New places and an old, dear friend

We spent the last couple of days at our campsite in the Sonoran desert doing some hikes, enjoying the birds and coyotes, and trying to stay warm over night. This desert definitely is growing on me. It’s starting to almost feel lush, if that can be said about a desert. The saguaros are big and green and almost human-like. And despite the fact that everything wants to stab you and poke you and grab you, I will miss leaving this place.

We finally did pack up our bags and bikes and headed into the big city to meet Laird and his family. Astonishingly, it’s been about 20 years since I last saw Laird. We have stayed in touch via email over the years, but I was a bit nervous as to how we would mesh after all this time. I needn’t have worried. From the first moment it felt like old times; hanging out together, yakin’ away, telling old stories, learning what each have been up to, and just feeling the warmth of an old friend. I think Ann and Shannon were amused (or bemused), and his kids Emmeline and Annabel were equal parts impressed and appalled at some of our childhood antics.

Laird was the consummate tour guide, taking us to the final standing ICBM (that’s InterContinental Ballistic Missile) site in the world just outside of Tucson. The Titan Missile Museum turned out to be an amazing romp through OUR history. The site is a testament to the insanity, and deadly logic, of MAD: Mutual Assured Destruction, which defined the tightrope stability of the Cold War.

But the museum is definitely what us hip people would call “Cool!” We got the full tour, from how crews entered the silo site, and then the underground infrastructure, all the way to how to receive and launch the missile. The whole site is protected from a near-blast, and is geophysically isolated from the surrounding area. All this is to ensure that if those evil Soviets should launch a first-strike, that “we” could still devastate the other half of the planet. The tour was impressive from a technological and logistical sense, and there was the occasional joke tossed in, but I kept returning to the idea that we were sitting at ground-zero of global destruction. Cool … and deeply disturbing.

On the way home from the Missile Museum we were feeling a bit peckish from all that global destruction contemplation, so Laird took us on a slight detour to the Mission San Xavier del Bac, which is a Christian church built (or started) in 1864 for the Native population of the area. The cathedral’s interior is all hand-carved and hand-painted. It’s beautifully grotesque and stunningly ornate without any European pretence.

They also sold some pretty tasty Native fry bread 😉

The following day Annabel decided that Ann, me, and Laird were going to visit the Desert Museum just outside of town. I’d already pooh-pooed the idea earlier, but Annabel is not to be ignored or dissuaded. So we all piled into the car and headed off to the desert. The museum turned out to be an absolutely stunning attraction; a mix of zoo, wildlife habitat and natural science museum. It was great! So thanks Annabel!

From the mountain lion that was trying to eat the two toddlers, and the ferocious hummingbird enclosure, all the way to the snakes, spiders and bat cave, it was just great. The afternoon culminated with a raptor show which saw trained birds swooping and hunting right over top of the gathered crowds. The Harris’ hawks in particular were truly amazing, hunting in packs as they do. 

Our final day was spent relaxing, doing laundry, listening to poetry-by-Emmeline, and trying to be helpful around the house. A final dinner of curry and fine wine, and it was over … all too soon. We packed our bikes, said our goodbyes, and headed off again.

We’re aiming to camp for the next few days at a cheap/free site right on the border of Arizona and New Mexico. To get there though we first drove through Tombstone — yes, THAT Tombstone. We had to stop, and were greeted with what you’d expect from a goofy tourist trap. But it was still kinda neat. We had lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, and then headed off to the little mountain town of Bisbee.

Shannon had highly recommended we stop, and she was right. The place is a former mining town turned artsy community. The shops are quaint and interesting, and the whole town is neat to wonder around in. We drove through, and stopped in front of this old Inn attached to a saloon. Without much hope we inquired about the rates, and they weren’t crazy, so we said the heck with the budget, and checked in.

That night there was live music in the saloon, and copious amounts of good local beer. Three pints in I was wondering why the world kept spinning … only then did the bartender tell me it was actually a DOUBLE-IPA, which basically means it has twice the booze. Ann suffered a whee bit that night, but has lived to tell the tale.

After a great breakfast we packed up with plans to camp for the next few days. There is snow up at this elevation right now, but the forecast looks acceptable. Hopefully the cold means only crazy people will be tenting, which is good b/c the campsite only has a few places. We’ll see how it goes…