Monday Catch Up

Monday Morning Mural


 
I missed a day yesterday, both here and on Instagram. It was a long and boring drive from Tucson to Santa Fe, except for a brief few miles on I-10 near the AZ-NM border where a large rocky formation popped out of the ground. I took one lone photo in the town of Hatch, NM, when we passed through, but it was not worthy. And I so wanted that to be the lead because it reminded me of driving through Vidalia, GA, because both are home to two vegetables that have become almost name brands.

Today was spent running errands, getting new wipers for the GTI, and grocery shopping for the week. Going to the gym to stretch out those stiff “sitting in the car” muscles. And, working around the house, with yard work for her and inside stuff from my “job” jar.

Planes, Planes, & More Planes

Fraternal Twins—Douglas WB-66D Destroyer/Douglas YEA-3A Skywarrior


 
The Pima Air & Space Museum is a must-see if you are anywhere within 200 miles of the place. There are 358 aircraft between 4 different hangars and the outside area. It opens at 9:00am, and Sally and I were waiting at the doors. We returned back to the VRBO at 2:00pm, meaning we spent nearly 5 hours there. Because we ate lunch there, which wasn’t that great, that’s 4.5 hours of looking at everything from one-person helicopters to a 787 Boeing Dreamliner.

First we took a 45-minute tram ride of the outdoors area, followed by slowly wandering the 4 hangars, gawking at aircraft at human level and more that hung from the ceiling. There are also plenty of displays intermeshed in between, displaying important items from the aircraft, along with gobs of historical uniforms, etc. Sensory overload!

One of those hangers was a separate museum (included with admission) entirely dedicated to the 390th Bomb Group, which flew B-17 Flying Fortresses in WWII. It houses an immaculately restored example of the aircraft. This is the plane I have wanted to see up close after reading the book, A Higher Call that I picked up in McMinnville way back in April at the Evergreen Aviation Museum.

When I said yesterday that there would be lots of photos, I took 20 or so; here are 5 of them. The top image is kind of my favorite because of the one on the right; it is a YEA-3A that is a precursor to the aircraft I flew while in the Navy, an EA-3B. The one on the left is the Air Force’s version of the plane, an RB-66. It has different engines to go with the slightly different cockpit configuration. Below, from left to right, are the B-17 Flying Fortress, a diorama of a B-17 bombing run, a B-36 (the largest piston-powered bomber ever built), and my second Super Guppy in a month.

Cacti Everywhere

1989

2025

We left Cottonwood this morning, which is at around 3500 feet above sea level, and the drive seemed pretty much like it was all downhill to Tucson, but our destination is only at 2400′. We were way early for checking in to the VRBO, so we visited the Saguaro National Park. Where we are staying is close to the east section of the park, so we headed over and did the loop drive.

We are also really close to tomorrow’s destination as well, the Pima Air & Space Museum. Stand by for lots of aircraft photos tomorrow.

Cottonwood, AZ

Thursday’s Monument Valley Sunrise


 
Started the morning in Monument Valley and ended the afternoon in Cottonwood, AZ. In between there were dinosaur tracks outside Tuba City, a brief tour of Flagstaff, and a fabulous drive down AZ-89a through Oak Creek Canyon to the majestic red rocks of Sedona.

The stop in Cottonwood is because this is a possible landing place for me. I am totally settled in in the Portland area, but the winters, while not brutal, are absolutely dreary AF. I can get a similar arrangement here in a 55+ manufactured home community as there, but with the addition of a garage instead of a carport. The home price is more, but the land lease is smaller—not enough to break even, but I get the warmer/hotter weather and the more sunshine I’d like. The town has a vibrant downtown with quirky shops and plenty of good dining. Now if the Sedonuts Donut & Coffee Shop is halfway as good as Stomping Grounds, I’m sold. There’s also a Dunkin’ if that doesn’t work out.

Monument Valley

The View Hotel at Sunrise

This is my fourth visit here, and each time it is a different experience. They have each been slightly different times of the year, but never in the summer when it must be both too hot and crowded, always in the shoulder seasons. And the weather has varied, from hot to mild to this one’s cold and very breezy. I would like to visit again, and Sally is game, but it might not be until 2027.

I took forty-one photos today and promptly deleted a little over half of them. These eight, well nine, if you count the one at the top, are the cream of that crop.

Valley of the Gods

On our way to Monument Valley, we drove about half of the 17-mile loop in the Valley of the Gods. In a few ways this section of Bears Ears National Monument is nicer than Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. There are plenty of red buttes with different shapes (just not the iconic ones), there is no entrance fee to drive it, and there are near zero tourists there.

Seven Sailors Butte

Seven Sailors Butte


 
I don’t know the “official” name of tis one, but I’m naming it “Command Chair” because I can see Capt. John Luc Picard sitting in it.

Captain’s Chair


 
The high clouds in the blue skies are a marvel.

Blue Sky and High Clouds


 
And just looking down, you could convince yourself you are on the surface of Mars.

Surface of Mars

Another Visit To Cortez

80′ Tall Robot in front of Meow Wolf in Santa Fe

This is the third or possibly the fourth time I’ve been in Cortez, CO, as it is on the route that Donna and I would occasionally use to drive to visit Santa Fe Sally. The first ever one didn’t involve Sally at all. It did involve a stop in Santa Fe before she lived there; it happened to be along the route of a giant road trip in 2009 that stretched from Devils Tower, Wyoming, to the Saguaro National Park in Tucson, AZ.

On this trip, with Sally subbing for Donna, we are overnighting here before heading to visit the iconic Monument Valley. We will be spending two nights on the actual site in a nice hotel right on the grounds. This will be Sally’s first visit and my third. I was here with Donna in 1989 when we road-tripped around the state of Arizona and by myself earlier this year on the start of the 2025 Jumbo Road Trip.

If you ever find yourself in Cortez and hungry, I can’t recommend The Farm Bistro enough.