Anyway, the next excursion we enjoyed was a trip south to the Titan Missile Museum. Titan ll missiles provided the nuclear deterrent to nuclear war from the 1960's to 1984 when they were decommissioned after Reagan signed the Salt ll treaty. Having lived through that time, it was amazing to see upon what a thin thread our world was hanging. They blew up all the other silos, but kept this one intact and as a living history exhibit.
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| If you are 6 ft or taller you had to wear a hard hat. |
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| Stairs going down to the control room |
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| Our tour guide and the control panel |
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| I got picked to respond to an attack from the USSR |
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| The tunnel between the control room and the missile silo |
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| looking up |
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| and looking down |
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| Dennis rocks the hard hat |
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| looking down from outside. Sobering |
The next day was sunny and warm and we decided to try the drive up to 10,000 foot altitude at Mt. Lemmon. This peak is part of the Santa Catalina Mts. that rise sharply to the north of Tucson. We were absolutely Not prepared for what we saw. And unfortunately pictures cannot capture the expanse of amazing scenery that was arrayed before us. Laurie found a wonderful travelogue that explained the history, geology and biology of the region as we drove along.
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| view of Tucson from up above |
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| Dennis, our intrepid driver |
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| The explorers (in the background, restrooms locked because of the government shutdown) |
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| Driving even higher |
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| Willing to die for a selfie. |
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| Road to the sky |
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| So many interesting rock formations |
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| Opinions varied about what this rock formation looked like |
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| view from almost the top. |
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| we found snow |
Sadly it was time for Dennis and Laurie to go home to Michigan. We had one last dinner together and hope to see each other again soon.
Thanks for being great chroniclers of our adventures in Tucson. Great times and fond memories!
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