Colossal Cave Mountain Park August 4, 2013

                             Entrance to cave

Location: Colossal Cave Mountain is located east of Tucson near Vail, Arizona. Take I-10 east from Tucson to Exit 279 (Vail/ Wentworth Exit). Follow signs north through Vail, Arizona, to Colossal Cave.

Fee Rates: To enter the park it cost $5 per car. The basic cave tour is $13 per adult and $6.50 for kids 5-12 years of age. Special tours are extra. For example the Ladder Tour is $25 per person.

Activities: The main activity for visitors at the park is to take a tour of the cave. The main tour is 45 to 50 minutes long. Docents give visitors history of the park as well as point out cave features. Viewable features include columns, stalactites, stalagmites, and cave popcorn. The most impressive room on the cave tour is the Drapery Room.A more adventurous visitor can make a reservation on the Ladder Tour or Wild Cave Tour. These tours vary in length and difficulty depending on your skill level in the cave. The park provides hard hats and lights for the longer tours.

Birding: The park is home to over 100 species of birds including the state bird the Cactus wren.

Camping: Camping is available at La Selvilla. The campground does not have hookups for RVs.

La Posta Quemada Ranch: At the ranch visitors can take a trail ride along the Arizona Trail which goes north and south. Museums include the Civilian Conservation Corp Museum and the ranch house. (Information from www.colossal cave.com).  

                                     With Quintin waiting for tour

                                          Inside cave

                                   Two columns in one shot

                                 Desert wildflower

Arizona Transportation Museum Tucson, Arizona August 2013

                             Quintin and I with the Steam Engine in the background

At the Amtrak Depot in downtown Tucson is a small but impressive museum which chronicles the building of the second transcontinental railroad linking the Eastern United States with the Pacific Coast. Displays begin with the Gadsen Purchase of 1853 between Mexico and the United States and end with information about the present day mainline of the Union Pacific. An interesting section also gives information about the different railways which served mining towns in Southern Arizona many of which are abandoned. Docents working at the museum give a tour of Southern Pacific 1673 on Depot grounds. Admission to the museum is free but donations are appreciated.

                           Railroads of Southern Arizona

Statues of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday Tucson, Arizona

This statue shows Wyatt Earp and "Doc" Holiday ready to fight. At the Tucson Depot the Earp clan killed Frank Stillwell  (a member of the cowboys).

Background: 1879 Tombstone, Arizona, was a lawless place. Stage coaches were robbed  and murders took place on the streets. Much of this violence was caused by the "Cowboys" led by John Behan and the Clanton gang. Deputy US Marshall Virgil Earp and his brother Wyatt Earp fought to maintain order.
                 On October 26, 1881, hostilities between the Earp clan and Cowboys reached a breaking point with the famous shootout at the OK Corral. After the shootout had ended three Cowboys lay dead in the street.  In the weeks to follow surprise attacks would kill Morgan Earp and cripple Virgil Earp.  The Earps hunted down many of the Cowboys in revenge including Frank Stillwell who was killed at this very spot. (Information from Depot kiosk).

Arizona Historical Society Museum Tucson, Arizona July 16, 2013

                    Historical map of the Southwest

From now on this blog will mostly center on Arizona's museums, history and hiking adventures.

Location and General Information: At the southern  end of the University of Arizona (UA) on East 2nd Street is the Arizona Historical Society Museum. Exhibits in the museum trace Arizona's history from its founding through the Apache Wars to present day. A huge section is devoted to Tucson's history as well as mining. If you want to read everything I would allocate at least two hours to the museum. Displays are well done and very informative. The Arizona Historical Society has also preserved many original documents in an archival library used by researchers.

Entrance fees and hours:  It cost $5 per person to visit. The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10-4 pm. Parking on campus when UA is in session is very difficult I would suggest parking at the Tyndall Parking Garage or walking to campus. In future it will be possible to ride a trolley to University Avenue from downtown. This system is almost complete with test runs scheduled to take place soon.

                            Part of quilt made to celebrate Arizona's centennial 1912-2012

                                        Another section of the quilt

                                Monument Valley at the top
          

                                Colorado River Ports and history

                         Carriages were important in the United States before the automobile

                                 Cattle brands in early Arizona

                           Geronimo and his outlaw Apache warriors

            The exile of Geronimo and 43 Apache prisoners to Fort Madison in Florida and later Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

                 Cornish Miners (from England) were highly valued in Arizona mines.

               Chinese laborers throughout the west were treated very poorly. They didn't work in mines and many opened businesses.

                        Miners used Stamp Mills to help process the  ore.

                    Ed Shieffelin silver and gold prospector. Located first silver claim in Tombstone, Arizona.

                            Scale used to assay ore to determine is value.

                     Assayers chemicals

                         Stamp used to crush the ore.

                                      Display on the Battle at Piacho Peak in northern Arizona

Arizona State Museum Tucson, Arizona July 11, 2013

                                        A big basket on display at the museum

Located on the University of Arizona campus on University BLVD is the Arizona State Museum (ASM). This museum centers on the Native Americans of Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. The museum has two primary exhibits. The first gives information on 10 tribes in the region including the Seri of Mexico, Apache of Arizona, Southern Paiute of Nevada and Utah, the Tohono O' Odohan of Arizona and the Navaho. The second exhibit is centered around the impressive basket and pottery collection of the museum. In fact the ASM has over 10,000 baskets and pottery pieces from different tribes only a fraction of which are on display. Currently renovations are underway to store the artifacts under proper environmental conditions.

General Information: ASM is open everyday of the week from 10-5 except for Sunday. It costs $5 per person. I spent two hours in the museum making it very cost effective. A gift shop sells an impressive array of books on Native American history.

                          Assorted baskets on display. Love the designs of the basket.

                                      Big basket in the shape of a vase

                             Some of the tribes in Southern Arizona showing past and present home ranges

                                A display about some of the peoples who lived on the Colorado River

                        Southern Paiute known as the "Children of the Coyote"

                       Photo depicting the Skeleton Cave Massacre in 1972

                                          The Seri of Northern Mexico relied on the ocean for everything: food, transportation, and tools.

ConAir Plane Wendover Airfield July 2013

                                          Poster for film

Wendover Airfield has stored the plane used in the filming of the film Con Air.Visitors can walk inside the plane and view the cockpit. The plane has been striped of all essential components but is still interesting for aficionados of film history. Con Air itself did not win any academy awards but it still had a good cast and it offered a couple hours of entertainment. After visiting the airplane, make sure to spend a couple of hours at the World War II base.

                               Cockpit

                       Outside plane

Goshutes Hawkwatch Backpack 6/18- 6/19/2013

                                 South from the top

Location: To get to the trailhead for Hawk Watch in the Goshutes take Highway 93A 15 miles south of West Wendover to a Highway Maintenance Station on your right. Turn right onto dirt road. Follow signs with binoculars to the trailhead. In the past a passenger car would have been able to make it but in mid June the road was considerably more rough and rocky. For more information consult my June 10, 2011 post.

I was not going to leave before I did this hike again. On a clear day it is possible to see over 20 different mountain ranges from the top. Highlights include: The Stansbury Mountains to the east, Deep Creek Mountains to the southeast, and Ruby Mountains far to the west. It is also a great place to escape the Wendover heat  during the summer.  Hikers and backpackers need to carry enough water because there is none available in the range. I would suggest backpacking because the light  gets extraordinary before sunset and sunsrise. The trail to the top is three miles one way with an elevation gain of 1800 feet.  Scientists band and count hawks from late August through December. If you want to visit inquire on the Hawk Watch website.

                   Sun going down to the west. Dolly Varden range in the foreground.

                               Pilot Peak with cool tree late in the day
    

                 Looking northeast early on June 19.

                    East from the summit