Thursday, 26 April 2018
Agave Gulch FamCamp — Davis-Monthan AFB / Tucson, AZ
Temps: 96F (36C) / 66F (19C)
We were both up again at 4:30a! What’s up with that? In my defense, I actually thought it was 5:30a ... obviously can’t see the clock well without my glasses! Going to bed at 8:30p last night probably had something to do with the early wake up this morning ;-)
The upside to the early start to the day? We got a 10,000-step walk done before the temperature started to rise. We were out soon after sunrise at 5:30a … just as the sky was losing its pink and purple streaks. It was 67F (19C) when we set off on our walk ... comfortable desert weather.
Not the best sunrise panorama, but it’s the only one I have.
The comfy conditions encouraged us to find somewhere to walk other than the considerable number of loops of the famcamp. So, we headed off towards the Boneyard ... more on that in a bit.
We couldn’t go in for a wander amongst the airplanes, however, as it is a restricted area. Instead, we followed the perimeter road with the Boneyard on one side and the golf course on the other. When we reached the main drag, we found ourselves at the outdoor aircraft display we spied when we arrived at Davis-Monthan yesterday. It’s much smaller than the one at JBSA Lackland, but perhaps more interesting because of its setting amongst saguaros and the desert landscape.
Lockheed U-2C … also referred to as the Dragon Lady or U-Bird.
It was two of these planes that obtained conclusive evidence of Russians at work
on medium range nuclear missile sites in Cuba … leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
After driving nearly 900 miles (1,440 km) in three days, today was intended for R&R. That meant that whatever we saw on our stroll this morning was all the sightseeing we would be doing while in Tucson. Having completed a good chunk of our 5-mile (8 km) walk, we dallied a bit at the exhibit, reading the signage describing the planes and taking a few photos … no camera with me, so the phone snapshots will have to suffice.
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II … 5,201 of these planes were manufactured between
1958-1984 … in a dozen sub-types. They served in the air armed forces of 11 countries.
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Left: Got to get a saguaro selfie! | POW-MIA Memorial |
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Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt … a USAF close air support attack aircraft.
Now about the Boneyard I mentioned earlier. Davis-Monthan AFB is the home of the 12th Air Force and the 355th Fighter Wing. Also based here is the 309th AMARG [Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group] … which is described as being the world’s largest aircraft boneyard and parts reclamation facility for military and government aircraft. The dry desert air of the region makes this the perfect place to store such aircraft until they need to be reactivated or cannibalized for parts.
A public domain photo of a portion of the D-M Boneyard.
When we visited Tucson back in 1997, we drove around the Boneyard in our private vehicle. But that was then. Nowadays it doesn’t matter whether you have a military ID or not, the place is off limits … unless you do one of the tours offered by the Pima Air & Space Museum … down the road a bit from D-M. On the way to Tucson, we discussed maybe taking the tour, but decided we’d skip it this time. We plan to have a longer stay in the Tucson area next year … we’ll do the official tour then, revisit some of the places we’ve seen before, and add to our sightseeing cache some of the places we didn’t get to in 1997.
Even though we were able to get clear glimpses of the aircraft lined up in formation as we walked along the perimeter fence this morning, photos wouldn’t have done justice to what we were seeing. So, I didn’t even attempt to take any pictures. Instead, here are some Google Maps satellite views.
I wonder just how many aircraft are stored at the Boneyard?
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Pretty aircraft all in formation. Can you see the choppers?
The rotating image I found on the Aerial Sphere website is also worth taking a peek at for sure.
Once we returned from our walk, our day was a quiet one — R&R and chores. After breakfast, Mui went to Costco to pick up a few things … I did a couple of loads of laundry. I was hoping to make a dent in my backlogged to-do tasks, but somehow the day got away from me. This is the downside of being on the road for multiple days in a row. Oh well … the tasks will all get done at some point.
After lunch, I settled myself on the patio to do some writing. Although it was over 90F (32C) and rising, being in the shade — with a light, cooling breeze wafting over me — it felt quite comfortable. With the shade screen and the awning cutting down on the glare, I was happy. Yes, hot is hot … but not having humidity does make a difference.
© 2004-2018 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.
I actually like waking up at 4:30 and often go to bed at 8:30 to encourage that to happen. It's so quiet and serene at that time of the morning and I'm sure to be up for the sunrise. Your phone sure does a much better job of pictures than mine. Seems strange to see planes in the saguaros. 900 miles in 3 days definitely deserves an R&R. The only time we do that is if we are doing a straight shot to Maine. It’s grueling. Those are a lot of planes in that boneyard.
ReplyDeleteLiving in a small space, early a.m. is Mui’s alone time ... late evenings give me my alone time. I find those hours quite serene. It’s a good compromise to being in each other’s pocket during the day.
DeleteI am a fan of the 830 to 430 sleeping thing, and do love the morning times most. So funny, we have driven around the Boneyard often, admired it from a distance, but somehow take it for granted when we are at Davis-Monthan. Most of our time there is spent visiting with friends and hunting for mountain hikes, although we might have a bit of trouble keeping up with your 5 mile morning walks. My knee, Mo's ankle are slowing us down a bit and 3 miles keeps us happy when we get out there. And short blogs are kind of fun sometimes. Great job keeping up.
ReplyDeleteI could do the 830 to 430 thing ... but then Mui’s not willing to switch his schedule so neither of us would have ‘personal time’ ... not good in a confined setting.
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