Exploring old towns- Shoot-Outs, Copper Mine, Sledding on Sand dunes

After leaving Ashley’s in early January, we ended in a small town called Benson in Arizona. We went to visit Aunt Jean and Red who full time RV and spend the winters in AZ. This place is about 40 minutes from Tucson. Mark really wanted to go to Tombstone for the historical value because of things that actually happened there. We saw one shoot out in a bar that supposedly Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday were involved in. We also saw a shootout at the OK Corral. Tombstone presented a giant diorama that moved on a stage to explain why Tombstone was a town that would never die. Since it was a cold weekend for people in Arizona, it was about 45 degrees, very few of the stores were open. We did have a great lunch at Big Nose Kate's saloon; she was Doc Holiday's girlfriend. The atmosphere was fun with live music and lots of bad jokes about the old west as well as girls dressed up in the time period. One day we went to the PIMA Air and Space Museum as part of Davis Mothan AFB. We spent almost three hours in the first hanger looking at old memorabilia and there were five hangers. Mark was in his glory. He found patches from squadrons he was in through his military career as well as a plane that he probably brought parts to at Upper Heyford, England. This was not my favorite spot, but I was a good sport since it was something Mark really was interested in.  Next stop with Aunt Jean and Red was Bisbee Copper Queen Mine Tour where we were issued hard hats, vests, and lamps to see inside the copper mine. We rode one of the original miners' trains and got to get off and explore the chutes, the equipment, the copper veins, gold and malachite. It was a really cool experience; I was impressed with the reality of what the underground miners did on a daily basis. They no longer do underground mining and do open pit mining now. We also spent a lot of time visiting and playing games. 

         After our visit and lots of games and food, we headed to White Sands, New Mexico. We are in a nice campground that is centrally located to a lot of fun attractions. When we arrived the water hose decided it had enough, so we had to buy a new one that doesn't leak like a river. The first stop after this was to the White Sands National Park to experience an incredible area. It is considered one of the Earth's most stunning natural wonders. We took in two short hikes to see the natural vegetation that grows and another up and around the rim of sand dunes. We also had the opportunity to go sledding down the sand dunes. It was really difficult at first to get the sled moving. It was exhilarating when we found a trail that had been worn down and provided a very quick trip down the hill. It looked like you were on snow, but I had a long-sleeved shirt on was perfectly warm. When I fell off the sled, the sand was cold to the touch, but it was also very fine sand. 

    Another day we went to see the World's largest pistachio and toured the farm. I never knew how pistachios were harvested. It was very informative when the pistachios are ripe, they do a shake and gather method. They shake the individual tree for a very short while and then a net catches the nuts. If a pistachio does not come off during this process, it is called a mummy pistachio. The company we were at packages 15 different flavored pistachios, many goodies made with pistachios to include ice cream, fudge, candy and even some wine since there is a winery also on the property. That same day we drove to 3 Rivers Petroglyph site. We went on a very rocky trail to rocks that were etched with significant images from the Jornada Mogollon people from 900-1400 AD. It was pretty awesome to see so many petroglyphs in a concentrated area. Neither of us knew what a petroglyph was until we went on this adventure. We ended this day at Carino's for dinner which is one of our favorite restaurants. When we were driving in to town, we both saw the billboard at the same time and stated we knew where we were having dinner. 

        Adventures galore in this area included going to Holloman Air Force Base. We could not stay at this base because the Fam Camp has first come first serve policy and we had been told it was usually full this time of year. We have used the commissary on base for groceries more on this trip than we have in the past five years. I don't like to grocery shop, I would go to the base and have to pick up stuff downtown anyhow, so it was easier to just go downtown. The day we went to the base, we also went to the Space Museum since New Mexico has a lot of history with the first nuclear missile launch and many pieces of equipment were tested here before being used by NASA. There was a star trek exhibit where Mark posed in the transport. It was a fun outing and very informative as well.

        Nearby was a Valley of Fire State Park which boasts some of the newest lava flows in the US. It resulted in lava across about 44 miles of landscape. The lava flow provides a habitat for many animals and bird species. This was very interesting to see what mother nature can produce. This day was also when we went to the Smokey the Bear National Museum. Smokey the Bear slogans started in 1940's. There was a wildfire out here in the early 1950's and a small bear cub was rescued with severe burns to his paws. He was named Smokey because of the wildfire, after he healed, the people petitioned to have him become the live real Smokey the bear. He lived his life out at the National Zoo in Washington DC. When he died, they returned his body to Capitain, NM where he has a grave and a plaque dedicated to him. Did you know that the only other character that is more well known than Smokey the Bear is Santa Claus? That was one of the facts, I learned while there.

            The Hunts have been chasing 70 degree days and no snow, but we have failed at both in the last two weeks. The temperature has been about 55 which is still warmer than ND. We have had several freeze warnings. When at a campground with a freeze warning, they ask you to unhook the water hose at night. We had filled our freshwater tank and are okay to use that or use our heated water hose. We woke up this morning to three inches of wet heavy snow. We will be heading to Texas this week and hope the winter storm is done with that area. We have about two more months on the road before we head back north.