OLD TUCSON

OLD TUCSON

Old Tucson Studios began filming movies back in the 1930's but never really picked up momentum until after 1948. It became a huge movie set with dozens of movies being filmed here including many westerns. John Wayne is quite famous here because of his many movies filmed in Old Tucson.

We spent most of the day on the set taking pictures and watching the filming of a new movie called "Hot Bath - Stiff Drink". It appeared to be a western movie with over 130 cast members on site, many of whom were dressed in western garb, complete with horses and wagons and lots of guns. I don't know who the main actors are.

Debby had a burger and fries for lunch while I went into Duke's BBQ for a pulled pork sandwich. The movie makers broke for lunch, as well. They reconvened about 2 miles away at a ranch for more filming. So, with them being "off set", Old Tucson tourism was business as usual. We joined a 1:30 walking tour of the old town, learning that an arson had set it on fire several years ago and many buildings were burned. Many were rebuilt, however, not all.

Mankato, Minnesota, where 12 or 15 episodes of "Little House on the Prairie" were filmed, is now an empty parking lot at the edge of town. The fire also destroyed most of the old Mission so the front facade was rebuilt to look like one. It was in front of the Mission where three stuntmen put on a very funny show for the audience.

We ended the day by going back to the SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK to take the 8 mile loop drive through a small portion of the mighty Saguaro Cacti. Although it was a dirt road, it was a great drive through rocky hills and acres of Cacti.

PIMA AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

SAN XAVIER MISSION AND
THE PIMA AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

On Monday, we decided to give ourselves the day off for two reasons. One, we're retired and can do just about anything we want to do, and, two, we wanted the day off! So we sat around the house and relaxed. Part of that was checking out one of our two hot tubs! It was a great day and we were able to do some things we wanted to do.

On Tuesday, we headed across town to visit the San Xavier Mission, founded in 1692. The current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797, when it was part of New Spain. In 1821 it became the property of Mexico. In 1854, became the property of the United States. So this place was very old!

Worship services are still held in the old sanctuary. It is a beautiful feat of architecture, reminiscent of the cathedrals of Europe, without all of the money. The Elementary School next door still teaches K - 8. Debby wanted to go into the school and check it out. I was afraid I would never get her out of there if she went in. WHEW! Dodged that bullet!

From San Xavier Mission we drove out to the Pima Air and Space Museum. We spent a few hours looking around at the myriad of aircraft on display in several hangars. We also took a bus tour out to the airplane "bone yard" for a view of hundreds of aircraft. We were not allowed to get off the bus while on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base due to security, but it was great to stay on the bus for a tour.

It was dusk when we arrived back in our condo. The sun was going down and we watched the evening sky turn colors from our west side hot tub. It was beautiful! Debby had put a 2-lb beef roast in the crock pot and it had cooked all day. It was a fitting end to our awesome day!

TUCSON, AZ

TUCSON, ARIZONA

We are in Tucson. AZ hiding out in the Oro Valley Workdmark Resort. I suppose if one wanted to hide out in the Desert, Oro Valley Would be a great choice! This is a beautiful place to be!. We are enjoying the many varieties of native Cacti and other spiny Desert vegetation. The recent rains brought out a few Cacti blossoms this week. The heavy rain also washed out a road! It amazes me how a heavy Arizona rain can accumulate so much so quickly as to take out a road!

We arrived on Friday and found a room at the Comfort Inn because our Condo was not yet ours. Then on Saturday we met up with Lindsay and Steven and her Aunt, Joyce, who goes to our church at Metro! Small world! We were at BIOSPHERE II on a tour. Afterwards, we headed to Starbucks for coffee and conversation. We had a great visit and, afterwards, we checked in to our condo.

BIOSPHERE II is very cool! It was built back in the late 80's as a facility where life could be sustained in its own environment. You should Google BIOSPHERE II and read all about it. But today, it still stands and is being rebuilt from a few years of financial neglect. It is a tourist interest as well as a living Laboratory, the ultimate Environmental Science Lab, now owned by the University of Arizona. It was very interesting! I'm glad we got to see it after all these years of knowing it was there!


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On Sunday morning we went to church here in Oro Valley.  The church of about 80 souls is located near Ina Street and Mona Lisa Street.  I was wondering why they didn't call it the Mona Lisa Church of Christ?  That would have been vey cool!  Instead it's called Ina Church of Christ.  The sermon was good and a couple of people were friendly.  It's churches like this one that makes us miss our METRO even more!

We returned home, changed clothes and ate a quick bite before driving out to the other side of Tucson to the Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum.  It is an outdoor exhibit on several acres that has historical significance dating back to the Dinosaur Age of more than 12,000 years ago.  Fossils have been found in the ancient mud bog that supposedly date back even farther.  Only God knows the truth about that date!

The outdoor Zoo exhibit was cool. Some of the animals were in hiding or sleeping for the winter, but we got to see, Cougar, Big Horn Sheep. Deer, Wolves, Black Bear, as well as an Avery, Aquarium and small animal habitats. The grounds were well kept and it had nearly every king of plant you might find in the Sonoran Desert. We definitely enjoyed it!


On up the road a couple of miles was the Saguaro National Park, where we went to visit. As its name indicates, there were a lot of Saguaro Cacti there! It is a piece of Desert, now protected by the National Park Service. One would have to be very careful hiking across this desert! With all the spiny, thorny plants growing along the ground, and at every height up to 40 feet, there would be danger with every step! But the nearby volcanic hills and mountains are definitely calling my name!

Just back up the road a few miles was the "OLD TUCSON" town where John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and others filmed some of the old western movies. We didn't get to spend time there as the day was ending and we only had 45 minutes until it closed. Maybe later we can go back.

It appears that Tucson has much to offer, after all, it is the old hometown of David and Christie Vaca! So she would have made sure there was a lot of stuff to see! We like it here. In fact, I might could live here..... Hmmmmmmm

OVERGAARD, AZ

Overgaard, AZ


This is mountain country! We are on the Mogollon Rim, an Arizona Mesa that's more than 300 miles across at the widest. This area is a destination place for cactus lovers desiring to cool off in the heat of summer. But this time of year, it's slow. There is snow on the ground and frost on the morning pumpkin.

We have been in the hot tub every day so far, morning and evening. We haven't seen anyone else crazy enough to be out there in these temperatures! We have it all to ourselves and that's fine.

We have been relaxing and lounging around as if we had good sense. It's like we're on vacation or something! The condo is great! It has two bedrooms, full kitchen, two bathrooms, fireplace, living and dining rooms, big TV, washer and dryer.....all the comforts for $42 a night.

We have driven around and looked over the area as much as we can. The back roads and trail heads are closed to vehicles. So it seems like rest and relaxation are our main agenda items!

Yesterday, we drove into Overgaard to the Post Office. Not really knowing where it was, I sped past the entrance before I saw it, so I slowed and entered in through the unmarked exit. There was no traffic and there was plenty of parking and there was no entrance or exit signage. So I whipped into a parking slot and we began to gather up the things we were mailing. About that time, Larry the cable guy drove by and, through his rolled down passenger window, yelled out that we entered through the exit. He never looked our way but seemed eager to educate us on unmarked parking lot entrances. People here are so helpful!

We finished our postal duties and headed down the highway to the Ranger Station, where we wanted to see about getting a map of this area. Debby enjoyed all of the Smokey Bear stuff they had for sale. She asked if they had certain posters for her class and was told that there were major budget cuts looming and that they would not be reordering that stuff. I mentioned that we ALL were experiencing major budget cuts and that it seems our taxes were going up another $2000. The other Ranger lady spoke up and angrily blamed it on NASCAR and went into a defense mode! Ha Ha! I said, "We'll, I'm glad it's going to a good cause!", and immediately changed the subject to local hiking trails. She told me they were all closed!

I went away wondering, ''Were they REALLY closed?" 

Funny, but the only ATM on the Ranch is located in a local snack shop called  the Wild Women Saloon.

BISON RANCH

Overgaard, AZ

I don’t start every day with ice cream for breakfast, but it was fun today.  But it was time to packup and leave our “Extended Stay Inn” (of America) where we spent the past three days in Phoenix.  

We set the GPS for the MESA, AZ Cracker Barrel and headed out.  Mesa was about 30 minutes down the road, but it was in the direction of our final destination.  I have to confess, Cracker Barrel serves up the best frosty mug of fresh lemonade EVER! Mmmmmmmmm.

 Arizona has a lot of land between Mesa and Overgaard; most of it appeared to be Cactus and Prickly Pear infested land.  I would hate to have to walk across country in this area.  As I stepped off the road to take a closer look at these prickly things, I bumped my leg against an aggressive thorn.  I had to carefully pull up my pant leg before I could remove it from my shin. What did I learn??  Stay in the car!!

As we began climbing in altitude, patches of snow began to appear alongside of the road.  The Cacti disappeared and were replaced by non-prickly bushes, and then taller Pine trees.  On top of the Rim, we drove through the tiny town of Overgaard.  I tappears that this area is a vacation place for those in Arizona wanting to escape the summer heat. 

 

We are staying in a Worldmark Resort called BISON RANCH.  Apparently, this area used to BE a Bison ranch.  The lady behind the welcome desk in Worldmark said there were no more Bison here.  The owners soon found out that trying to keep migratory animals behind a fence was useless! 

We drove around and looked at some of the summer cottages and private residences.  A few are forsale.  I may have to check them out!  It’s a beautiful area.  We have a nice condo on the first floor.  We tried out the HOT TUB this evening with the setting sun.  It fits.  It’s a keeper!  We will be here for 5 days with daily temperatures in the 50’s…..just about right!

Phoenix

PHOENIX

Phoenix has mainly been an R&R stop and visiting friends. Unfortunately we haven't been able to connect with Joel Tolon, one of our favorite young men from Portland we have known for a long time.

But God did give us a bonus blessing today. We got a text from Lindsay, whom we got to visit with yesterday, wanting to meet us for lunch so she could introduce us to her boy friend! So after church services this morning we met them at Carlos O'Brien's Mexican Restaurant and stuffed our faces! It was a great place, serving twice the amount of food a person aught to have! Meeting Steven and Lindsay there was a delight! We decided that he's a keeper!

We were also blessed this morning at church! We not only got to see Brian Simmons' Mom, but Sharon was there, as well! She is here visiting her motherinlaw. It's great seeing church family! God is good all the time!

So today has been a great day!

POSTING COMMENTS CORRECTION

POSTING

I have made a correction to my blog settings that WILL now allow you to make a comment, if you so desire.  Be nice!!

PHOENIX, AZ

PHOENIX

We are in Phoenix, Arizona. Home of the friendly Cactus plants (the SAGUARO that have a tall neck and always seem to be waving to you), Arizona Tea and Grand Canyon University, where, yesterday, we picked up our dear friend, Lindsay Tester. We took her out to lunch and had a great visit! It's always good to see our home town people, especially my hiking buddies!!

This morning we are heading to Northgate Church of Christ and worship with Brian Simmons' Mom. This will be the highlight of our day!