Posted in Show and Tell Friday

I thought I'd share with you our trip over Mother's Day weekend for this Friday's Show 'n Tell.  I can already tell you that this post is going to be looooooonnnnggggg, so if you need a potty break or a cup of coffee/tea, hop to it.  I'll wait.  Incidentally, I began with 79 photos that were loaded to photobucket to use in this post.  I tried to be judicious during the selection process - you're welcome.  Also, it's interesting to note that I've always sighed when I read of a fellow blogger who decided to break her post into two because it had gotten TOO BIG.  I always figured I'd much rather read everything at once (no patience, here).  Well, I realize now it's not so much for the sake of the readers as it is for the blogger.  Firstly, it takes a certain amount of je ne sais quois to think that someone is actually going to want to voluntarily plow through your tome; I mean, really, other women have LIVES, you know.  Secondly, if you knew how many man hours went into this post - holy cow.  I shudder to think what I could have creatively accomplished around the house had I funnelled these hours into more domestic endeavours.  Nonetheless, on I will plow.  You should know, though, that the following is not for the faint of heart, or the short of time.  Good luck.

For Mother's Day, hubby and the boys took us all camping down to Tucson.  To be honest, it's not our first choice as a vacation destination in this state (not even top 5), but it was our first trip with the new truck (and no sway bars yet), so hubby wanted a pretty level shot towing.  So, Tucson it was.  And what fun we had!!

We got a late start on Friday due to hubby working longer than anticipated/hoped for, but we still managed to get down shortly after sunset (it's about a 2 hour drive).  We stayed at an RV resort, not a state campground, and here I have to interject a bit of information for my non-desert-dwelling readers.

We stayed in state campgrounds all the time back in Michigan.  We *loved* them!  Apparently, they are not the same thing here, and so have never stayed in one.  Maybe we'd be pleasantly surprised, but probably not.  Here privately owned RV parks are much more the norm, and offer more of what we like in a campground:  full hook-ups (hello, it's summer in Arizona, and I NEED my A/C), swimming pool (see previous comment), and convenient location.  Plus, we make our reservation and they check us in no matter the time (learned this last year when we had our 3-hour tour trip, but I digress).  Anyway, that is why we stay in private RV parks.  Oh, while we're aside like this, can I just tell you how ODD it is to camp without GRASS???  All there is is rock and pavement.  It's surreal, that's for sure.  Getting back to our story...

Where was I?  Oh yeah, Friday.  Anyway, we set up camp, grabbed a bite to eat, and then relaxed for the evening.  Got up bright and early Saturday morning and had breakfast outside before packing a lunch and heading out for the day.  (Notice no grass - but as a perk, yes, each campsite comes standard with that nice table and chair set.)

Our first stop of the day was at San Xavier Mission, which is the oldest Catholic mission in the United States.  You can read more about it and see photos (click on "History") of the iconography that fill the church HERE.  (I was uncomfortable taking photos inside the church; this is an active parish and there were people praying - us among them.)  Here are our photos of our visit there.

The above photo and the following photo were taken at a little chapel in the courtyard of the mission.  The photo seen below is one of the stations of the cross that was embedded in the wall surrounding the tiny chapel.

On the mission grounds, there is a hill that you can climb up to a grotto (devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes), and then make the final push up to the cross.  This is from the first level of the hill:

The grotto was absent of all statuary due to restoration, so I won't show you pictures of an empty grotto (see that judicious selection process at work; or rather, *don't* see it).  The men decided to take a break before climbing to the top.

Here are some shots I took whilst waiting for the men to reach the top (don't be fooled - it's not this green but in a few, very few, farming spots around the state):

And, finally, at the top:

Here are some nature shots I just couldn't resist that can be found in the landscaping all around the mission:

a prickly pear cactus blooming

a barrel cactus in bloom

a purple prickly pear cactus

See the cute roadrunner in the shade?  They are increasingly difficult to spot out and about, so had to snap a photo of the little guy (or gal):

We also got mooned by a prairie dog, but I'm trying to be judicious.  If you want to see it, let me know and I'll throw it in.

We had a lovely time, wrapping up our visit with some Indian Fry bread we bought from a vendor.  Sorry, didn't get any photos of the Fry bread, it disappeared too quickly, but here's one of the vendors in front of the mission:

the 'roof' of the shelter was made from the twigs of the ocotillo cactus; I thought this was pretty:

After our visit, we hit the highway and headed south.  We wound up at the Missile Silo Museum.

Back during the cold war, the United States of America had 54 Titan 2 Missiles located in three cities in three states.  18 each were located in Wichita, Kansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Tucson, Arizona.  After the cold war, all but one silo were deactivated and destroyed.  This museum is the only one that remains.  The 103 ft. Titan 2 Missile is still in the silo, and the whole place gives off an air of "deactivated.... for now" kind of feeling.  Piper asked what it would take to reactivate the site, and was never directly answered.  We were told that there are over 400 modern missiles at-the-ready like this throughout the United States (that thought gave me surprisingly little comfort), and so reactivating this one would be unnecessary.  Still doesn't answer his question.  Here's an artist's rendering of what's below ground:

Here is a model of the missile in its silo:

We waited in the informational part of the museum until our hour and 15 minute tour began.

This is part of the missile guidance system.  Piper got to talking to the man next to him, who said that he actually works with these nowadays and they're now the size of somewhere between a softball and a volleyball.  This one was the size of at least three soccer balls!

Then we watched an informational video full of history bits and terrifying footage of what a nuclear bomb would do to a house.  After the kids were properly awed, we headed outside to tour the missile site at ground-level.

When the missile silo was converted into a museum, they removed the top and put a glass ceiling over it so that you can look down all nine stories of the silo.  Here is my unsuccessful attempt at getting a photo through the glass.  There really was no good place to shoot from, so I tried using my shadow to help.  Oh well.

After our tour above ground, we descended to the second story of the silo.  Our tour guide showed us around the control center:

Ray (our tour guide) took a shine to Jigger, and so Jigger was picked to help Ray simulate a missile launch.

Here it's interesting to note that each level was built on platforms that were held up/together by springs.  This was a shock-absorber.  Everything they did was to contain the blast and absorb the shock.  It was an amazing piece of engineering.

Here's a photo of the missile from the second floor:

Here's a long hallway connecting the missile silo with the middle building (stairwell), and for you movie buffs, a scene in Star Trek: First Contact was shot here:

All in all, this was a lovely field trip, and well worth the time and money.  After this, we were more than ready to hit the pool:

The next morning, before leisurely heading home, we went to Mother's Day mass at St. Augustine's Cathedral after a lovely breakfast.  Oh, and calling our mothers and grandmothers too, of course.

Happy Mother's Day!!

If you'd like to participate in Show and Tell with Canadagirl, or just read more S&T's, please do go visit Mary.  And if you're still reading, do go have a bit of a lie-down to compensate.  I know I am.