Kitts Peak

Southwest of Tucson about 120 KM away sits Kitts Peak observatory. In 1957 this peak was picked to build the premier observatory in the US. Very dry air, hardly any clouds, and very little lights from towns made this a great spot to build telescopes.

There are 24 optical telescopes and 2 radio telescopes at Kitts Peak. This is the largest array of telescopes at one spot in the world. Almost any kind of space observation is done here from Solar observation to Near Earth Object tracking (watching for dangerous space objects that could hit the earth) to looking for planets like earth in deep space.

Some of the observatories are open to look at and the first one we went to see was the Solar observatory. Its a huge building standing 100 feet above ground and 350 feet below ground. It tracks the sun during the day and collects data about sun spots, solar flares and temperature changes on the surface. This was one of the first observatories built in the early 1960's.

The building consists of a 500 foot long tube mostly in the ground. At the top a large mirror tracks the sun and reflects its image into the tube and down to a reflecting mirror.
The mirror at the bottom of the tube reflects the suns image back up the tube to another mirror which sends the image to the monitoring equipment. There visual images as well as infrared images provide data about what the sun is doing. The whole giant tube is cooled to prevent internal heat waves from distorting the images.

The biggest observatory, and the only one visible from Tucson is the 4 meter Mayall telescope. When it was built it was the second largest telescope in the world with a 4 meter wide reflecting mirror. Although built in the 1960's its still one of the best telescopes in the world and in great demand by astronomers around the world.

The mirror alone weighs 36,000 lbs with the whole mechanism weighing 250 tons. When the roof is opened and the telescope in use, light comes in striking the large concave mirror in the white part. It then reflects back up to the smaller mirror in the black tube. The light is then reflected back down through an 18" hole in the middle of the primary mirror. Collecting instruments then send the images onto photographic plates or computer screens. Tracking data can be entered by computer and the telescope will automatically track an object across the sky.

The building is huge. The door in the roof which opens to allow light to enter is about 4 garage doors wide and about 24 high and the whole round part rotates with the telescope.

Not all observatories are open for viewing but you can walk almost anywhere to see them. Being 6800 feet in the air allows you to see for a long ways and the observatory site itself is lovely. There is much more greenery up here than down on the desert floor and its noticeably cooler.
Each of the observatories are on their own little hill so a lot of climbing is required to see them. At 6800 feet, we found we had to stop and catch our breath once in awhile.

There is no water on the mountain so all roads are designed to direct rain water into catch basins where the water is treated and sent to storage tanks. The 2 month rainy season has to produce enough water to last all year.

After walking around to see the sights and going on a couple tours we had to rush back so we wouldn't miss happy hour. It felt good to take a load off and enjoy that most favorite of Mexican beverages, a margarita. Ah bliss!

Old Tucson Studio

In the desert a few miles west of Tucson is a working movie studio. The original townsite was built for the movie "Arizona" in the 30's and has been used in over 300 movies since. When no movies are being shot the site is open to the public so off we go.
The site looks more like a western town than the original ones probably did. Hollywood does know their business. During the day there were numerous wild west activities like gun fights put on by stunt men. These were highly entertaining and polished productions. Every half hour something new was happening; we hardly had time to get from one to another.
After walking the dusty streets we decided that we'd take a break and watch the can-can dancers in the dance hall. I can imagine the whooping and hollering that must have went on when cowboys who had been on the range for months came into town and saw this show.
By trying to get into the swing of things I guess I whooped and hollered a bit too much because the next thing I knew I was up on stage. I figured this is OK. I'll get to see some pretty girls dancing up close; no downside to that.

Yeah, right! It didn't take them long to get me backstage, costumed and back to try my hand at the can-can. Although I'm naturally athletic I haven't had any formal dance training so time to wing it.
Us volunteers didn't have much of a chance. These girls could kick a seagull off their heads, we would have trouble kicking a dead rat on the sidewalk. We made up for our lack of ability with enthusiasm. And by the way, I'm not looking at her legs, I'm trying follow the dance steps, really.

They wanted to make me part of their dance troupe but I had to graciously decline. Notice their sad expressions at the disappointing news.

We headed out of the dance hall before I could change my mind. This gave us a chance to walk around the town and see some of the sights. Every street and building has been used in various movies and it was neat to be walking where a lot of Hollywoods biggest stars walked.
A train travels through the town and goes to some movie sites that are away from the town plus, I just like train rides.
There were lots of places to stop for lunch so we went Mexican. Carmen and I shared a burrito and I had a Corona; can't go more Mexican than that. John and Elaine had nachos; Yosemite was worried about gas so he just watched us eat.
After trying to walk off our lunch, we sat down and watched the premier show of the day. There were lots of stunts, fireworks, high dives from the top of the building and prat falls. You may recognise the front of the mission. It was in the final scene of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" when they charged out to be shot by the Bolivian army. It was also used in the "Three Amigos" where they copied that scene.
All over the site there were props used in various movies. Although all the buildings look authentic from the outside, inside were a number of displays with guns, clothing and other props from the movies that have been made here. The TV series "Little House on the Prairie" was filmed here and some of the buildings from that show are there to go into. If you are a movie buff, especially a western movie lover, you'd love this place. I've always been a John Wayne fan and a lot of his big westerns were filmed here so theres lots of his memorabilia to see.
The town is unashamedly a movie set. A lot of buildings are false front with nothing behind. I guess most inside shots are done in a studio somewhere. Its still a lot of fun to walk down a dusty western street and watch the stunt shows. Although Tombstone was interesting because of its history, people live there and modern activities intrude on the experience. In Old Tucson, you'd swear you're back in the old west. Its a fun experience.

Sabino Canyon

One of the best things about being in this area is the opportunities for hiking and to see new sights. So its about time we went on another hike with our hiking friends John and Elaine. If you recall from a previous post that they are hiking machines but this time they promised to at least keep us in sight. Sabino Canyon is just northeast of Tucson and is part of the Santa Catalina Mountains. This is the same mountain range that Mount Lemmon (which we visited earlier) is the highest peak.
The trip to the jumping off point of our hike is a few miles up the canyon and we travel there by luxurious air conditioned coach (an open air shuttle bus). The valley of the canyon has a lovely stream whose water comes all the way from the snow melt on Mount Lemmon. There were lots of families enjoying the day by having a dip in the stream.

This unique rock formation along the canyon wall looks just like Snoopy laying on the roof of his dog house. Can't see it? Where's your imagination; your childhood innocence? Thats OK, I couldn't see it either. Look dead centre at the skyline. That pointy bit above the shadow is his nose, then the round bulge to the right is his belly and then the next upward bit are his toes. If you still can't see it, I tried!
This is trails end for our ride and now we're starting our hike up the side of the mountain. If you can see the steep cliff way off in the distance, thats where we'll be hiking as we head back to the start. About 4.5 miles of switchbacks, sheer cliffs, and crumbling narrow trails. Of course they didn't tell us that until we got here.
Although the morning was cool, it didn't take us long to start doffing our jackets and drinking our water bottles. It was a beautiful day; sunny with a light breeze and so quiet you could hear our bones creak.
On one of our frequent breaks we stand and admire the hillside. The sheer cliff behind us is not a worry as long as we have a boulder to lean on. Notice the walking sticks? On one other hike I complained that they were the reason that John and Elaine could walk so fast. So they loaned us some. Although they are great for hiking in rough terrain, they did little to help us keep up. I need a new excuse.
At the visitor centre, on the tram ride, and on numerous signs we were warned about the dangerous wildlife such as rattlesnakes, gila monsters, cougars and bears. The only dangerous wildlife we saw was this hummingbird. Fortunately it was perched a distance away and never made any threatening gestures in our direction. The price of safety is constant vigilance.
After our recent fright we all decided that a lunch break was a good way to settle the nerves. The nice thing about eating 2 sandwiches, 2 oranges, a couple of energy bars and 2 bottles of water? The back pack is a lot lighter. Of course finding a place to relieve the water pressure half way up a cliff isn't easy. Not to mention anyone in the valley below with binoculars will know all about you. Plus, water on a side hill usually returns to you.
I do like to climb up rocks and this seemed like a good photo op. For some reason no one wanted to join me. Did they know something I didn't?

Its been a great hike! The weather was perfect, the scenery was breathtaking and they did stop and wait for me as promised. Altogether a very enjoyable day.
After hiking for over 5 hours through some of the most ruggest wilderness Arizona has to offer our best wildlife sighting was this quail in the parking lot at the visitors centre. Its the first one I've seen here and was the highlight of the day (well, almost).

A Colossal Cave

The last cave we visited, although beautiful, was a bust to do a blog on so we managed to find another cave to review. I felt I had left our cave lovers feeling unsatisfied. This cave has a long history. Natives lived in it up to 10,000 years ago and left lots of evidence like animal skulls and arrow heads. More recently bank and stage coach robbers used it as a hideout and a number of movies were made here as well. You must remember the classic "The Muppets Go West".

There were miles of underground trails and caverns and the cave was fun to explore. The formations and colours were no where near as beautiful as Karchner Caverns, mainly because these caves have seen a lot of traffic and everything seems to be covered with dust. Colossal caves have been open to the dry desert air for centuries and it has dried out and no longer has any water to make new formations.
You can see from this picture that the interior is dirty from all the traffic and desert air that comes in. Most of the stalactites and stalagmites have been broken off by vandals and these were the best examples we saw. Do you know the difference between the two formations? If it has a "C" it hangs from the ceiling; if it has a "G" it rises from the ground. Or as the tour guide said "when the mites go up the tites come down". That gives a more visual way of remembering don't you think?

The cave sits on a hill side and part of the park is a working ranch that you can explore. You can see by the trees that a stream flows through the valley so we're going to head down there and check it out.

But first we stop for a picnic lunch and to check out the trails we can hike. The building behind me as an actual adobe house built in the 1880's. Its hard to believe dirt bricks can last that long.
The ranch house has been turned into a museum and gift shop but the original layout remains. There is a lovely centre courtyard with friut trees and a fountain. It must have been a great oasis during the hot summer days.

We picked a nice trail to hike that wandered alongside the stream and cotton wood trees. In that area there was lots of grass for the cattle. This area has been lived in by natives for centuries and village sites are marked and drawings showed how they lived. Almost every plant here had some use for them. Its hard looking around to see much use in the scrub and cacti. They sure had different skill sets than we do; I'd like to see them do a blog!