Tucson, AZ

After a week in Yuma, we packed up and moved onto Tucson, AZ where we were shocked to find an abundance of snow in the mountains which froze our hinnies off. Our first great adventure was to Tombstone,AZ, which ended up being a dazzling day. We were trucking along and blew the rear drivers side tire and had to change the tire in an extremely hazardous area where their was hardly any room between the highway and our truck. After that we were off again to Tombstone where Wyatt Earp was shot. What was really interesting was that the paved road was overlaid with dirt to give it that rustic and western look. We also visited many historical building within the town which our favorite was the Longhorn Bar and Saloon where Matt Dillon from the TV series "Gun smoke" was frequently visited by the owner of the bar, Miss Katie. We then headed off to the town of Bisbee where their is an open pit copper mine which is still open today. It really reminded us of Virginia City, NV close to where we reside. We then set sail to Ft.Huachuka where it was the first fort of black soldiers. This fort which is a military base now, is still active today and our friend; whom we babysat as a baby, Katie Gillard is stationed here at this time. This day was becoming a long day, yet full of fun. We decided to head off to see the border town of Nagales which is on the border of Arizona and Mexico. We could not believe how the U.S. side close to the border had all signs in Spanish. It sure made it fun to find our way around! Our next day in Tuscon, AZ was spent in San Xavier De Ba Mission, better known as "The White Dove of the Desert." Here is where the Catholics baptized the Indians and this mission glistens bright white in the Arizona desert. The next day we went to the Puma Air & Space Museum. In the museum we learned about the Write Brothers and about small aircraft's and Whale aircraft's. We even got to finally get a picture of Sam with a Cessna that was similar to the plane he flew while stationed at the Biloxi Mississippi Airforce Base. We also took a bus to the Monthan Air Force Bone Yard. This is an active base to this day where not just yards and yards, but miles upon miles of dormant planes that sit ready for war at a moments notice. It is breathtaking. Later that day, we went to the Titan Missile Museum. When Sam and I were kids they talked about the Cold War between Russia and the U.S., and at that age we had no clue what they were talking about because we were kids. We are so lucky that the U.S. did not go to war with Russia. As I stood there starring at all those planes and missiles that just sit there ready to take the lives of other children of God, I could not help but wonder what the point was. I cannot for the life of me figure out why man would spend so much money to take life, but not spend enough to create a better world for all to live in peace, love and harmony. On Valentines Day we spend the day at the International Wildlife Museum. From there we went up to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and saw the desert wildlife and plants in their environment. We saw lions, and tigers and bears (Oh My!!). As well as coyotes, hyenas, wolves and so many others. It was sure amazing to see all of the desert animals and plants God has created for us to see.