We left San Antonio on Tuesday the 6th of January with plans of stopping in the Davis Mountains, but they are predicting fog and freezing rain for tomorrow so we decided to push on a little further west to Van Horn, TX where we stopped for the night. We drove on Texas state road 90 from San Antonio and stopped for gas in Alpine. While Sandy was waiting inside to pay, the guy mentioned that after the ice storm the previous week, all the stations ran out of gas and it was 3 days before the delivery trucks could get into town. Along the way we crossed the Pecos River.
The Pecos River looking north.
The Pecos river looking south.
After leaving Van Horn we headed to Tucson, AZ with stiff tailwinds most of the way.
Some of the mountains in southwestern New Mexico along I-10.
We are finally in Arizona.
It was raining in Tucson on Thursday so we decided to go to the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley as most of the museum is inside. The Titan missiles were in place from 1963 to 1987 as a deterrent from a nuclear attack during the “Cold War”. There were three compounds of the missiles, 18 silo’s around the Tucson, AZ, area, 18 silo’s around Wichita, KS and 18 silo’s around Little Rock, AR. The Titan II was capable of launching from its underground silo in 58 seconds and could deliver a nine megaton thermonuclear warhead to its target more than 6300 miles (10,000 km) away in less than thirty minutes. One of the alarming features of the missile was that once the missile was launched it could not be aborted. The Titan Missile Museum is the only remaining Titan II site open to the public, allowing you to relive a time when the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union was a reality.
Our tour guide, Tom, is explaining the underground control room.
Layout of the missile silo and control room with connecting tunnel.
On the way back we took some back roads and came upon this sign. Too bad signs have to be put up that probably do no good. The sign was almost destroyed from “target practice”.
On Friday we were meeting Tom and Jackie for supper so we left earlier to drive around the area. We drove through downtown Tucson and ended going over Gates Pass…
and driving by the Gilbert Ray Campground, Old Tucson Studios and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum before meeting Tom and Jackie at Daisy Mae’s Steakhouse.
What’s that shinny spot on the back of my head? They have a tradition of guests signing and doodling on dollar bills, then stapling them on the wall, tables, ceiling and anywhere you can find room.
This is a very casual roadhouse serving steaks, pork chops, chicken and ribs. Everything we had was delicious.
Saturday morning we did laundry at the campground so it was 11:00 before we got started for Cave Creek (North Phoenix). Again we had a stiff tail wind, which is much better than cross or head winds, and it sure helped the gas mileage. After we got settled in we went over to our friends Ron and Jane’s for a visit and supper.
Sunday the 11th was a busy day for us. Steve and Sandy, friends we met through RVing, and Ruby in Sandy’s lap and Yoda in Steve’s came over mid- morning so we could visit and catch up on what has happened in our lives since we last saw them 2 years ago. At lunch time we went to Harold’s and from the looks of the parking lot we might not get in for a while. But once inside it was only half full. Every person in there must have driven my themselves. The Packers/Cowboys football game was the big attraction at the time.
Later in the afternoon we met at Deb and Karl’s home for supper. It was a great time to visit with everyone again.
Deb, Paula, me, Karl, Jane, Ron and Dan. Ah, Sandy must be taking the picture.
The weirdest thing happened as we were driving over to Deb and Karl’s. We came up behind a red trike driving on the highway and Sandy said “I wonder if that is Vern and Ruthie” and to their and our surprise, it was. We knew they were in the Phoenix area (Glendale) and we have plans to get together but they were about 20 miles from the home base. What are the odds of meeting up with fellow Minnesotans' on a highway in Arizona? We did not have time to stop and visit but did e-mail each other on the amazing coincidence. We will get together with them when we get back from California in a couple weeks.
Jane is leaving for a month in the Tetons to play in the snow. She went last year with some friends and just loved the cross-country skiing so much she is going for a month this year. She says she is also going to try snowshoeing this year. Have fun Jane and we will see you in a month or so.
Until then,
Dave and Sandy
1 comment:
I knew with all your traveling we would cross paths sometime. And like Maxwell Smart said "Missed em by that much.". I guessing five feet. I thought Sandy was going to hang out the window waving, smiling and giving us "thumbs up" flying down the highway. See you soon, my traveling friends!
Now to prove I'm not a robot to post this comment. Going to take a second try. My excuse I was confused.
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