From Palm Springs we zipped through Phoenix (we tried to contact you Oslynn) and then landed in Tucson, Arizona. We were quite impressed with Tucson and all the tourist things it has to offer in the area. The old Tucson movie “studio” (outside of Tucson) is the location where dozens of great Westerns were made over the years and it did make for a fun afternoon. The Tucson highlight for us however was a visit to the massive “Pima Air & Space Museum” which also included a trip through an aircraft “Bone-Yard” where 4000 decommissioned military aircraft sit proudly in the Sun awaiting their destiny with a crusher. During our visit we had the privilege of meeting a truly amazing man. Retired US Air Force Colonel Richard Bushong who became a B-17 pilot at 20 years of age and then flew 28 missions over Europe during WWII. He ended his combat career flying F-4 Jet fighters in Vietnam and then became a test pilot where he flew aircraft from 0 speed (helicopter) to Mach 2.1. At 94 years of age, he now volunteers every Thursday afternoon at the Museum’s B-17 hanger display where he truly is considered a local celebrity and hero. We spent over an hour with this very entertaining gentleman listening to some of his incredible stories and enjoying his company. He has written a memoir of his service years called “My Wars” and yes… he did sign my copy. Another very interesting visit was a trip to the only remaining Titan II ICBM missile Silo in existence. The other 53 were destroyed around 1982 as part of President Reagan’s nuclear modernisation program. But, Silo No. 571-7 (1 of 18 outside of Tucson) was kept as a Museum. Touring through this incredible and thought-provoking structure (that included a simulated launch) made me realise I should have been much more frightened than I was as a young boy in the early 60’s when we practiced hiding under our desks when the community “air-raid” sirens sounded. Exploring this one small component of the much larger nightmare scenario helps drive home the freakish concepts of “Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)”, Nuclear Apocalypse and Nuclear winter in a very chilling way. Unbelievably this many years later and international leaders are once again talking about the use of strategic nuclear weapons… makes me fearful, and sad.
From Tucson we drove to Tombstone for a look at the place where Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday had their famous shoot-out at the OK Corral. On our way to El Paso, Texas we passed the location in “Skeleton Canyon” where Geronimo surrendered in 1886 thus ending the Apache Wars in the South West. San Antonio turned out to be a pleasant surprise with its impressive downtown river walk and of course, the famous Alamo. A nice drive to Corpus Christi and our first look at the Gulf of Mexico. Driving East along the outer coast past magnificent beaches we could hardly believe the number of oil refineries dotting the coastline and casting there dark shadows on the sand. No question about it, oil is big business in Texas. We were also surprised to see thousands of beach homes and buildings built on tall stilts for protection against storms and high water. Not my idea of a solid foundation, Through Galveston and on to Louisiana where we discovered that “road-kill” now includes small Alligators that unfortunately and unknowingly wander onto the road from their safe swampy ditches. We’ve just pulled into exciting New Orleans and now we’re looking forward to sampling more Cajun goodies and exploring the jazzy French Quarter.

After leaving Portland we drove to historic Astoria on the North West Oregon Coast and visited the interesting Fort Stevens State Park (Thanks for the travel tip Steve). This fort was first established during the American Civil War and was in constant use until after WWII. It was the only location on the West Coast to be fired on by the Japanese. No casualties, but after the war, that didn’t stop the submarine captain from presenting the local community with his “family sword” as a token of his regrettable action.
As expected, the entire West Coast was amazing and beautiful with endless rugged beaches. The Redwoods were spectacular and yes Brad, Brian and John, we did stop for a fantastic lumber camp cooked meal at “The Samoa Cook House” in Eureka, California. Truly the best restaurant experience in the entire North West. As we drove along the coast we could hardly believe the number of rain related mud-slide repairs we encountered. In fact just south of Crescent City we were turned around for the night because of a big mud slide event that happened about 10 seconds ahead of us on the narrow winding highway, this according to a road-crew flag-man that was working very close by.
It was a quick drive through the Napa Valley and San Francisco but we slowed down somewhat and spent some time in the Monterey / Carmel area. We checked out “Pebble Beach” golf course for you Cam and we may even have a souvenir for you. We tried to continue our drive southward along HW1 but were turned back about 20 Km south of Carmel due to a bridge being washed out and as a result we had to switch over to HW101 thus making our way inland to LA. Warm sunshine and perfect surfing beaches is the name of the game in this part of the world and lots of people take full advantage of both. The rowing regatta on Mission Bay in San Diego made me think of you Kristen and our trip down with the Victoria City Rowing Club for the same mega regatta when you were in High School.
We’re in lovely Palm Springs now where the daytime temperatures are in the 30+ degree range, the sunsets are spectacular, and the evenings are perfect. The RV park we’re in is within walking distance of downtown and thou the RV park is a bit dated, it’s got a great “laid-back” feel to it and the people are friendly. In fact, the only reason we found a space here at “Happy Traveler RV Park” was because on the morning we arrived about 20 “SnowBirds” “bugged-out” for their spring migration northward. We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the Palm Springs area and very impressed with the surrounding desert landscapes. A days excursion through Joshua Tree National Park was a highlight and provided us with plenty of proof that deserts can be bursting with life and colour too. A note to Cam, Bert, Keith and all our golfing friends… dozens of amazing looking golf courses all throughout this area with apparently only one issue, no golfers on them. Just saying… If “playing-through” is a priority, come quick and golf Palm Springs.