WHITE DOVE OF THE DESERT…MISSION SAN XAVIER

Tuesday, March 6 PART II - A few miles north of the Titan Missile Museum is the Mission San Xavier.

A National Historic Landmark, San Xavier was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church was begun in 1783.  Notice the right tower remains unfinished even today.  Our guide said of all the theories, the reason is lack of money.

The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church's interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings.

Doorways were beautiful.

Stairs were a bit tight.

Altar

Alcove

Beautiful ceilings

Visitors step back in time and enter an authentic 18^th Century mission. The church retains its original purpose of ministering to the religious needs of its parishioners with daily services and three services on Sunday. It should be noted that the Mission is on the Indian Reservation and is considered an Indian Church. Indian Culture and Traditions are respected and tourists are asked to take this into consideration.

Even though the Church was built for the Indians, by the Indians on an Indian reservation, this is the only tribute to them.

There is no admission charge to visit Mission San Xavier. Some 200,000 visitors come each year from all over the world to view what is widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States.

Looking towards the back of the Church.

Our tour guide did an exceptional job describing the historic significance of the structure, statues, paintings, and religious significance of the Mission. This is a very beautiful Mission Church and another wonderful tour we would recommend.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

PEACE THROUGH DETERMENT …TITAN II MISSILE

Monday, March 5 – We drove from Deming, NM, to Tucson, AZ, today. We arrived at Justin's Diamond RV Park. This is a very nice park with a very friendly staff. We were actually a little disappointed that even though we called weeks ago and reserved a desert view site, not were available when we arrived. We actually delayed checking in until we could go online and check for other campgrounds. Finding none available in our price range, we decided to stay a week even though we selected a site further back from the front row desert view sites. At least these sites were larger than the front row sites.

Site #38




Looking to our left.


Looking to our right.



Tuesday, March 6 – We had a pretty exciting and fun-filled day. We started at the Titan Missile Museum.



The preserved Titan II missile site, officially known as complex 571-7, was built and turned over to the U.S. Air Force in 1963. The Titan II missile is the largest missile ever built by the United States. During the Cold War, 54 Titan missiles stood alert in their underground silos all across the country. In 1987, the last Titan II site was deactivated as a result of US/USSR treaties. Fifty-three of these silos were totally stripped of all equipment and the silos partially destroyed. They were then sold to the highest bidder. Only one Titan II site remained and was established as a museum.

We began our tour viewing a short video on the history of the Titan II program and receiving an overview of the upcoming tour. After the movie, we were led outside to visit the “topside” support vehicles and structures. Most of this equipment and machinery would have been moved off-site after the Titan missile was fueled. It was here as part of the museum presentation.




Radar Surveillance System…Often referred to as the "tipsies." These would alert the crew to the presence of intruders. In the 25-year history of the program intruders were never a serious problem.

Rocket Engines…Use liquid, hypergolic, fuel and oxidizer Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine (UDMH) and Nitrogen Tetroxide. STAGE 1…rated 430,000 lbs. thrust.



STAGE II…rated 100,000 lbs. thrust.

A highlight of the “topside” portion of the tour was looking into the silo to see the Titan II missile. Seeing the two-stage missile of over 150 feet in length mounted with its hydrogen nuclear bomb was a major experience. Part of the massive concrete hatch had been cut-away and enclosed by a glass structure so the missile was able to be viewed.


After an explanation of the “topside” equipment by the tour guide, Sam, we were led down the 55 metal steps to the underground control room. The guide simulated the high security entry into the underground facility a crew would have be expected to endure during the cold war. Obviously, this facility was a very secure military installation.

Access Portal…primary and only safe entry and exit route to or from the under ground facilities.



Once we reached the bottom of the facility, a volunteer was asked to pull open the 6,000 pound blast proof door. Of course, Marsha, was selected to open it up.....luckily she's been working out the last four months at Anytime Fitness. We then entered the control room where only four crew members worked and we on the constant ready to launch their missile if the US was attacked.


Now Sam wanted one of us to act as the launch director and Marsha was again put to work. When the simulated order from the President was received, launch codes were removed from the safe, the rocket was armed and Marsha turned the key to launch the 9-megaton nuclear missile.

Control room.

She turns the key…we have liftoff.

The group then hurried through the tunnel to the missile silo to see if the launch was successful. Nope, it was still there. There was either an equipment malfunction, Marsha didn't have the strength to turn the key hard enough, or this truly was a simulation. It sure was amazing to be at the bottom of the silo and see the Titan II missile in that silo. A pretty scary part of US – USSR history!



We then returned to the surface and were free to wonder around the above ground facility at our leisure. Overall, we would rate this tour as another style="color: red;">NOT-TO-BE-MISSED experience.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

STAR GAZING PARTY…DON'T MISS IT!

Saturday, March 2 – What an amazing evening we had!!! Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday; the McDonald Observatory sponsors a Star Gazing Party. The cost is $10/person and worth every penny! This has definitely been added to our list of highlights for 2012.

The evening started, just as it was getting dark, with a special treat. From out front of the Visitors Center, high atop of Mount McDonald (over 6600 feet), we were surprised by the passing of the International Space Station overhead. It appeared as a very bright star, traveling rapidly, directly overhead (about 250 miles high). It appeared surprising very close in the clear mountain air. The reason we can see the Space Station so clearly is due to the fact that the solar panels are the size of a football field and reflect the sun. What a wonderful start to an evening filled with one great experience after another!

Our sky during the viewing.

The group then walked to the rear of the Visitor's Center and took a seat in the Amphitheater. This would be a good time to caution readers. If you are fortunate enough to someday take-in the McDonald Observatory Star Party....DRESS WARM!!! Temperatures were dropping rapidly here at the top of the mountain and layers of clothing is highly recommended. And a nice blanket to place on those icy amphitheater stone benches was a welcomed addition.

In the Amphitheater, we were treated to a Constellation viewing experience we found truly enlightening. The young man leading this educational experience was very well prepared and by using a high intensity laser pointer, that projected a green laser line into the sky, he was able to easily point out stars, planets, satellites, and constellations overhead. We were spell-bound. The powerful laser made the constellation viewing clearer than we ever dreamed possible. This was the first time we've ever been able to actually pick-out Gemini, Taurus, and the other constellations in the starry night sky. WOW!

After the constellation viewing experience, the group was then invited to use the dozen or so telescopes to view, the moon, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and other planets in the night sky. Several powerful telescopes, permanently mounted in observatory buildings were available and additional portable telescopes were used to give everyone plenty of time to view the skies. Each telescope was manned by an Observatory professional to explain what you were seeing and to answer any questions. Our favorite was viewing the moon with the 125 telescope. What a marvelous site! It was truly a special night.

One of the viewing telescopes. (Pretty dark to take any good pictures.)

By 9:30 p.m. we were freezing. We decided to call it a night and head down the mountain and back to our campsite at Davis Mountains State Park. The Observatory was open until ten o'clock for star viewing, but we were already on sensory overload and decided it was time to venture down the dark, windy road home. We were warned to be on the lookout for deer and Javelina, known as suicide pigs, on the way home. We arrived home, without a wildlife encounter, and turned in early in preparation for tomorrow's travel to Deming, NM. We were in for one more mountain air treat....the temperatures dropped to 25 degrees overnight......YIKES!!!!!

Sunday, March 3 – We left this morning about 7:15. We arrived in Deming at 1:00 MT. We are staying one night at the Dream Catcher RV Park. This is an Escapees park. What a nice clean park. The hostess was very friendly.

We are in site 18…FHU.

To our left.

Right

Since we are only here for one night, we decided not to do any sight seeing. We opted instead to visit a winery that our friends, Jay and Betty, recommended. St. Clair Winery is New Mexico’s largest winery.

Betty explained that you can take your own half gallon jug and make your own wine combination. We thought that was pretty cool, but we didn't have the jug. No problem…for $3 they will give us one. We first tasted a variety of wines FREE. They make nine New Mexico Specialty wines. We HAD to taste four of them. Marsha feel in love with the Pomegranate. Paul tasted a few Rieslings, but wanted to make his own. He combined a sweet white wine with a dry white wine. He first got to taste his creation of 90% sweet to 10% dry. YUM! He had her make a half gallon of his own mix.

Mixing Paul's creation.

Our delicious wine.

We then went back to the MH and attended the Ice Cream Social. The folks here are very friendly. We enjoyed our short visit with them.

We are off to Tucson in the morning. We will be there for two weeks, and hope to enjoy some sun and fun.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!