Fairbank

Visited the ghost town of Fairbank yesterday.  Not much remains of a town that was there because of the silver mining in nearby Tombstone.  The railroad came through and later Highway 82 that prolonged the death of the town until 1972.  Today there are only a few buildings left.

A short walk down the trail and a climb up a small hill ended at the cemetery.  

A dozen or so deserted graves.

The resting place of Matie Nelson.  Long time dead.  Long time forgotten.

My Lemmon Hwy view

Another view of that great road up Mt Lemmon.  Here is another photo.

You can see Tucson is the far distance.

Guindani Wash

Water is running in the Guindani Wash.  Since we had the all day rain on Wednesday water has been flowing.  It is so fun to walk down along the wash and pause to watch and listen.

Montezuma Pass (more photos)

A better look at the road up.  Exciting , but fun

The mesquite tree is barely hanging on.

How does an Aloe get started here?

WE are still here.

...and will be for the foreseeable future. 

1. We are welcome to stay as long as needed.
2. We are comfortable and safe.
3.  Where else would we go?  (Oregon is one of the more "infected areas right now.)
4.  Randa still needs to go back to the dentist whenever that is available
5.  We have a group of friends here for company and support if needed.
6.  Grocery shopping is an adventure no matter where you go.
7.  The weather is getting to be nicer (70s for the next week)

Conditions are volatile in these crazy times so we may need to adjust, but as my sister used to say.  "You plan the plan and then adjust when things change." 

Coronado National Memorial

    South of Sierra Vista on Hwy 92 is the turn to road to the Coronado National Memorial Park.  5 miles takes to into a tree and brush-filled canyon.  Very pretty.  The Visitor Center is rather small but nicely setup to tell the story of explorations of Francisco Vazquez Coronado into the area in 1540.  There were more than 1300 in the party that roamed throughout the area.  They wrote journals of their travels, created maps, and forever changed the people that they encountered. 
   Randa found some "cute" items in the gift shop.  The volunteer behind the counter was helpful and informative as well.  He recommended that we continue on past the VC and drive the dirt road up to Montezuma Pass.  "You will enjoy it."  He was right !  It was narrow, dirt, with many tight switchback turns.  It was Wonderful !  Great views.  The views en route and at the top were worth the trip.  I definite good thing.

If you look closely you can see the road below

   

Closing the cave

   Yesterday Randa and I worked at the Gatehouse, greeting visitors, helping them get oriented.  We told them where to park, dispensing information about the cave tours, and other park amenities.  The job is a chance to be the first person that the visitor sees and talks to when entering the state park.  It's a good thing.
    However, at 10:50 am everything changed.  We received a call from our supervisor, Kyle, at the Visitor Center.  He relayed to us that as of 11:20 the cave tours would cease until further notice.  It did not surprise us.  With what it is happening in the country right now, anything is possible.  We later read that the cave tours are not scheduled to reopen until May 8th.  That's seven weeks !
    So what happens now?  Well, we are done.  All volunteers are asked to not return to duty until the cave reopens.  Most of us will have moved on by then.  The park understands and is ok with that.  We are welcome to continue to stay here as long as we need.  The 10 person group limit means that only park personnel will be needed to run the park during this period.  The volunteers are free of any obligation.  The park has told us that we are free to stay here as long as we need to.  I safe and secure place to stay isolation and wait out the situation.  So we will.
   

Arizona State Museum

The Arizona State Museum is located on the University of Arizona campus.  A short walk from a parking spot just a few blocks away.  The displays included rooms full of woven baskets and other objects from large to very tiny; from very old to contemporary.  It was awesome.  Plus, the display was just a part of the collection.  Windows in the room showed many shelves full of other examples in an area behind the displayed items.  It would be fun to go through the entire collection with an expert.
   The was just one area.  There was a room of masks of South America.  Some were rather evil looking.  All were quite interesting.
    Another room was devoted to walls.  Yes, walls.  When you think of walls, what comes to mind?  Yes, That wall was there.  There was even an example in the room.   UGH !!     
    Another portion was about the Berlin Wall, it's life and it's destruction. 
    And then there was the Great Wall of China.  Actually, there were many walls built in China built by succeeding emperors.  A map showed more than two dozen walls stretching for thousands of miles in many directions in mostly eastern China.  Construction of some were done as early as the 3rd Century.  The latest maybe 500 years ago.  I had no idea of the extent of the construction.
  We exited the museum not because they had seen everything, but because we needed to find food.  We found a great Italian restaurant.  Salad and pizza.  Yumm.
   As for the museum.  We need to return.  There is a whole section on pottery that we did not visit.
Other tempting locations to see on campus is a telescope lens grinding lab, a museum of optics, a tree ring museum. an art museum, and also one for minerals.  Lots to see right on or near the downtown Tucson area.

Spoofs

I was just "Spoofed".  Or I should say I was almost spoofed.  Let me tell you about it.

  I received an email from "Amazon" saying that there was a problem with an order  #2100xx76 (or something like that) and I needed to open the attachment and take action to fix the problem.  Until that action was taken my Amazon account would be frozen.
   I was suspicious. 
       1.  We have no outstanding orders through Amazon.
       2.   The address on the email had my email address and another address (not amazon).as the cc.

  So I called Amazon.  They said,  "You are being spoofed.  Don't open the attachment.  We don't send out emails like that.  We are interested in stopping these things.  Please forward the email to us and we will take it from here."

   I forwarded the email right away and deleted it.  I even went to my Trash and Spam files and emptied them immediately afterward.
 
   I have since received an email from Amazon confirming receipt of my information and reaffirming their policy and handling of spoofing threats.

   Bottom line is:   If it looks fishy, it probably is fishy.  (If it looks like a fish and smells like a fish, it probably is a fish.)  When it doubt, call the company.  It may be a small inconvenience but it will save you embarrassment and money in the end.

Sunday at the Portal

Sunday was a rainy day.  It started while I was walking the boys in the dark at 5:30 in the morning.  Of course we were at the other end of the park campground so I got soaked on the way home.  The rain continued all day long.  It was raining when Jake picked me up for my job of opening the cave.  We got the Rotunda and Throne Room checked out and ready for the first tour of the day. 
    My "assignment" for Sunday was the cave portal position.  This was my first stint at the cave portal so I really didn't know what to expect.  The cave portal person stays at the cave entrance and is there to be there for assistance, opening the door for the groups going in and out.  More importantly, the cave portal position is there for unforeseen happenings.  I have been lucky enough to not have anything odd happen on any tour I have been a part of.  There have been cases of visitors fainting, or becoming ill, or in some cases, just not being able to be in a cave.  So they need to come out.  When they do come out, they are brought out by a tour guide or trailer.  When this happens, the tour is either stopped or left with only one guide, so by having a person at the portal that can help expedite the exit and transport of the guest back to the visitor center.
    The day went well.  No emergencies.  It rained the whole time so between tour groups I sat next to the space heater and tried to keep warm.  All in all, it was a good thing. 

Old Tucson

Old Tucson is a western filming location just west of Tucson.  Beside being the site of numerous TV shows and movies, it is a busy tourist destination.  We spent several hours enjoying the western atmosphere, learning more about the filming history and just have fun watching indoor and outdoor skits performed by costumed actors.  Gun fights, Can Can dancers, Stagecoach rides.

Remember "The High Chaparral" TV show ?

Main Street

Looks like the War Wagon doesn't ?

Gates Pass

   Friday we drove to Old Tucson which is a famous filming location.  I will tell you about it on another blog.   To get there we took the scenic route through west Tucson across Gates Pass.  Gorgeous area.  It reminded me of how much I love the Sonoran Desert.  The Saguaro were everywhere.  Here are some photos we took when we stopped to take in the view.


                                    The Brittlebush is starting to bloom.