Day 38: Tuscon (with detours)

I wake up today and hear banging outside. Sounds like they are driving piles. Weird. The nearby construction project is a pipe laying project, what is up with piles? They are probably doing something else. I decide not to worry about it anymore since it is not my project and what they are doing really does not concern me. Other than I find it interesting of course! I get my stuff together and head out for Tuscon and the Pima Air and Space Museum. 

I drive to the highway with some awesome coffee. On my way, I notice signs pointing toward Casa Grande National Monument. I want to check that out but it is 26 miles out of the way. I forgo turning off. I get to I-10 and set my cruise control. I again notice what a beautiful job Arizona has done with the roadside decor. Every overpass is beautifully done, and different. Most of it is just colored concrete or rock patterns. No plants or landscaping that needs maintenance. I am impressed.

The T Rex is abnormally loud today and veering all over the road. I am concerned that I have a flat tire. Turns out it was just windy. The noise is the wind reverberating off my tailpipes and the veering is caused by wind gusts. I think. 

I see another sign to Casa Grande National Monument. This time, it is only 10 miles away. Why not? I have time and I don't really want to drive all this way just to see it. I take the exit. I ignore my GPS that is now telling me to make a u-turn and get back on the highway and follow the signs to the monument. In no time at all, I reach my first destination. Arizona has marked these places quite well! This is helpful since national parks and monuments seem to confuse my GPS to the point of being useless. I can see the ruins from the parking lot. These ruins are much larger than the ones I saw at Tonto.

I walk into the visitor center to pay my fee and access the ruins. After visiting multiple parks and monuments, I have finally decided it is worth my money to just spend the $80 to buy an annual pass that gets me in to all of them. I mean I have already spent close to that and I have a lot more places I want to visit!  I get my spiffy little pass and the lady asks me to sign it. I do and I circle the expiration month on the card while I am at it. The lady asks me to wait while she finds the hole punch to punch out the expiration month. The hole punch has gone MIA so she goes to circle it only to discover I have already done that. She tells me I am awesome and sends me on my way. Yay, I like being called awesome by random strangers.

I get there just in time to catch the tour. I listen to the lady talk for a while and learn some interesting things before getting bored and wandering around on my own. They constructed the building so that the solstice sun aligned perfectly in some of the windows each year. Also, the moon would align in some other windows every 18 1/2 years. Wow these people really had things figured out.

The accessible ruins aren't that huge. The complex is probably about 80x80 yards or so. There are other accessible ruins throughout the monument and the canal system associated with these people run throughout central Arizona. What I am seeing is really only the tip of the iceberg of what is out there. I look around for a while, take lots of pictures, and read all the signs before heading back on my way to Tuscon.

Turns out my detour to Casa Grande did not take me that far out of the way. It was actually almost on my way. Glad I made the call to stop! An hour later, I am in Tuscon at the air museum. I spend the next few hours wandering the giant museum. They have over 300 airplanes on over 80 acres. I look at every plane before I leave. Some of them look incredibly unaerodynamic. How do they even get in the air? Some of them are fighter or freight planes that I am used to seeing. I take a picture and send it to Tanya (she's a pilot). She asks if I am in heaven. Haha, yes, if you love airplanes. Might be lacking a few things for my heaven.

Engines!

The helicopter area

So many airplanes!!

My artistic shot!

On my way out, I buy a few things in the gift shop. I manage to shred the receipt somehow when I go to sign it. I was really excited about making that signature I guess. It's about 5 and I decide to head back in the Mesa direction. I take the scenic detour route through Saguaro National Park. I stop at a nature trail and wander along the path. I see a jackrabbit. I fail to get my phone out and camera loaded before I scare it off.

I see lots of cacti and drive T Rex down a dirt road. He (and I) feel really cool and tough. My GPS desperately tries to get me back onto a paved road. I happily ignore it and follow the map on my phone until I hit pavement again. 

Nice cactus!

I love the desert here! It is so alive!

T Rex being awesome

I hit the highway and head back to Mesa. I pass by a paving show starting up for the night. Ah, I miss paving. I notice the the pavement I am driving on is brand new. And the ride is less than impressive. Maybe Alaskan pavers are not really that bad. I see mat core holes but no cores in the joints. Boo Arizona for not checking joint density! Oh well, at least the artwork by the road is pretty. Overall, the ride quality here is pretty good.

I am almost back when my mom calls. We have a nice conversation until someone's phone drops the call. I don't think it is my phone this time! We both try to call each other back unsuccessfully. I leave a message and receive a voice mail from her a short time later. We decide to try again tomorrow.

I get back and Hanna actually does not have tons of studying to do for once. Awesome!  I am not blogging and doing my best to talk her ear off in her free time!