Beautiful Mountain Drivve
November 1, 2006
We woke and took our time preparing for the day. The vista from the pass was grand. The pass was the Old El Capitan Pass used by Kit Carson. We sipped coffee, read and puzzled and watched the little silver and black dots streak the sky sometimes leaving white trails and always the sound of engines working hard, and the practice of four or more planes doing maneuvers. It was ten in the morning when we started down the other side of the mountain through rock, 
mountain, canyon, valley and all they while going down at a 8% grade we coasted to the lower valley past two runaway truck ramps to an elevation of 2500 from 4900. Then we wiggled through the hills; there is more greenage out here. We past Christmas Mine; wonder what they mine? Then down into the valley with the Gila River running though it. There were clusters of trailers, little ranches, and small towns. Once in a while we pass a suburban type house that looks out of place. We left the mountains behind and came into the plains. We saw a sign for Biosphere II and drove in. 
This simulation of Earth with ocean, desert, and rainforest on 3.15 acres was a scientific experiment. People were to actually live it in, but they didn’t get along and the experiment fell apart. Columbia University used it for research, but pulled out a few years ago. They wanted $20 per person to walk through it; we saved our money. We were soon surrounded by shops, eateries, housing developments, apartment complexes, hotels, motels, and nightspots, and were traveling on a six lane road into Tucson.
We found our way to the west side around the Ajo Mountain to a little field where our friends Karen and Herb were parked; friends of theirs, Jud and Steve, live in the Tucson Estates nearby. We spent some time catching up, sharing travel tales (Thanks for the brochures of Organ Pipe and Chibola NWR.) and visiting, and met Jud and Steve. A coyote jogged along looking this way and that; a roadrunner ran across; a gila woodpecker pecked a saguaro. Round about dusk we each brought part of the fixings for a spaghetti dinner over to Jud and Steve’s where we prepared everything. Steve showed us his stone carvings; he started doing sand sculptures, but wanted something more permanent after making his dancer sculpture a few time to see it gone in a few turns of the tide. One favorite is the sea captain’s wife in her flowing babushka; he has even written a poem to go with it about her waiting for her captain to come home over many years. It is a sad tale. You can listen to it in the Movie Gallery. After dinner we remained a while talking. These friends use to met up at Quartsite, AZ each winter. Quartsite is open desert where hundreds of RVs converge for the winter each claiming their little space. We enjoyed hearing stories. We departed and walked back to our little space in the desert. Will watched some TV, competition dancing was on. The Italians won the top scores for ballroom dancing; the Romanians won the Latin dancing. Kathy snuggled under the covers; the nights are cool.
We woke and took our time preparing for the day. The vista from the pass was grand. The pass was the Old El Capitan Pass used by Kit Carson. We sipped coffee, read and puzzled and watched the little silver and black dots streak the sky sometimes leaving white trails and always the sound of engines working hard, and the practice of four or more planes doing maneuvers. It was ten in the morning when we started down the other side of the mountain through rock, 
mountain, canyon, valley and all they while going down at a 8% grade we coasted to the lower valley past two runaway truck ramps to an elevation of 2500 from 4900. Then we wiggled through the hills; there is more greenage out here. We past Christmas Mine; wonder what they mine? Then down into the valley with the Gila River running though it. There were clusters of trailers, little ranches, and small towns. Once in a while we pass a suburban type house that looks out of place. We left the mountains behind and came into the plains. We saw a sign for Biosphere II and drove in. 
This simulation of Earth with ocean, desert, and rainforest on 3.15 acres was a scientific experiment. People were to actually live it in, but they didn’t get along and the experiment fell apart. Columbia University used it for research, but pulled out a few years ago. They wanted $20 per person to walk through it; we saved our money. We were soon surrounded by shops, eateries, housing developments, apartment complexes, hotels, motels, and nightspots, and were traveling on a six lane road into Tucson.We found our way to the west side around the Ajo Mountain to a little field where our friends Karen and Herb were parked; friends of theirs, Jud and Steve, live in the Tucson Estates nearby. We spent some time catching up, sharing travel tales (Thanks for the brochures of Organ Pipe and Chibola NWR.) and visiting, and met Jud and Steve. A coyote jogged along looking this way and that; a roadrunner ran across; a gila woodpecker pecked a saguaro. Round about dusk we each brought part of the fixings for a spaghetti dinner over to Jud and Steve’s where we prepared everything. Steve showed us his stone carvings; he started doing sand sculptures, but wanted something more permanent after making his dancer sculpture a few time to see it gone in a few turns of the tide. One favorite is the sea captain’s wife in her flowing babushka; he has even written a poem to go with it about her waiting for her captain to come home over many years. It is a sad tale. You can listen to it in the Movie Gallery. After dinner we remained a while talking. These friends use to met up at Quartsite, AZ each winter. Quartsite is open desert where hundreds of RVs converge for the winter each claiming their little space. We enjoyed hearing stories. We departed and walked back to our little space in the desert. Will watched some TV, competition dancing was on. The Italians won the top scores for ballroom dancing; the Romanians won the Latin dancing. Kathy snuggled under the covers; the nights are cool.
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