Although the weathermen said Christmas Day would be rainy, after a night of constant downpours, we were rewarded with Sunshine
A walk for Tucson. Lately he won't walk without his Daddy joining us on our morning walks.
The old man is still handsome
We enjoy blueberry pancakes on the grill
Then take to bikes to the Fort.
The Sallyport. Secured with heavy oak doors, the main entrance to the fort was reached by a causeway. Train tracks were later installed for moving equipment to Battery Pensacola.
Officer Quarters. They served as a hospital in 1861. In 1887, Apache prisoners were housed here. Geronimo, the most famous of these, lived in identical rooms along the south wall.
Interior gunrooms called casemates. Granite semicircles in the floor supported the great weight of the cast iron guns. Slots under the windows locked gun carriages into the wall and provided a pivot. Vents over the windows allowed the tremendous amounts of smoke produced by black powder ammunition to disperse. 
The smooth bore cannon had an effective range of about one mile.
The Mine Battery Room, In 1894, this area was converted for electric batteries that powered a minefield across the channel. The minefield was deployed during the Spanish-American War, and remained in use until 1926.
Mine Chamber. Each chamber held 1027 lbs of gunpowder. If the Fort was breached, the defenders could blow up the chambers collapsing them in the enemy.
This is the powder magazine, one of three rooms that stored the fort's gunpowder supply. Magazines were lined with wood to keep the powder dry. Anyone who entered a magazine had to remove their shoes or put socks over them to prevent sparks. Battery Room. In 1894 these casemates were converted to shelter electric batteries used to power a minefield in the harbor.
Shelf Supports, still a mystery, these concrete shelf supports may have been for equipment for the minefield or Battery Pensacola.
Counterscarp, Dry Ditch, & Bastions:
The outer wall (counterscarp), located opposite the main wall (scarp), shielded the ditch. Protrusions (bastions) on the fort's corners allowed cannon to fire along the scarp. Attackers who reached the ditch would be caught in a terrible crossfire. This portion of the ditch was filled in about 1915. Before that time, the embrasures were ten feet above the ground.
Postern: Soldiers could use this opening as a doorway in peacetime. Just before a battle, soldiers could lay brick to create an embrasure for a cannon.
This tunnel allowed access to the south side of the fort. Although the reason is unknown today, it was sealed by 1923.
Cisterns collected rainwater from the upper level of the fort for drinking, a crucial need for the fort's soldiers.
To support the weight of the fort on a foundation of sand, engineers used arches. Just as the arches overhead distribute weight to the piers, the reverse arches of the foundation spread the weight of the entire structure to minimize settling.
We head up the stairs to the top of the Bastion
Where they have the big gun
View of the Pensacola Lighthouse built inApril of 1824
Back below, we see
Bastion D Was damaged in an accidental explosion at 1899, which destroyed the Bastion.
Battery Pensacola is a reinforced concrete battery built to defend against new technologies. Steel-built, steam powered warships and more powerful and accurate cannon made Battery Pensacola essential until 1933, when it was declared surplus.
A ghost crab that gave up the ghost.
We stop at an old cemetery on the way home
A beautiful end to a beautiful day. We are blessed.
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