Trip South - Tucson - Piima Air Space Museum

 

 Today we start at the Pima Air and Space Museum.  Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster.  It is 149' long, 

The Museum is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. It covers 127 acres.  There are  nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres.  There are half a dozen hangars with planes on display

Hang in there!  I'm sure someone will come

I think they are having fun

 

Once a Marine always a Marine - Sempre Fi

 

 

Outside are planes on display divided by category - i.e. fighter planes,  carriers, 

commercial, helicopters, etc

 

 

Some are massive,  I have seen this one passing by on the road, and thought of it as a beached Beluga Whale.  Its and Aero Spaceliner  B377G Super Guppy Cargo Transport

 

 

We check out the AeroSpace Museum 

 

 

Made from Legos

and it has taken me months to figure out all the dash controls on the GMC!

 The Phoenix Mars Lander.  The goals of the Phoenix Mars Lander were to study the history of water in the Martian arctic, search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary.  In August 2008, Phoenix completed its three-month mission studying Martian ice, soil and atmosphere. The lander worked for two additional months before reduced sunlight caused energy to become insufficient to keep the lander functioning.

The MMIST CQ-10A SnowGoose is a  resupply Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.   It can be launched off the back of a moving Humvee or from a cargo airplane.

 

The Zoo was on the agenda for the rest of the day but a lot of walking here so we call it a day.  A nice sunset, tomorrow Gary's daughter is visiting a friend in Phoenix and Gary hooked up his son-in-law with a friend of ours to go mountain biking in the desert.  Gary has a fun day scheduled at the VA.

 I had heard from a friend in  the Park about a light display at a private residence about 10 minutes from the park so we go check it out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trip South - Tucson Week 7 - Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum

 

 A nice day to head over to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, my former workplace and favorite place in Tucson.  We take Gates Pass to get over to the West side.  It passes over the crest of  Tucson Mountains at 3,172 feet.

 An overlook constructed by the CCC around 1934 still stands, Donna and Dave hike up to check it out

 

We arrive at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.  It's crowded for a Monday but it is the week between Christmas and New Years.  Good thing we got here early, after I got the tickets, the line went to the parking lot.

 We head straight the Raptor Free Free Flight area.  Everyday Oct-April (except Wednesdays) they have some of the Museum's raptors fly above the crowds.  

Early as we are we dont' make it to the take-off/landing area - just as well with Covid

 

Only raptors native to the Sonoran are flown.  First the Chihuahuan  Ravens.  Known for being extremely intelligent birds; they are also very playful. Ravens have been recorded stealing windshield wipers off parked cars to play around with them. There are even videos of ravens using jar lids for sleds, etc.

They are followed by a group of 3 Harris Hawks

 

 

If you are lucky enough to be in the Flight/Landing zone you might feel a brush of the talons of winds on your head.

Harris's are one of only two truly cooperative hunters in the raptor world. They are native to the Sonoran desert where prey has a lot of good cover, they have been documented hunting in groups as large as 9 birds. They will act like an areal wolf pack  taking turns harassing a rabbit or squirrel, chasing it out of cover towards other family members.

Next up is the Great Horned Owl.   A great horned owl can close its feet with 500 psi (pounds per square inch). The average human exerts- squeezing as hard as we can- 80-150 psi. An owl can only lift around its own body weight (2-3 lbs).  Owls do not build their own nests; because they lay eggs earlier in the year than most other species, they use old raven and hawk nests to raise their young

After the free flight we mosey about the rest of the museum

There's Cat Canyon - with a Bobcat

 and a Gray Fox taking a warm nap

Life on the Rocks - has frogs

  

and a Jack rabbit 

 and the Mountain Woodland.  With my favorite the Mountain Lion - Cruz - a five and a half-month-old male cub found in San Jose, CA and brought here in 2013.  I used to visit him every day on my lunch hour.  Hey buddy long time no see!  You are still as handsome as ever.

He looks mad at me

and Mexican Grey Wolves

 

 

There are lots of outside educational exhibits.

It is easy to spend a whole day here.  It is lunch time and the cafe is packed so we hastily check out a couple more exhibits on our way out

The  Hummingbird Aviary

The Art Gallery

an Artificial Cave

A NASA exhibit and Mineral Collection

and an Aquarium - why an aquarium in a desert museum?  The Sonoran Desert extends all the way down into Mexico.  The Sonoran Desert region isn't possible without recognizing the importance of the freshwater rivers that flow through it and the Sea of Cortez which are critical to this desert's status as the lushest desert on earth.

We leave to grab lunch.  We have been here 4 hours but have somehow missed the Big Horn Sheep, Otters, Prairie Dogs and Heron!  Glad I purchased a Membership - I will be back!

Another great day in Tucson!