See the USA in an Airstream!: September 2015

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Tucson, September 12-13, 2015

Saturday was another 90+ degree day, and we planned to drive about 55 miles to Tombstone, AZ. We arrived about 11 a.m., and our first visit was to the historical courthouse which has become a historical museum. With tickets to view the enactment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, we took a step back into the wild west of the 1800's and watched Doc Holliday, Morgan, Wyatt, and Virgil Earp take on Frank and Tom McLaury, and Billy and Ike Clanton. Both Virgil and Morgan Earp were badly wounded, and Doc Holliday suffered a superficial hip wound. Only Wyatt Earp walked away unhurt. As a side note, the gunfight did not occur in the O.K. Corral, but in the 18-foot-wide lot BEHIND the O.K. Corral. After the reenactment we had tickets for the Tombstone Historama, which gave a good history of the Town Too Tough To Die. As a final activity for the day, we took a tour of the town's important sites in a stagecoach. It was a fun day.

Sunday was our last day in Tucson. Judy Conway came over after lunch and visited and we gave her a tour of the Far Horizon club house. Later in the afternoon we drove to the Saguaro National Park (east location). The saguaro has been called monarch of the Sonoran Desert, a symbol of the American Southwest, and a plant with personality. Since 1933 this giant cactus has been protected within Saguaro National Park. Preserved within the park are other members of the Sonoran Desert community: other cacti, desert trees and shrubs, and animals. It is one of the hottest and driest regions on the continent. Summer midday temps commonly climb above 100 degrees; less than 12 inches of rain falls in a typical year.

Saguaros grow very slowly, a seedling may measure only 1/4 inch. After 15 years it may be barely 12 inches tall; At 30 years they begin to flower and produce seeds. At 50 years they can be as tall as seven feet. At 75 years it may sprout its first branches or arms which begin as prickly balls and then extend out and up. By 100 years the saguaro may reach 25 feet. Saguaros that live 150 years or more attain the grandest sizes, towering 50 feet and weithing 16,000 pounds.

The park has 7 hiking trails of varying length and the visitor's center has 2 movies about the park.
It was a very enjoyable end to our stay in Tucson.

Tucson, AZ September 9 - 11, 2015

We stayed at the Far Horizons RV Resort in Tucson, and on Thursday we visited Judy Conway and enjoyed visiting with her. We went to dinner at a very nice Mexican restaurant and she gave us suggestions as to places to visit while we are here.

On Friday our first visit was Mission San Xavier del Bac, a national historical landmark and the only remaining intact mission in AZ. It is considered the finest example of Mexican Baroque architecture in the US. It remains a working parish for the Tohono O'odham people, many of whom live nearby. It was founded in 1692 by Jesuit missionary Fr. Eusebio Francisco Kino. The current structure was begun in 1783 by Franciscan Father Velderrain. In 1978 the Patrano San Xavier was formed by a group of Tucson citiens for the sole purpose of restoring and preserving the church. The mission remains a working church. The Franciscan pastor and the parochial vicr provide spiritual leadership to the parish, and services occur throughout the week.

Next to the Mission is the mission school run by the Franciscan Sisters of Charity and it operates grades K-8. As a historical note, Fr. Kino's statue is in the Capitol building, and is one of two representing Arizona.

After lunch we decided to visit the Arizona Desert Museum. What a shock to discover that it was an OUTDOOR museum, and the temperature was a toasty 96! Luckily the restrooms had suntan lotion dispensers, and water fountains throughout the park were numerous. We especially enjoyed the hummingbird area and the aviary. We also enjoyed seeing the mountain goats. The flowers and the cacti were numerous and the paths were well marked and for the most part paved. This museum is ranked in the top 10 of places to visit in Arizona. We didn't realize just how far from the campground we were, and the trip home seemed endless.

That evening we visited good friend, Charlotte Cox. Another wonderful visit!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Jasper National Park - 2

Athabasca Falls

Highway 93 in Jasper Park

More Goats!

Add caption

Heading back to the Hinton KOA

Lodge at Lake Malegne

Athabasca River

More falls!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Pictures - Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada

Welcome to Jasper

The Visitor's Center

Unusual to see no RV's parked along here!

Athabascar River

Sumwapta Falls

Mountain goats

A big buck!

Young buck

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Back in the USA!

August 31 we crossed back into the USA and stayed in Shelby, Montana. September 1 we bucked stiff winds all the way to Helena Montana where we stayed for two days. We rode the tour train and visited the original Governor's Mansion. Having been on a pretty busy schedule, it was nice to relax and catch up on groceries, wash, etc. Our travel itinerary over the next week was as follows:

Thursday 9/3 we drove from Helena, MT to Idaho Falls, ID

Friday 9/4-9/5 we camped at Springville/PROVO, UT

Sunday 9/6-9/7 were spent at the St. George/Hurricane UT KOA, definitely in the mountains! No TV, no wifi. While we were there, we explored the Silver Reef mine museum outside of Leeds, UT. It had been a busy mining town (silver) in the 1860-1900 time frame with a peak population of 1800 people. The only original building still standing is the original Wells Fargo office which has been in use almost continually since being built. We had a tour of the museum and took pictures in the area.

On Tuesday 9/8 we camped at the Kingman, AZ KOA.

On Wednesday we pulled into the Far Horizons Tucson RV Resort. Very nice!

Will expand on our time in Tucson in my next post.

Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada

We said goodbye to the Burkard relatives and left Camrose on Tuesday, 8/25 and headed for Hinton KOA, about 42 miles from the town of Jasper. The campground is only a few miles from the gate to the National Park. On Wednesday we had breakfast in the Tim Horton's in Jasper, and then drove to the Columbia Ice fields for our Glacier Adventure. We got to the Ice Fields Center at 11:30 and the first available tour was at 2:15. At 2:00 the tour started boarding the shuttle bus to take us to the Ice Field, a short 4 minute drive. From this commuter bus we boarded an Ice Explorer, a massive vehicle specially designed for glacial travel that took us out onto the Athabasca Glacier. I don't like heights, but this machine took us down one of the steepest gravel roads in North America. We traveled to the glacier by ice road and spent 20 minutes walking on the glacier, which is a river of ice about 30 stories deep! The atmosphere was very smoky due to the forest fires in the state of Washington. It made it impossible to get clear pictures of the mountains, and was so thick that many

travelers experienced breathing issues or sore eyes. The temperature was 64 degrees when we were on the glacier, but it seemed much colder on the glacier with a strong wind.

Thursday 8/27 our goal for the day was to see the two famous waterfalls in the park. As we drove past the city of Jasper, we saw a doe with two fawns walking along the hiking trail at the edge of the road. No camera in sight! Our first stop was the Sunwapta Falls, 35 miles from Jasper. The falls were forced through a narrow chute, and were very loud. On our way back toward Jasper we stopped at Honeymoon lake and met a therapist from Florida who was on a biking tour with 18 other people. We had lunch near Mt. Kerkeslin. After lunch we were getting ready to leave when we saw some mountain goats grazing near the road. We got pictures this time! Our last stp was the very crowded Athabasca Falls.

Friday the KOA hosts suggested a drive to Maligne Lake which Readers Digest named one of the top 10 scenic routes in Canada. It was cloudy and only 62 degrees. We had planned to take a boat trip on the lake, but nixed that idea as it started raining and got quite windy. We had lunch in the lodge and then drove into Jasper and enjoyed the town museum.

Saturday was designated as the day to shop and explore the town of Jasper. We couldn't leave the area without at least seeing the Skytram! We saw it, but didn't ride it. Sunday we left Hinton and the Jasper National Park on Highway 93 through Banff to Canmore. A rainy, foggy day!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Mirror Lake, Camrose Alberta

Mirror Lake, aptly named

This path goes all the way around the lake. Very nice!

The town of Camrose has a beautiful lake
right in town with a walking trail all around
and an Ice Cream stand and park! We really
enjoyed the walk AND the ice cream.