Old Tucson Studio and Saguaro National Park East

We arrived at the entrance to Old Tucson Studios when they opened at 10 am.  This area was the site where scenes from many well-known Western movies were filmed.  Some of the movies that had scenes filmed there include: Joe Kidd, Outlaw Josey Wales, Tombstone, 3:10 to Yuma (the 1957 version), The Bells of St. Marys, The Three Amigos, Gunfight at the OK Corral, The Frisco Kid and many more. Several John Wayne movies were filmed here including El Dorado, Rio Lobo, Rio Bravo, McLintock and Stagecoach.  In addition, a number of television shows were recoded here including most episodes of The High Chaparral, a few Bonanza, Highway to Heaven, Little House on the Prairie, Kung Fu, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, The Big Valley and the Rifleman.  We had a two-for-one coupon in the booklet that the rental owner left for us that got both of us admitted for $20.

We took a quick guided walking tour of the property that gave us some background of the movies that were filmed here.  Our guide had a good presentation style and a lot of knowledge of the movies filmed there.  The studio was built in 1939 but wasn’t used between 1941 and 1945 due to the war.  Many of the original buildings were made of adobe and built to resemble structures that may have been found in a typical Old West town.  Over the years, there have been buildings added and torn down.  Another location in the Tucson area provides additional options for filming locations in an Old West town.  There have been few movies filmed here since the 1970s since the Western film genre isn’t experiencing the popularity that it enjoyed in the 1960s and 70s. 

We saw the train that Clint Eastwood drove through the saloon in Joe Kid.  The same train was used in Tombstone, Rawhide and the Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.  The blacksmith shop is there where Dean Martin as Dude had his head dunked in the water trough in the 1959 movie, Rio Bravo.  The old mission has been used in a number of films.  The hotel and several street scenes from McLintock were shot in Old Tucson Movie Studios.  We were most amused that the Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short movie, The Three Amigos was filmed at Old Tucson Studios.  The El Toro Cantina was covered with a stucco finish to make it look more like a Central Mexican bar. 

We watched a short film in Rosa’s Cantina about John Wayne’s time at Old Tucson.  A number of people who worked at the location spoke very well of Wayne’s personality and positive attitude.  We went through the museum where we saw costumes and artifacts that were used in many movies and television shows that were filmed there. 

As we were leaving the sky started to cloud up and it appeared that rain was threatening.  We have had rain in the forecast for the past couple of days but so far there had been no rain.  The temperature was in the low 70s but a light breeze made it feel cooler.  Since it was nearly 1 pm we were hungry and made a quick stop at a nearby Wendy’s Restaurant. 

We drove East across Tucson to the part of Saguaro National Park that we didn’t visit on Wednesday.  The park is in two sections on the eastern and western sides of Tucson.  We were at the western part on Wednesday to we wanted to visit the eastern part today. 

There was a great deal of traffic in to the area.  We didn’t know whether the larger crowd was because the east side is more popular or whether it was because today was Saturday.  Once we got past the visitor center, however, we really didn’t see a huge number of people.  We drove the loop road to the Mica View Trailhead where we hiked back to the Pink Hill Trail then followed the Javelina Wash Trail back to near the parking area.  It was a nice walk.  We noticed that the area was very different from the west side of the park.  There were fewer palo verde trees and more mesquite.  There were prickly pear, jojoba and chollo but they seemed to less dense that on the east side.  There was a definite difference in the number of saguaro cacti with the frequency much lower on the east side.  As we walked along the trail a thunderstorm blew up.  It wasn’t a concerned since the rainfall was only .01 inches.  We saw a coyote on the road and a few hawks flying that we were unable to identify.  We also saw gila woodpeckers and acorn woodpeckers, cactus wrens, towhees and one roadrunner.  We spotted many jackrabbits and a few cottontails.  We were hoping to spot a javelina but never spotted one.  We did see where they had been digging in the bottom of a wash.

When we got back to the car we continued around the loop road to the trailhead for the route to the site of the Freeman Cabin, the home of early settlers to the area.  The trail was only about a half mile and was a nice walk to the location that once held an adobe cabin.  Over the years, the adobe has been eroded to leave only a pile of clay.

On our way toward the Freeman Cabin Trailhead we spotted a beautiful rainbow so we stopped and had to take snapshots.  The area is very photogenic and it is easy to take attractive photos in this scenic area.

We went to dinner at Paco’s Mexican Restaurant on Grant Avenue, not far from our rental.  The restaurant isn’t large with only about 10 tables but the food was very good and inexpensive to we all enjoyed our meal. We returned to our rental home and crashed.  Mary & Cindy played cribbage while Mark & I watched the New England-Houston playoff game. 

Saguaro National Park and Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum

We woke around 6 am and had breakfast of eggs left by Laurie and cereal before heading toward the western part of the Saguaro National Park.  We started our visit by using our National Park Annual Pass for entry which saved $15 on park entry.  We walked around the short trails at the visitor center and read the signs that identified the types of chollo, barrel cactus, mesquite, creosote bush and palo verde bushes.  We saw many saguaro cacti of all shapes and sizes.  The number and size of the giant saguaro cacti amazed us.  Many of them were 30 or more feet tall with arms curving skyward.  Others had what we called “octopus arms” appearing misshapen from whatever forces caused them to bend in odd directions.  Under many of the chollo or mesquite bushes we saw small hedgehog cacti that are generally about the size of a teacup and in clusters of 6 to 10 cacti.  

Several birds caught our attention including a Phainopepla which reminded us of a slim and dark cardinal.  We saw cactus wrens, thrashers and a quail.  According to the naturalist at the nature center there are no snakes out at this time of year but we did see a number of small lizards scurrying about in the underbrush.  Some of these lizards were the Sonoran whiptail lizards that are so often discussed in biology books because of their method of reproduction.  Male Sonoran whiptails develop from fertilized eggs while unfertilized eggs develop into female Sonoran whiptails by a process known as parthenogenesis.  Since no male Sonoran whiptails are known to exist, female lizards lay only unfertilized eggs producing only young female lizards.  It is an interesting and unique process.

We picked up some guides to birds and cacti from the visitor center then drove out to a driving loop to view cacti.  We stopped at several trailheads and walked out to overlooks or scenic locations.  The temperatures were in the mid 70s and a light breeze made the walk very comfortable.  Although we all wore long pants we were wishing that we had chosen shorts for the day.  We stayed in the park until nearly noon then had lunch of peanut butter and crackers, carrots and fruit as we drove to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.

This largely outdoor museum was a huge display of desert plants, animals and culture.  Our visit started with a raptor show where trainers showed kestrels, peregrine falcons, grey hawks, barn owls and Harris hawks in flight and feeding.  The show was excellent and had visitors up close to the magnificent birds of prey.  We were glad that the Harris hawks were shown since we are fairly certain that they are the birds that we had seen on Monday sitting on top of power poles along Rt. 79.  From there we went to displays of cacti and other succulents all of which were well marked for identification.  

There were inside exhibits of aquatic life of Arizona streams, displays of local rocks and minerals and pollinator gardens.  When we entered the museum we expected to spend about two hours there but when we left at 5 pm when the museum was closing we still hadn’t seen everything there was to see there.  We would be happy to spend a day there any time.

Several local people we spoke with recommended Gates Pass as a place to view sunset.  We discovered that it is a very popular place with locals and tourists alike.  

We watched as the sky changed from the turquoise blue to peach to red.  It was a nice way to end the day.  A local Tucson resident who was there recommended Guadalajara Grill near our lodging for dinner so we decided to give it a try.

The restaurant was obviously popular from the traffic into the parking lot on a Wednesday night.  We were seated quickly and had salsa made to order at our table.  Cindy had a chimichanga, Mark had fajitas, Mary had a steak and I had a combo that included a tamale, a chili relleno and a gordita.  Everyone enjoyed their meal and leftovers came back with Mary & Cindy. 

It appears that we will be visiting Tombstone and some of the nearby attractions on Thursday which means an early start.  With all of the walking on desert trails today I am certain that we will all sleep well tonight.

Biosphere 2 and Casa Grande

I guess because my 60 year old body is still running on Eastern Time, I awoke at 3 am.  Not surprising since that is 5 am at home and that is my normal time to awaken.  I caught up on some things, responded to some emails and watched a couple of episodes of I Love Lucy on the living room television.

When I heard Mary stirring I made breakfast of some of the fresh eggs and homemade bread that the property owner left for us.  After cleaning up and discussing plans for the day, we went to the nearby Fry’s Supermarket which is a partner with the Kroger chain.  Figuring that we would eat evening meals out, we picked up some things that we might need for breakfast and lunch on the road visiting local attractions.  We always like to have a case of water bottles in the car trunk, especially when travelling in remote desert regions.

Steve at Biosphere 2

After a quick stop at Copper Casa to unload groceries and pack our lunch, we headed northeast to Biosphere 2 Biosphere 2 near Oracle, Arizona.  The passport book that the property owner passed along to us gave us 2 for 1 admission to the Biosphere 2 tour.  That made it $20 for both of us.  Like many tours, we started with a short film that explained what Biosphere 2 was all about.  We then walked through the glass domed structure that encloses 3.14 acres.  When the facility opened in 1991 It was used as a closed system where 8 human subjects would live in a completely self-sustaining environment where nothing, not even air or water, would enter or leave.  Today, the focus of Biosphere 2 has completely changed.  It is now owned and operated by the University of Arizona as a research laboratory where conditions on Earth can be closely simulated.  

Artificial ocean in Biosphere 2

Biosphere is no longer a completely closed system and visitors, like us, are permitted to enter and leave through the airlock doors.  A number of things surprised us about Biosphere 2 including the fact that there was no Biosphere 1 structure.  Biosphere 1 is Earth!  The Biosphere 2 was intended to model conditions that may exist on a “replacement Earth” that could be built on another planet or following an environmental disaster.  We also learned that the human habitation project was not considered a failure as the press reported.  It is true that during the two years that the 8 people lived there, the oxygen levels dropped despite the number of plants growing in the facility.  During the experiment, supplemental oxygen needed to be added to the atmosphere on three occasions.  The current explanation is that the deep concrete pad on which Biosphere 2 is built continued to absorb oxygen for many years after construction causing the atmosphere is be deficient in the gas required by the people and animals living therein.  In addition, a medical emergency required one resident to be removed from the Biosphere 2 for a few hours when she cut the tip of her finger off while gardening.  Finally, when the Biospherians left following their two year stay they were only able to take in about 2000 Calories per day which was less than what they would require to sustain them.  That all being said, the whole project was an experiment intended to teach the researchers about the challenges of recreating Earth conditions. 

Biosphere 2

Today the facility has a number of areas where University of Arizona researchers and others can investigate a variety of environmental conditions.  We learning that the technical crew working on the movie, The Martian, came to Biosphere 2 to learn what would be involved in creating an autonomous life zone on another planet.  The last thing that we learned is that Biosphere 2 was constructed using only donated private money.  Even today the project depends on donations and fees paid by tours to supplement the grants that are used to operate and maintain the research facility.

Fish hook barrel cactus

We had lunch in the parking area of Biosphere 2 which was the cheese and bread that we purchased earlier at the supermarket.  We also had Envy apples followed by our usual peanut butter on Ritz crackers as we drove north toward Casa Grande Ruins.  Along the drive we stopped a few times to admire and photograph some of the interesting vegetation, especially the many cacti.  Of course, the saguaro are the most obvious and recognizable botanical feature of this part of the desert.  However, there were many types of prickly pear cacti and we especially liked the fish hook barrel cacti that are always slightly tilted toward south and have a ring of bright yellow fruits at the top this time of year. 

Steve at a marker where Tom Mix died.

We traveled up Route 79 and passed over Tom Mix Wash, a small dry river bed where cowboy actor, Tom Mix, crashed his yellow Cord automobile in 1940 after failing to notice a detour sign.  Mix was a pioneer in the Western movie genre and set the standard for television and film cowboys for many years.

We checked in at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and bought an annual National Park pass to enter.  We have found for us that the annual pass is a much better deal than paying individual park entry since the pass will provide entry for the entire group.  Casa Grande was a very good stop for us.  We learned that the area was occupied by the Hohokam culture since about 300 BC.  These people lived in earthen structures using caliche mud along with cactus ribs and wood from the mountain area to construct their homes and other structures.  It is believed that the current structures on the 400+ acre area were constructed around 1350 and had over 2000 residents in four separate walled communities.  Each community had a seven foot tall packed mud wall encircling a number of single story dwellings, oval ball and game courts, cooking areas and many other aspects of daily life.  Casa Grande is unique by having a large three story building at the center of one of the walled communities.  It is not known the purpose for this large structure although there are several openings that are aligned to astronomical phenomena including one hole in the six foot thick outer wall that is aligned to the summer solstice.  Another one is set to observe the lunar standstill that occurs every 18.6 years. 

600 year old structure at Casa Grande

When Casa Grande was discovered by Spanish explorers in 1694 the area was long abandoned.  It is speculated that the Hohokam culture dispersed from Casa Grande around 1450.  It is believed that the culture formed or assimilated into many tribal nations that still exist in the region today.   Today, the area is protected as a National Monument and has a steel structure over the 700 year old mud building to protect against further degradation.  We had a nice tour with a small group that was very informative and interesting.  After the tour, we walked around on our own taking some snapshots and reading the interpretative signage along the paths and exhibits. 

We left Casa Grande to make a quick stop by the nearby Walmart to buy a cheap Styrofoam cooler to take lunch and drinks over the next week.  We saw that there was an Earthcache along a road leading from Casa Grande to I-10 so we decided to stop.  This cache was showing how much the land has subsided near an irrigation well.  As water was removed, the surrounding soil level has dropped over 24 inches.

Sunset in the desert

On our drive toward Phoenix us I-10 we could tell that the sunset was going to be beautiful.  We knew that we had a good bit of time before we had to pick Mark & Cindy up at the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix so we made a stop to take some snapshots.  As the sun set it changed from bright blue to include clouds with peach colored bottoms that eventually became bright red.  It was spectacular.  Although their flight wasn’t scheduled until 7 pm we arrived at the airport’s cell phone lot a little after 6 pm and enjoyed the evening.  We picked them up outside the baggage claim area and headed south toward our B&B in Tucson.  We stopped for a good and fun dinner at Buca de Beppo.  Mark & Cindy ordered baked rigatoni and we got my usual Italian choice, chicken parmesan.  Meals there are family style so we shared some of all and still had a large portion of rigatoni to bring back to the room. 

Mark & Cindy seemed to like Copper Casa and picked out their rooms before we all turned in for the night.

Arriving in Tucson

We were excited to get underway for our trip to the Southwest.  Seeing temperatures of 8 degrees on our outdoor thermometer made us even more anxious to get to southern Arizona.  We finished closing the house out to be away by turning the whole house water off, as well as the water heaters, router and unplugging major electronics.  We were out the door and on the road before 7 am.  We learned that Mark & Cindy would arrive in Mesa at 6:30 on Tuesday.  The ice in Eugene and Portland cancelled all of the flights to and from Western Oregon airports on Monday.

It took about two and half hours to get to Cincinnati on the AA Highway.  We stopped at the Cincinnati Museum Center to pick up our renewed membership cards.  The museum membership will get us free or discounted admission to many museums in Arizona.  We were at Sarah’s house before 10:30 and enjoyed an hour of playing cars with Peter.  We read a couple of books and had a nice lunch of Sarah’s chicken corn soup.  We delivered their Christmas presents that we had been holding for them and most of Sarah & Greg’s birthday presents. We left their house at noon to drive to the airport.

There wasn’t much traffic at that time of day so we arrived at the parking area around 12:20.  We are trying a discounted parking service at the Hilton Hotel in Florence, Kentucky.  They offer airport parking including a shuttle to and from the terminal for $3 per day.  We even found an online coupon bringing cost down a little.  The service is called OneStopParking.  We parked at the hotel then waited for the shuttle which runs every half hour.  Boarding at 12:30 put us at the terminal by 12:50 or so.  Checking in with Allegiant was quick and easy.  We were a little concerned about our bag’s weight but it turned out to weigh two pounds under the 40 pound limit.  Our TSA PreCheck status let us go through security quickly and easily. 

The flight from Cincinnati to Tucson boarded on time and appeared to be completely full.  When we were preparing to push back from the gate the captain came on the speaker informing us that departure would be delayed because “there are some screws loose in the right engine”.  One of my seatmates commented that his announcement wasn’t exactly comforting.  The repair and accompanying reports took a little over 30 minutes and we were underway.  Mary was seated in the row behind me because Allegiant charges a fee to choose seats together.  I enjoyed chatting with the two fellows in my row.  One was a young man who had recently relocated from Columbus, Ohio back to Phoenix where his family lives.  He told me that his grandparents came to Tucson in the 1940s from Red Jacket and Matewan, West Virginia.  The other man was a transplant to Phoenix from Kentucky over 12 years ago.  He runs the table games at one of the Native casinos in the Phoenix area.  Both were interesting people and made the four hour flight go faster.

At the Phoenix airport Mary waited on our checked bag while I picked up the rental car.  I was glad to get a new Camry.  Although black didn’t seem to be the best choice for the desert climate we were glad to have a nice car for the week. I returned to baggage claim so Mary could contact to the B&B owner to let her know our timetable.  It took about two hours to get from the airport in Mesa to our B&B including a stop at a fast food drive through. 

We were met at Copper Casa by the owner, Laurie, at 7:30.  She was very pleasant and showed us everything that we might need to know.  The house is a tastefully decorated three bedroom, two bathroom home in a quiet Tucson neighborhood that is not far from connections to the highway and many attractions that we plan to visit.  The house is well equipped with linens, dishes, cookware and anything we might need for our stay.  Laurie even provided home-baked bread and a bowl of eggs from “her girls.” We tried to stay up by watching television but went to bed a little after 9 pm.  Since it was 11 pm back at home, our bodies were telling us that is was time for bed. This was our first stay at an AirB&B rental but everything seems great.

We will plan a outing for Tuesday that will put us in Mesa by 6:30 to pick up Mark & Cindy.  The weather here is forecast in the mid 70s so we are looking forward to the day.