Two more days around Tucson

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Back road scenery on the way to  Tombstone

A winery in the middle of the desert

A view of the Mustang Mountains from the winery

Sonny tries the hibiscus flower in his wine

Wednesday, we got on the road South to Tombstone.  Yet another clear blue, warm, sunshiny day.  How is it possible to have so many in a row?!  We stopped in Vail for breakfast at a golf course.  Not many people playing golf but the food was good.  Sonny found out later that the green fees are $80, rather pricey for a round of golf.  We took the back roads to Tombstone which took us over a 5500' pass to the very tiny town of Elgin where there were 3 wineries. The scenery was amazing. Mountains around, various cactus, roadrunners, hawks, Brahma bulls, horses and ranches. Though it was only 10 AM, we did stop to check out the Sonoita Winery.  We were the only ones there so we had the full attention of the woman behind the counter.  She told us about the area as well as the wines.  It was an expensive tasting by Washington standards-$8 each and no discounts when purchasing but we now own 2 more wine glasses (we really could do without those but it was a package deal we had to take).  One of the wine tastes included a pickled hibiscus blossom which was very tasty. 

Since we were about 20 miles from Mexico, we passed a Border Patrol checkpoint but they didn't care about folks driving toward Mexico.  On the way back, they just said "Have a good day" and passed us through.

Border Patrol check point

Tombstone seemed bigger than when we were there 12 years ago.  It has expanded somewhat to the South with mine tours and putt-putt golf. We arrived just in time for a narrated trolley ride to see the town highlights. Silver mining, gun fights and sappy jokes.  Example: "The population never changes in Tombstone.  Every time a baby is born, a cowboy leaves town."  We heard that one again at the gunfight show.  The stunt show at Old Tucson was more entertaining though I will say, the guys in Tombstone kept flubbing their lines which did add to the humor more than the jokes.  Afterwards, we wandered around the boardwalk.  We listened to a story teller at the Bird Cage and tried on a few cowboy hats.

Old cowboys and modern iron horses

The drunk sheriff and the bad guys who wear red

Sonny tired his hand with a 45 revolver at target shots. 6 for 6

Local color

Tombstone boardwalk

Today, Sonny was thinking of a round of golf and I was thinking antique shops after a morning sight seeing adventure. We headed to the Pima Air Museum where we spent 6 hours learning more about aviation especially WW II. Golfing and antiquing will be another time! We started with a tram tour of the bone yard. The driver knew many exacting details about the planes-a few folks were dozing in the heat. One of the planes, an ICBM transport, was called the "flying beer barrel" because it had to be modified with straps to keep it from falling apart when it flew. The Air Force had certified the plane but it was clear that the FAA wouldn't have! One of the fighter jets was well known because it was the only fighter that had shot itself down. The Navy pilot had live ammo on board. While in a dive, the pilot fired and was traveling faster then the bullets. He slowed the jet down but too much. He caught up to the bullets and shot himself. At the beginning of the war, there was a fear there would be a shortage of aluminum for plane skins so a model was built of stainless steel as thin as aluminum foil. The shortage didn't happen so very few stainless steel planes were built.

  

Adapted transport plane



Large, low transport with a bulky nose

Airplane art is being practiced at Pima. 

We couldn't find out anything about the art but several planes had been painted outside and more painted parts were inside.

This helicopter is used for moving large equipment and water to
extinguish forest fires

Sonny worked on A7Es in the Navy and there was one in the exhibit.

Career pilot, 89 year old Richard Bushong

B-17 gunner in the ball turret. 
Similar to being back in the womb.

We visited the 390th Memorial Museum inside the museum.  Here, we caught up with a docent named Richard Bushong, who at 20 years old, piloted bombers during the war.  He had amazing stories to tell and had even written a book called "My Wars".  After flying 28 bombing missions, he made a career of the military and then became a test pilot for Boeing in Wichita.  2/3rds of the planes and crew were shot down, crashed or taken prisoners.  The survival rate was pretty low. Someone asked about parachuting when the plane was hit.  He explained that there wasn't any room to wear the parachute inside the plane.  It was nearby and if there was time, the crew hooked it to their flight suit.  Usually, however, the plane was spiraling downward and the force prevented anyone from bailing out. There was no heat in the plane or food.  Temps are -30 to -50 when flying at 25,000 ft. On one of Bob's first flights, he grabbed a sandwich on the way to the plane.  He put it under his seat but later, when he went to eat it, the sandwich was frozen solid.

This frame was taken from Lake Washington in Seattle around 2000.  I don't remember reading about this when it happened.  Apparently, the plane was lifted but broke in two, killing one of the divers.  It was another few years before another attempt was taken.  Only this part of the wing, fuselage and the gunner turret was salvaged.

It is amazing to me that those young men had such ambition, love of country and desire to continue the fight for freedom.

 

This evening, we are planning our move back to the Phoenix area as the temps are going to drop into the 50s by Monday here and the big wind is coming again.