Gates Pass, Tuscon Museum, and Saguaro National Park

Gates Pass -

this is a breathtaking pass that climbs a mountain, gives you a nice view, and is FULL of the Saguaro cactus plants.

The saguaro just march up the mountain's side, to the snow capped peaks, resulting from the very rare snow, sleet and rain that we experienced..

Here is Luke standing beside one of the tall cacti. These grow about 30 to 40 feet tall, and take about 70 to 80 years to get that tall.

We spotted this Phainopepla sitting on an Ocotillo.  He has beautiful red eyes and a great crest.

This Teddy Bear Cholla looks like a blooming white plant from the roadside.

But this is no ordinary roadside plant - this guy means business!

Here is a Fishhook Barrel Cactus, putting out bright yellow blooms.

The Tucson Desert Museum -

Luke visited this fantastic museum without me.  I was feeling a little yucky in the morning and decided to stay home.

The setting is, of course, the desert.

The museum has a zoo, so folks can see the desert animals up close.  Many of them are nocturnal.

So, the desert has sleepy Jaavelinas.

Wolves

Black bears - our backdoor neighbor said he saw one wandering through the RV park this morning!

Panthers - apparently these guys are plentiful.

Cuddling bobcats

Big Horn Sheep

and Otters, among others.  No, otters definitely don't live in this part of the desert, but the desert actually runs from the Gulf of Mexico into Canada.  So there is a diversity of life in the entire desert.

Luke saw the open air free flight raptor show -- several trained hawks making low passes over the crowd, and this big owl pausing on a saguaro.

There was also a walk-in humming bird aviary, where he caught these great pictures of humming birds.

There is a fossil exhibit in a man made cave, complete with stalagmites, stelagtites and running mater.

And of course, more cactus. I don't know for sure what this one is as my pull-out pocket guide isn't as clear as it might be.

The Saguaro National Park

We had already seen a lot of desert, but were glad we went here, too. 

That plant in the foreground is a Ocotillo.   It's claim to fame is that the leaves stay tightly against the barbed stems of the plant until rain or sun are available. At the right times, the leaves open up.  Too much sun or rain, they clam up again.  The desert plants are still loving the moisture from the snow we got.

Many of the cacti are beginning to bloom.  This ocotillo has red buds at the top of the stems, getting ready to open.

We saw this beautiful bird on one of the saguaro.  I don't know what it is, but I have a message in to one of Beth's friends who knows the locals birds well.

The saguaros here seem taller.

Maybe it is just the sheer number of them!

A couple of hikers among the saguaros.

This lizard scampered past us in his quest for shade.

Not sure if this cluster is Pincushion cacti or a Glory of TX cacti.  It's a lovely trio and look at the purple thorns!

Probably my favorite in the park is a large rock pile that has numerous Native American petroglyphs. I love the ground squirrel lounging on the top of this pile.

This is one from the top of the "mountain"

We had a great time in Tucson, visiting Beth and sightseeing.  The RV park where she winters is for active adults 40+.  Boy, are they active!  Bike clubs (think 30 mile daily rides), yoga and tai chi classes, potlucks, dances, photography group, writing club, and on and on.  We went to one 60's music dance and Luke went to a writing meeting where the members read their short stories. Luke said they were wonderful.  Unfortunately, we missed Elvis' performance because we were out to dinner with Beth and a few of her friends.  We hated to leave today.  We considered going there next winter but Tucson is 2100 miles from home, a lot further than FL.  We shall see but I expect we'll spend next winter in FL.  But for now, we are at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument campground.  Sightseeing here starts tomorrow!

The Organ Mtns of NM and Tuscon

Our last day in El Paso we toured the Organ Mountains.  I know you're surprised but again this is a starkly beautiful range.

Spring is springing, though, and more and more cacti are blooming.

That evening we had "New Mexico Mexican" food with our friends that we met in New Orleans. 
The New Mexico Mexican food focuses on the green chilies, not the red.  Very tasty!
They also have an electric bike shop and let us do test rides.  Definitely not like the old 3 speed!  We liked the bikes.

Luke has scored big with the war plane exhibits this trip.  First was White Sands Missile Range.

Next, the War Eagles Museum in El Paso.

 And in Tucson, he spent 2 afternoons at the PIMA museum.  Per Luke, an unbelievable collection of aircraft, acres outside, and 6 big hangars inside. One hangar was the 390th Air Force Museum, featuring a B17 bomber, of the type that was the work-horse of the allied bombing campaign in Europe. There was a real live veteran pilot there that started flying missions over Europe in 1943 at the age of 20! 28 missions over Europe. At 95 years old, he looked like 80! Apparently bombing missions could be as large as 900 airplanes. Loss rate was about 5 % per mission, making 25 missions improbable. He said they sent crews home after 25, but were low on people so they kept him for 28. Unbelievable! The picture below is of a B-36 - post war intercontinental bomber - 6 radial engines, 4 jet engines.

Being the loving,considerate wife that I am, I allowed him to go alone and spend alllll the time he wanted! :-)

We are staying at the same RV park as sister-in-law Beth, which is great!  She arranged a spa day for us yesterday afternoon.  Perfect.  Today we will run off to Petco, Cosco, and Sprouts. 

Last night it rained, hard.  It was supposed to rain all night and then all day today.  When I awoke this morning, I was surprised to not hear rain.  Guess it has stopped....nope, changed to snow -- in Tucson! So much for spring...

We have a little over an inch on the car and the cacti.

Not that one of us cares....

It's still snowing, supposed to last into the afternoon.  This evening we plan to go out to dinner with Beth and 2 of her favorite couples.  Looking forward to that!

McDonald Observatory, White Sands NM, The Space Museum, The Wall, and Franklin Mtns

Off early in a mad rush to get to Ft. Davis in time for the first of our two programs at McDonald Observatory. We made the 107 miles, checked into our campground, got the necessary papers, and made it to the Observatory JUST in time, at 10:50!  But that is what counts, we got there!

Our morning program was a presentation and then a visit to see their 107 inch telescope, one of many that the facility has.  Here is the telescope.  The white "fabric" across the top is the cover that retracts to allow access to the stars.

And how large is it?

The Davis Mountain range was chosen for the observatory because of a couple of things  - the land was a free gift from a local family and for the dark sky environment.  Look at the landscape - nothing to light up the sky for miles and miles.

Between the morning program and our "Star watch party" at 7:30 we drove along the back roads.  The cacti are beginning to bloom.

This blimp was pretty exciting. Turns out that this is a balloon surveillance system used by the US Border Patrol.  These "Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems" are to monitor for low-flying aircraft or drones near the border.

Our night program started after dark and was outside in the cold night air.  The presenter showed us the constellations and star clusters and such.  About 6 telescopes were available for everyone to look through.  It was fun but cold, even with our winter thermals and a blanket to sit on.  No pictures, couldn't ruin the dark sky!

Next stop, El Paso.  We found our campground and a grocery store.  Smoke settled into what is apparently now HER seat.

Yesterday we started by exploring White Sands National Monument.  The "sand" is actually gypsum, soft and white.  When we first got into the park, the sand was mixed with some plant life.  The plants are always trying to regain a hold at the edge of the sand dunes.  The road at this point is still paved

After about 3 miles of this 8 mile road, the road is unpaved and the sand coats everything.

Luke the sand dune climber!

The sand is ever changing with the wind.  The park uses a plow to keep roads open.

One of the posted regulations is "no alcohol allowed in the park between Feb 1 and June 1".  We were a little confused by that time frame and asked --- spring break!  With 4 collages in the area, spring break had gotten out of control.  The ranger said that the alcohol regulation made a world of difference!

A few miles further at Alamogordo is the Space Museum.  Luke really wanted to see it, so that was next. The museum emphasized the rocketry history of White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base. Here some of the examination and reverse engineering of the German V1 and V2 was done. It was pretty amazing that the German technology was the basis for all our rocketry and guidance systems through the Apollo program. I had no interest in wandering the 4 story museum so Luke  took a couple of hours to explore and I sat in the car and knit.  Happiness for both of us!

Today we drove the scenic road along the Franklin Mtns.  This road overlooks the cities of El Paso (population 800,000) and Ciudad Juarez (population 2M).  The cities border each other and between the two of them, they stretch far out into the desert and up the side of the mountain range.

Yes, The Wall runs between them.  In the picture below you will see a road on each side of the picture.  At this point, the Rio Grande appears to be split into 2 channels, one on each side of the wall. The river is dry because the water has been taken for irrigation.  The center concrete "island" between the two channels holds the Wall that bends around from the left side.  You may have to enlarge the picture to really see it.  This was taken from a long distance, therefore the so-so quality and color.

Another picture of the wall shows it bending in a U-shape between the countries.

Hearing about the wall and actually seeing it are quite different and evoke a mixture of feelings.

We drove to the Franklin Mtn. State Park and enjoyed the beautiful mountain range.

Leaving the mountains, Luke noticed an ominous red light on the car's dash.  So, we found an excellent dealership who agreed to check it out on the spot. This is never where you want to be on vacation, 1800 miles from home...

Unfortunately she needs a repair and they don't have one of the parts in stock.  Fortunately, they can get one in time for a Monday repair and we can drive the car in the meantime.  Unfortunately, it is not cheap.  But she has been a good car and needed virtually no repairs since we bought her in 2012, so we feel somewhat better about it.

On a happier note, when we got back to the RV we discovered that the orchid has bloomed!  One bloom out, 15 more to go!  Good orchid!!

Tomorrow we plan to do a little more sight-seeing and then have dinner with a couple we met while we were in New Orleans.  Sunday I am watching the Daytona 500!!! woot woot!! Monday is the big repair and then on Tuesday we go to Tuscon to spend a week visiting with sister-in-law Beth at the RV park where she spends the winter.