On the way home from Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments, we had a quick drive through Jerome, Arizona, an interesting cliff-side “ghost” town.
exploring
Attractions and other places we visit.
Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
We visited the Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments in Arizona.
The Montezuma Castle National Monument consists of two parts, separated by a few miles: Montezuma Castle, and Montezuma Well.
Montezuma Castle is a 20-room Indian pueblo ruin, built into a cliff:
Info:
Model:
View from a distance:
Info:
Visitor center:
Montezuma Well is part of the same National Monument, but physically separated:
Well Come:
Info:
A park ranger had a snake (rattlesnake, I think?) in a bucket, that he had caught near a path (snake warning, Mom!):
The snake wasn’t having a good day:
A structure built into the cliff above the well:
The well:
A ranger and Jenn talking about the info:
Ducks:
Steps leading down to the well:
Ruins:
Water is flowing into the well, so of course it has to have an outlet:
Outlet stream:
Steps:
We then went to the Tuzigoot National Monument, ruins of a hilltop pueblo village:
Tuzigoot museum:
Info:
Walls:
Titan Missile Museum
While at the FMCA rally, we visited the Titan Missile Museum, south of Tucson, Arizona.
It is the last cold war era Titan II nuclear missile, kept in a deactivated state as a museum. Read more about it on that site, if interested.
They have a warhead in the display area:
More exhibits:
Of course, there’s a gift shop:
A model of the silo, and the red safe with the launch keys and codes:
We did a 45 minute tour of the underground facilities. Here’s our tour guide, and a cutaway diagram:
The access point:
Heading down stairs:
A blast door:
The cableway to the silo:
But first, the control room:
All three levels of the control area (living, control, mechanical) are encapsulated in an air-gapped structure, suspended on big springs, so they can withstand earthquakes or near misses:
Fancy tech:
Control panels:
Punched tape etc:
The stairs leading up to the living areas, and down to the mechanical areas (unfortunately not part of the tour):
The tour guide had a couple of kids turn the keys to simulate launching the missile:
Verification codes:
The launch control panel:
Suits:
Heading along the cableway to the silo:
The door into the missile silo:
Photos:
The missile and silo:
A spring that provides shock isolation to electrical stuff:
Back above ground, a security jeep:
Info signs:
Looking down into the missile silo:
The hole proves to spy satellites that this missile is inactive (plus the silo door is fixed half open):
Visiting this museum was quite a sober reminder of the Cold War that we grew up with as kids, and the fears of a nuclear World War III. Which fortunately hasn’t borne out… yet.
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch
A fun roadside attraction near the KOA we were staying at was Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, a petting zoo and ostrich farm:
They have a variety of animals to see, pet, and feed. They provide a cup of food, and instructions for each area.
First up was donkeys:
Jenn hand-feeding the donkeys:
The parakeet perch:
Deer:
A high penthouse for goats:
They have a conveyer belt to lift the feed up to them:
Goat kissing booth:
Jenn “kissing” a goat:
Ostriches:
Jenn feeding ostriches:
We were warned; one bit Jenn, drawing a little blood:
More ostriches:
Henhouse:
Feed dispensers:
Chickens:
Sheep:
Goats:
We couldn’t feed the rabbits, as they were full, but we could still look at them:
Ducks:
We never hand-fed our own ducks like that, mainly because we wanted to keep them somewhat independent of humans, but it was kinda fun.
Tortoises:
Rainbow Lorikeets:
Stingrays:
Diving ducks:
Finally, the gift shop:
It was a fun place to visit.
Video: timelapse of truck driving through Saguaro National Park
A timelapse of driving our truck through the east and west parts of the Saguaro National Park.
Saguaro National Park
We visited Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona.
In fact, it’d be more accurate to say that this park surrounds Tucson. It is split into two parts, west and east, on either side of the city. Here’s a map from the NPS site:
The Google map better shows Tucson between the two parts of the park:
We visited both parts, starting with the east one. Here’s the entrance road; a not very clear picture of the Saguaro National Park sign:
A fairly small visitor center:
Outside the visitor center was a nice botanical garden; we had a picnic lunch in a shelter near the garden:
An info sign, showing a map of the one-way loop road in the park:
We drove the loop road. A warning to “brake now” before a steep hill:
Curvy road:
Lots of interesting cacti to see:
The road was popular with bicyclists:
A stop at Javelina Rocks:
We passed through Tucson to the west part of the park:
It has a larger visitor center:
Info sign:
We were amused by the “sus picnic ground”:
The visiter center bookstore was limited to 10 people at a time (but no masks required), with numbered tickets for entry:
A cacti forest and hills behind the visitor center:
While we waited for our turn, we walked along a path behind the visitor center:
Tomorrow, a timelapse video of driving through both parts of the park. (Actually, it’s live now; if you’re a subscriber to the YouTube channel, you would have been notified as a sneak peek.)
Cabazon Dinosaurs
While in the Palm Springs area we visited the Cabazon Dinosaurs, a roadside attraction featuring a couple of large dinosaurs that one can go inside, plus lots of smaller ones. Read the Wikipedia article for more info.
A sign by the entrance:
Lots of pictures of the dinosaur gardens:
Going inside the big T Rex:
The gift shop:
The big T Rex dinosaur (that we went inside):
The other big one:
It has another gift shop inside:
After that, we stopped by a nearby In N Out for lunch:
Then went to the Hadley store to get date shakes, another touristy thing for the area:
We bought a bunch of snacks:
And of course the date shakes:
Channel Islands National Park and wildlife cruise
In our ongoing mission to visit every national park, we did one of the ones we can’t drive into — Channel Islands National Park, off the coast of California.
We could drive to the visitor center in Ventura, California, though:
After that we stopped for lunch at a nearby place in the marina, Boatyard Pub:
Fish and chips:
Burger and fries (most excellent fries):
Good vibes:
Then we headed to Oxnard for an afternoon boat cruise into the park. Here’s an info sign:
The marina:
Our tour boat was the Vanguard:
Boarding the Vanguard:
Time to go:
Departing:
We were fortunate to see several whales; here’s a blowhole sign of one:
Whale tail:
Low-flying pelicans:
One of several oil rigs:
We also encountered a few pods of dolphins:
A couple of animated GIFs of the dolphins:
More dolphin pics:
Our guide:
Another whale encounter:
Whale GIF:
Pelicans:
The coastguard is still requiring masks, even in an outdoor situation like this, for some reason. So here’s a masked selfie:
East Anacapa Island:
Arch:
There were hundreds or thousands of birds in the air and on the island:
Lighthouse:
Arch:
Birds:
Building:
Sea lions:
El Capitan State Beach
While staying at an RV park on the California coast, of course we had to visit the beach. It’s about a 20 minute walk downhill (and back up again, of course).
The road to El Capitan State Beach, under a rail bridge:
Pedestrian trail:
Watch out for poison oak:
The entrance of El Capitan State Beach:
Path to the beach:
Sandpipers:
Beach selfie:
Oil rigs visible off the coast:
An animated GIF of waves:
Sandpipers:
Driftwood:
Hammock and birds:
Birds:
No lifeguard on duty:
Rocks:
Driftwood:
Seaweed:
Rocks and ocean:
Flowering plants:
Ducks:
Mussels:
Dam on a stream:
Jenn took a picture of me:
Someone playing a guitar:
A surfer catching a wave:
El Capitan Canyon
While staying at Ocean Mesa RV Resort, we headed down the hill to the neighboring affiliated campground, El Capitan Canyon, which offers glamping accommodations. But of interest to us, they also have a store and cafe.
The path from the RV resort was rather steep:
It is lined with avocado trees:
El Capitan Canyon sign:
Fish art on a road bridge over a creek:
The creek and road bridge:
A pedestrian bridge:
Seating area:
The Canyon Market, very rustic looking:
The cafe within the market:
Outside, a fire ring, seating, and games:
One evening we got dinner there; Jenn had a BLT, and I had a burger, both with sweet potato fries:
Very tasty:
The next night, we went back again for another dinner:
