The Spirit of Adventure 2.0

The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona is home to the largest military aircraft boneyard in the world. The 2,600 -acre boneyard currently holds over 3,975 aircraft and 13 aerospace vehicles from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy-Marine Corps, and NASA. This is where all the unused and obsolete aircraft are parked in the desert until they can be either sold or scrapped. Security is tight here and you must submit 10 days in advance to a background check before they will allow you to make a reservation for the boneyard tour. When entering the base on the tour everyone must exit the bus and wait in a windowless concrete garage type building while they search the bus. While traveling across the base on your way to the boneyard no photos are allowed until you enter the boneyard gate. Cameras and phones will be confiscated if you are caught taking pictures on the base Once in the boneyard there are row after row after row of aircraft here awaiti

Use the subscribe button above to sign up for email notification of new blog posts Click on any photo to enlarge  We recently visited a Titan II missile silo museum out in the desert west of Tucson AZ. From the spring of 1963 through the spring of 1984 Titan II Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles were on alert in hardened underground bunkers in the US. There were 18 Titan II missile silos around Little Rock Arkansas, Wichita Kansas and Tucson Arizona for a total of 54 missiles scattered across the prairies and deserts of the southern United States. The museum is an original silo from the cold war and it holds the last remaining Titan II missile. With the missile sites being small 1 acre sites scattered across the prairie and desert there was no one stationed topside to let you in. Instead you had to use a phone at the electrified gate giving a password to be let in. Once you were granted access you had 3 minutes to make your way across the complex t

Sitting out in the desert just southwest of Tucson is  The Mission San Xavier del Bac  The original San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic Mission in 1692. Construction of the larger present day church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797 when southern Arizona was part of New Spain. It is the oldest European structure in Arizona. With the Mission undergoing renovations, the top of one of the domed bell towers has been removed The churches interior is filled with original furniture, statuary and mural paintings. It is a fabulous place where visitors can step back in time and enter an authentic 18th century church  The original mission dating back to 1692 Massive wood beamed ceiling and Spanish archways are use throughout the mission Unlike other missions in the southwest this mission is still run by Franciscans The Franciscan Sisters of Charity, who have taught at the school since 1872, continue wit

Don't forget to click on the subscribe button at the top and subscribe to receive email notification when we update the blog and r emember that all photos can be enlarged by clicking on them The Saguaro National Park is a vast park here in the Tucson area that covers 143 sq. miles. It's different from most of the national parks we have been to as it has virtually no trees, just treeless mountains, open desert and cactus,... lots of cactus. It also has many dry river beds crisscrossing through it, they are called washes. Many have large rock ledges that are up to 10 feet tall that create water falls during the monsoon season Now, I know what some are saying, it's the desert, it's dry, everything is prickly and there are snakes and tarantulas what the heck are you doing there? I have to say that we have been stunned by the beauty of the desert. We even came across a coyote while out hiking one afternoon