Destination, Warm!

Welcome to sunny Tucson where there is no snow, and the temperatures are a bit warmer than anywhere we’ve been in the last few weeks. We were supposed to be way down at the bottom of Texas, on South Padre Island, but when we checked the forecast, the weather was not going to be good enough for a week on a ‘sunny, tropical island.’ So, we looked for another spot and headed to Arizona. We are at a KOA in Tucson and it couldn’t be nicer.

           Finally!

          As we get more experienced with travelling around and staying at different RV Parks and Campgrounds, you can tell which ones are run nicely and which ones are just an afterthought.

          This one is run very nicely. Just as you can tell when you go to buy a used car or a house, you can tell when something has been maintained properly and that the owners took pride in whatever they had. This place looks brand new but, in fact, has been here for probably 20 years or so. Our site has this nifty raised deck/shaded underneath structure complete with a fire pit and very nice outdoor furniture. If you were here in the Summer, I can see where being in the shade would be a necessity. Now it’s better up on top, where the sun heats nicely. The temperatures are warm, but when in the shade and the breeze is blowing it can actually be a little cool.

          Yesterday we visited the Titan II Missile Museum. This is the last remaining Titan II ICBM site still in its original condition, all the rest have been destroyed and filled in. There were three main areas in the USA: Kansas, Arkansas, and Arizona, each with 18 silos spread over many square miles, for a total of 54 silos. The Titan II was also the booster used to propel the Gemini Program into space in the 1960’s.

          Our tour was fascinating, kind of in a sobering way, when you find out that just one of the warheads on these missiles was the equivalent of three times the total ordnance dropped by the Allies during WWII. This was part of the Mutually Assured Destruction deterrent policy that kept everyone from pushing the button. It’s interesting to note that the acronym for that policy is M.A.D.

          “Fit’s it to a T”, I’d have to say.

          Enough of that.

          The engineering alone for these sites is fascinating as are the stories of the men and women who served in them. I highly recommend the Museum if you ever get out this way.

          Our next stop was the San Xavier del Bac Mission, which unfortunately, was temporarily closed due to Covid. The grounds were open, and the day was incredible, so we did take advantage and strolled the grounds. This is an operating parish, one with a long history. It was founded in 1692 and the present church was constructed in 1783, with the help of the local Native American tribe, Tohono O’odam, a tribe with ties that go south to the Aztecs. As you can see, it is nothing short of magnificent.