Arena

Good Korean Food

The USS Chung-Hoon pulls into Buson, South Korea and we get to talk to Jack again!  Interesting times to be patrolling the waters around South Korea as North Korea launches two "test" ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan which puts Japan and our fleets on high alert.   Jack likes to eat the local fare but one time there were no menu pictures to pick from and the food that came looked so uninviting they went to McDonald's instead. Even had time to take in a baseball game! His Carrier Group joins with the S. Korean Navy which a Soul Newspaper says will practice preemptive military strikes to take out North Korean nuclear sites.  This is the largest joint exercise ever conducted by the two allied forces.

As first quarter 2016 ends, oil prices and the stock market are rebounding but diesel in Tucson is still only $1.69 a gallon, a whole lot cheaper than the over $4.00 we paid when we left Virginia in the beginning of this trip June 2014.

Although a great place to spend much of the winter, we are restless and need a change of the daily sunshine, cloudless sunrises, glorious sun sets among the surrounding mountains, hot days, and cool nights.