The Cold War and Desert Adventures (Tucson, Arizona)
April 21st-24th
Just south of Tucson, we stopped at the Titan 2 Missile Museum. I’m not a big fan of military history (Fabien is the one who’s very into space and airplanes) but I found the place fascinating and unsettling at the same time. The Titan 2 was the largest land-based missile ever used by the U.S. and was built in the 1960s in response to the former Soviet Union’s missile program. There were 54 Titan 2s in the US capable of being launched from underground with nuclear warheads. Thankfully none of them were ever used. All of the sites were destroyed except this one which was preserved as a museum and is now a national landmark.
Our guide, a retired Marine, was extremely knowledgeable about the program. After visiting the site above ground (which included the antennas for outside communication,) we went down into the control room and the silo where the missile was held. Our guide picked me to be the captain of the mission, and I got to press the controls that would launch a nuclear warhead. I didn’t get a rush of excitement from the experience. While the technology is fascinating, it’s still hard to comprehend that man has the knowledge to destroy the world. We took it all lightheartedly as and we were reminded of the frightening dangers during the Cold War.
From the museum, we crossed Tucson and headed towards Catalina State Park where we planned to camp. The park was about 15 miles northeast of Tucson, and we were expecting a small country road with few services. In fact, the road to get to the park was fully developed from the city until the entrance of the park with shopping centers, housing developments and traffic lights. Urban sprawl at its best! Once inside the park, however, we were isolated from the sights and sounds of the city. From the shady campground, we could admire the surrounding mountains.
We were still in a desert landscape- though we had left the Chihuahuan and entered the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert clearly has more precipitation, evidenced by the abundant vegetation. The Sonoran desert and Arizona are famous for the looming Saguaro Cactus. The cactus with its woody inner skeleton can grow to impressive heights. It buds “arms” at a certain age. Some of the cactuses have taken on human qualities…the Native Americans thought that they resembled human beings. In the Saguaro National Park (that has two parts on the east and west side of Tucson), we could see some of the cactuses in bloom. They make a small yellow flower, and then a fruit which natives use to make a syrup and wine for ceremonial purposes. There were also a lot of ocotillos in bloom, another type of cactus which produces a pretty purple/reddish flower. We saw the looming saguaros all over Tucson and later on the roads leading towards the north of the state.
Tucson’s historic center or “El Presidio” district was colorful, if not very lively. It has become a habit of ours to get a self-guided walking tour to explore the historic districts, so we went to the very colorful tourist office to pick up a guide. We started with the Spanish Colonial Style Pima County Courthouse before venturing into the Presidio, or the original Spanish fortifications which had a small exhibit on the history or Tucson’s inhabitants. Tucson was in Mexican territory until the 1880s when Arizona was annexed by the U.S. and today its Mexican influences live on. We wandered through some gorgeous galleries in the Telles Block (now called Old Town Artisans) where we sat in the shady courtyard and drank hibiscus lemonade. The heat was starting to take its toll on us. We also visited the newly restored railroad depot which has a historic steam locomotive on display. I gave Fab a good laugh when I told him that downtown Tucson was “neat”; apparently, I’ve run out of interesting ways to describe new places. That’s one of the unfortunate effects of traveling for a long period…things start to look the same.
Our third day in the Tucson area, the Saturday before Easter, we visited another unusual attraction, Biosphere 2. Biosphere 2, near Oracle, Arizona was originally as a hermetically sealed self-sustaining ecological system with the purpose of studying the possibilities of human habitation in space. It includes five biomes, a rainforest, an ocean with coral reef, mangrove wetlands, a savannah grassland and a fog desert. It also included an agricultural system, a human habitat and an underground “power” house. The first mission, with a crew of eight, ran from 1991 to 1993. The crew had to grow their own food and recycle their air, water and waste with no physical contact with the outside world. The project was eventually shut down and today Biosphere 2 is managed as a unique research laboratory by the University of Arizona. The research is heavily focused on environmental issues particular to the region, including water, soil erosion, and solar energy.
To continue with our “science geek” day, we went to a “Star Party” at the state park that evening. It was organized by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Club. We were very impressed with their knowledge and passion for astronomy. Unfortunately, after what seems like weeks of cloudless days, the evening was relatively cloudy. One of the spectacular sightings from the evening though was Saturn. It was just at the right position that through a high-powered telescope, we could see its rings and two moons.
Easter Sunday, we woke up early like every other day to a cool, sunshiny morning. We had breakfast, packed up camp, and went for a last hike in the park to get our blood flowing before the drive to Phoenix.
Tags: Arizona FR, BIG TRIP 2011, In English 2005-2006
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