Pima

Today Barry took me to the Pima Air Museum.

One of the first things we noticed was this Red Arrows Hawk T1 that wasn't there the last time.

I have always wanted to build a model of the Burt Rutan Vari-Viggen, maybe this picture will get me started.

I don't remember seeing this Blue Angels F11F-1 Tiger that they flew from 1957 to 1968.  It is the jet they were flying the first time I saw them in Seattle.

Of course I had to take a picture or two of my favorite F-4E.

Since I have four radio controlled models of the Cobra, I had to take it's picture also.

Barry had been telling me about the TL Ultralight Stream, it's top speed is 202 Mph with a 101 horsepower Rotax engine.

This is a panorama of the outdoor display area which we didn't do today.

That is one of my favorite planes back in the corner.  It is the Douglas B-26 Invader.  It is kind of small when compared to the B-24 Liberator in the foreground.

Barry is reading about the turbocharger of the B-24.

These gears on the Gatling gun sure got our attention!

Barry walked out to see if he could see the engine test airplane.  Behind him is the NASA SOFIA which had a large infrared telescope mounted under the bulge near the tail.

I have a lot of favorite airplanes and the P-40 Warhawk is one to them.

Here is Barry looking at the P-40.

How would you like to be the tail gunner in a B-29, it looks kind of crowded.

The tube through the bomb bay is the tunnel you would have to crawl in to go from the front to the rear of the plane.

I have a F7F Tigercat model that I am now flying, after seeing this one I want to redo my dull finish to a glossy one.

Afterwards we had lunch at Whataburger which neither of us had eaten at before.  We decided that the burgers was about the same as Rally but Rally's fries were better.  This evening we spotted a satellite while visiting around the fire pit and I got some good pictures of the sunset. 

Yardwork, Clouds and Sumo

Barry, Mona and Lauri were working in the yard today.  Barry is about ready to pull out the roots of a dead tree and it came right out. 

Vera and I went into Casa Grande for dinner tonight the clouds were really pretty so we pulled off and took this picture.

Sumo joined us most nights at the fire pit.  He is a very well mannered dog.

24th and 25th

 February 24th

I was watching the bird on the seed blocks when I noticed this woodpecker, the first one I have seen in Arizona.  Vera and I went to Culver's for dinner tonight.  I ordered their Butter Burger and it was huge!

February 25th

I figured out the panorama feature on my phone a little better today and took panoramas of what we can see out each side of the motor home.  This first one is the view out the cab.

This is the panorama view on the right side which shows the patio and the arroyo.

This is the view on the left side of the motor home.  It shows their motor home, the house, storage building and West block wall to the gate we bring the motor home and cars in.

Crop Duster

I got woke up at 4:30 by a crop duster, how the heck do they see in the dark?  I looked out the window and saw a couple of its turns. Barry heard it also and came outside to watch it.  I got some pictures of a roadrunner today, Mona said there are three of them that are in the yard on a regular basis.  I gave Barry a little help this morning, then he and I finished off the rhubarb birthday treat for lunch.

This is the night time view of the motor home with the fire pit going.

I sure enjoyed evenings visiting with Barry.

Box Canyon

 

Today Barry and Mona took us to Box Canyon.

This is our first stop at the entrance to Box Canyon.

I am getting ready to take some pictures at our first stop.

Boy there are lots of saguaro cactus on the hills here.

We are following Barry and Mona into the canyon.

The trail is starting to get narrower.

Now the trail is getting narrow enough that side by sides can't pass.  When you meet another group they have hand signals worked out that tell you how many are in the group and the last person uses a closed fist to indicate they are the end of that group.  By the time it was explained to me, I had figured it out.

I believe this is the hill behind 5 Points where we stopped to admire the view and have some snacks.  That would be a rugged climb as it seems like everything has needles or thorns of some type.

Barry and Andy are at 5 Point, you can sure see a long ways from there.

Our next stop was a way station for the stagecoaches.

This is the backside of an adobe Way Station that was used when stagecoaches used to run through Box Canyon

Here is Mona and the front of the Way Station.

Andy and Mona went up the slope to an abandoned mine.

They didn't notice these steps that went up to the entrance.

The writing on the rock is right, the trail got rougher after this point.

We were surprised when we saw the cattle.

Vera and I are at the second view point we went to.

The view from there was great.

There was quite a bit of water running down the trail, I don't think is was this smooth when the stagecoaches used it.

We stopped at the River Bottom a biker bar just outside of Florence Arizona to eat.  They had great food and we really enjoyed our meal.  From left to right, Vera and I, Don (Andy's brother), his wife, Andy and Barry.

Of course some time was spent at the fire pit tonight.

Birds and Agave

 

There are lots of doves around, you see or hear them every time you are outside.  If a hawk or other raptor is flying in the area they all disappear and it gets really quiet.

The roadrunner was out in the yard today, I took these pictures from inside the motor home.

It flew up onto the fence and stood there for a while, then it sat down and stayed there for quite a while looking things over.

This Agave had bloomed and now was dying so they removed it today.  The first part of the job went pretty good, they just pushed it over by hand.

This is what the blooms look like, they are a small agave that can drop off and grow.  Agave are sometimes called the 100 year plant but actually live 5 to 15 years and die after blooming.

Barry tried pulling it out the rest of the way with the bucket but it wouldn't budge.  Mona and Barry both cut on the tap root with a sawzall before came loose.

Finally it got loaded into the truck.

This is the other one over by our motor that also bloomed.  Around the base you can see some small agaves that have started from the root or plants that dropped off.