More photos of Cogswell reunion Day 2

Sonora Desert Museum entrance

Our docent at the museum

A Saguaro cactus

Prarie dog exhibit

A blooming barrel cactus

Cactus exhibit

San Xavier del Bac

San Xavier sanctuary

Pima Air and Space Museum

SR-71 Blackbird

Bumble Bee aircraft

A one, or two of a kind prototype transport

Up on blocks

A tour that took us deep into western history and deeper into a copper mine

The USS Cogswell POW-MIA table

Today we lived vicariously. First we lived vicariously as copper miners and next we were witnesses to a re-creation of perhaps the most famous western gunfight in history.

As part of my Navy reunion Joan and I signed up for all the tours with today’s offerings taking us south (within five miles of the Mexican border at one point) to Bisbee, Arizona and the legendary Tombstone, Arizona, the site of the famous and often inaccurately portrayed “Gunfight at the OK Corral.”

To catch the bus Joan and I had to get up real early, like 5:30 a.m. We headed to Hotel Arizona early to avoid any commute traffic and boarded the beautiful tour bus about 7:45 a.m. for the 90-minute trip to Bisbee.

The Cogswell Miner's

As I sat on the bus looking around at my former shipmates it hit me how so many of them have aged. How can it be that they look so old and yet I know I haven’t gotten any older?  Seriously, it is a little sobering to realize that the people you knew in your youth have suddenly become elderly, as have I.

On the other hand, it is comforting to know that the associations and connections you made in your youth can survive the rapid passage of time and distance. There are 85 people at the reunion and they come from all corners of the country. The only thing we have in common is that we all once served on the same floating bathtub.

Joan and her miner's outfit

We all shared common experiences in three wars, World War II, Korea and The Vietnam War. We all knew hardship, separation from family and loved ones, but we also shared a common purpose and the satisfaction of being a member of a team.

One of the recent traditions of our reunions is the POW-MIA table that remains a centerpiece of our hospitality room. The table is set for one, but is never used. It symbolizes those who are missing, either by hostile action or the advance of years. It is also a remembrance for those whose fate is not known.

But let’s get back on the bus. We cruised to Brisbee first, passing through Tombstone which created some momentary fun when the tour director asked us as we entered, passed through and left Tombstone in about 3 minutes, if we had enjoyed our tour of the famous city.

We had a 10:30 a.m. copper mine tour scheduled in Bisbee which is the reason we passed through Tombstone without stopping.

Miner Jim

Just outside Bisbee the bus went through a quarter-mile mountain tunnel and the tour director quipped “Did you like the mine tour?”

Eventually we arrived at the Queen Mine, one of a number of copper and silver mines in the southern Arizona area, but one that has not been mined for about 40 years. Instead of copper and silver, the mine has become an attraction for tourists who can ride the same rails as the former miners and visit the bowels of a real mine.

Only 16 of the 53 folks on the tour bus had signed up for the mine tour and we were dropped off first, while the rest of the group was driven to downtown Bisbee to explore that place.

Once inside the mine building we were outfitted with yellow raincoats, hard hats and a utility belt with a battery pack that powered a small flashlight.

Heading 1,600-feet inside a mountain

Then we mounted the narrow gauge cars and tram that would take us 1,600-feet into the center of a mountain. Our tour guide was once a miner in a nearby copper mine and was very informative.

Looking at the 80-year-old wooden timbers and rusted hardware that held things together you had to marvel at the work that went into boring into the mountain at a time when there were few of the powerful tools and safety devices that were available later in history.

At one point deep in the mine, our guide told all of us to switch off our flashlights so we could appreciate the absolute darkness that we were in.  Before the battery packs, miners used candles which produced even less light than the flashlights.

The one-hour tour ended and we rejoined our shipmates on the bus for the real trip to Tombstone.

Timbers that are 80-years-old

The half hour drive back to Tombstone brought us into the famous western town about high noon. (Couldn’t resist).

Our tour guide turned us loose for a four-hour visit to the five block area that has a reputation as “The Town Too Tough to Die.”

Tombstone has survived major fires, the loss of its position as county seat and its reputation as a lawless village to the tourist trap that it is today.

And trap it was, and it caught us several times. We signed on for the 2 p.m. re-creation of the famous “Gunfight at OK Corral,” the “Historama” and a tour of “The Bird Cage Theater,” the one remaining original structure from the time of the gunfight in the early 1880s.

OK Corral set

The gunfight has been romanticized in movies and literature, but much of the information is fantasy and what isn’t fantasy remains in dispute.

I’m not going into a long dissertation about the gunfight, because most people have heard or seen movies about it, but the small troupe of actors did a credible job of laying out the circumstances of the day that led to the fatal shooting of three men.

Doc Holliday and the Earps

My favorite actors were the man who played Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton. After the gunfight we stopped at the local Harley-Davidson shop for some photos and then after the Bird Cage tour, which included a visit to the rooms where the ladies of “ill fame” operated we climbed back aboard the tour bus for our return back to Hotel Arizona.

Once back at the hotel I talked to a few more shipmates about the biography project and then Joan and I returned to the trailer for dinner and an early bedtime as we have to get up early again tomorrow for Tour II.

Unfortunately all the photos I took inside "The Bird Cage Museum cannot be used publicly, even on a blog.

The museum was OK with shooting interior photos for personal use, but warned that they did not approve of any other public use of the photos. So I will honor that by not running the photos here. I will say that they had some very vintage furniture, supposedly original to the Bird Cage Theater with representations that Doc Holliday had played cards on the gaming table on display, etc.

We did enjoy the museum tour and were impressed that much of the original wall coverings had been preserved under plexiglass.

I am using the photo we took outside the museum as that is in the public domain.

Nothing better than a bunch of old tin can sailors in the middle of the desert

Today was pretty much focused on getting ready for my USS Cogswell reunion. This is the second Cogswell reunion for Joan and me. The last one, in May 2010, was in Buffalo.

Obviously this was a little more complicated to get to, but we combined the reunion with some travel that we had wanted to do in the Southwest.

Most of the folks are staying at Hotel Arizona in downtown Tucson, but Joan and I are staying in our trailer just down the road.

A couple newlyweds and a shipmate from the 50s

Tomorrow is the first of two days of tours. The first day’s tour is to Tombstone (The Town Too Tough to Die) and Bisbee, Arizona. The tour includes a stop an old mine, which we are scheduled to go into.

Tonight’s business meeting was a chance to renew old acquaintances and start the usual round of sea stories.

I have volunteered to take on a project which will involve writing the biographies of our members. At least the ones who want to participate. Tonight I handed out sheets for the former sailors to fill out so I can cut through a lot of the routine stuff when I interview them for both their experiences on the Cogswell as well as the years following their service.

It is always sobering to see the list of former shipmates who have died since the previous reunion and a reminder that someday your name will be there also.

There will be a more formal recognition of their passing at Wednesday’s closing banquet.

Three original Cogswell crewman from 1943

When Joan and I arrived we ended up sitting at a table with three of the sailors who were members of the very first crew on the ship in 1943. The ship had a distinguished and active career during the Pacific in World War II, but was known as a “lucky” ship because it was never struck by an enemy shell or Kamikaze during its active service.

It was one of the ships who entered Tokyo Bay with the USS Missouri for the formal surrender ceremony that ended World War II.

 Ibought some new Cogswell merchandise as my previous t-shirts and sweatshirts are way too big now. It is time for bed as we have to get up early to get to the hotel for our first tour.

A quiet day in Tucson

The main office and sales center at the resort

We’ve had a very quiet day today. Laundry, shopping and general house cleaning and trailer maintenance. It was very nice to do very little.

We had one of those interesting marriage moments today. We forgot the map the resort gave us of grocery stores and other businesses near here so we went by memory from our short journey to dinner last night.

On Kolb Street, Joan insisted that she saw the Frye’s store at one intersection and I insisted I saw it at the very next intersection. Being the good wife that she is, she deferred to me and when we arrived at 22^nd and Kolb streets there was the Frye’s store just as I predicted.

The view from my couch.

On the way home we drove past the intersection, which is only about 1/3-mile away from the Frye’s store where we shopped and lo and behold another complete Frye’s store. So we were BOTH right. How often does that happen? And what brainiac thought it was a good business plan to put two identical grocery stores within easy walking distance of each other.

The Voyager Resort is beautiful and I’ve included some photos of some of the amenities available here. Although we are not yet ready for a permanent move or even a selection of a permanent second home in a warm state we are intrigued by this place. Don't quite understand the need for a tanning salon in Arizona but the resort has one.

Later this week we are going to visit the sales folks and just see what it would cost to reserve a spot for an entire winter season or perhaps own one of the smaller park model trailers here.

Joan checks out part of the huge fitness center

Except for filling up your car this place has everything. You would never have to leave here to get anything but gasoline. They even have a small chapel and Sunday morning services are very well attended.

There is a bar and grill and from what our neighbors told us the food is very good and reasonably priced.

To fill out this entry let’s just share a few reflections on the creator’s beauty. On the way to Tucson, Joan remarked that all the different scenery, including some startling changes within just a few miles is a wonderful reflection of the art work of our creator.

When we left Williams, Arizona about 11 a.m. we were surrounded by a healthy pine forest and crisp temperatures in the 40s. An hour later we were in the high desert north of Phoenix and temperatures were in the high 60s. The pine trees were gone, but the red cliffs and rock formations were a beauty all its own.

View of the manufactured homes at the resort (moon above)

As we headed through and south of Phoenix we began to see the massive and instantly recognizable Saguaro cactus that just screams “Southwest.” At some places there were forests of them. Temperatures climbed in the low 80s as the altitude fell from 7,300-feet near Flagstaff to about 1,200-feet in Phoenix.

As we got closer to Tucson the temperatures began to drop again as we climbed to 2,400-feet. By the middle of the night the temperatures had dropped to the low 40s, but quickly climbed back into the low 80s by the afternoon.

Back to the reflections on the Creator’s artwork: No painter uses colors more vivid or eye-popping; no sculpture artist has created more beautiful statues or monuments than the ones created naturally by God. There is no texture artist who can come close to what we have seen and touched on this trip alone.

Some of the amenities including of all things a tanning salon

Human artists do their best to recreate the artwork on canvas or in bronze or concrete, but they don’t hold a candle to the creator.  Again we remain extremely thankful for our many blessings and the opportunity to really see our own country and all that it has to offer.

By using our trailer and cooking in rather than eating out it makes the visits affordable on our budget. It also is more homey than stopping and unpacking at a hotel. We always wondered whether our dream of traveling in an RV would live up to the actuality. It has in a big way.

Joan keeps the inside of the trailer clean and I keep working on the outside. A few months ago I purchased some back up pins and fasteners for the trailer hitch and boy did that come in handy yesterday.

I forgot to mention that when I hooked up the trailer I accidentally bent the main fastener pin for the hitch pin to the car. In trying to straighten it out I bent the pin so much I was not confident that its strength had been compromised. I remembered the backup pins and quickly replaced the bent pin which got us on the way and didn’t leave me worried that I would be a road hazard.

The park folks let me know that they own the water for the place and that we are free to wash both the car and trailer on site, which I will likely do later this week.

Tomorrow (Monday, October 10) starts my Navy reunion. Not sure how much blogging I will do each day, but I will try to put up something each night when we return from the day’s activities.

Las Vegas adventure over, Tucson fun begins

Our space at Voyager Resort in Tucson

Our second full and last day in Las Vegas involved a great deal of walking and sightseeing. By the time we were done late Friday we had walked both sides and the entire length of the famous Las Vegas strip. We gambled at each resort almost exclusively on free slot play that each casino was offering new customers.

(After this new entry there are a series of photos of Las Vegas if you scroll down.)

The day started off ominously when I went for a 3-mile walk on Las Vegas Boulevard and took a header when I tripped on a curb. I skinned both knees, slammed my shoulder into the sidewalk and nearly broke my glasses in the fall. A city bus driver spotted my crash and stopped and offered assistance, but I was back on my feet and just a little embarrassed.

So with two bleeding knees, a bloody knuckle and a sore shoulder I walked back to the Golden Nugget to tell Joan she married an 8-year-old kid with the scabby knees to boot.

Speaking for myself I enjoyed Las Vegas, but probably would not be in a hurry to return and not because of my fall. Joan and I are not “party” people. We are not night life people and we especially don’t like being hounded and pestered constantly to purchase show tickets or having the photos of nude women who are willing to come to our hotel room shoved in our faces every other step along the street.

It seemed like someone would say something nice to get your attention and the next thing they were trying to do was sell me a CD, a last minute show ticket or a tour of the Grand Canyon for “only” $389 a person.

Another photo of our space in Tucson

The dire effects of the economy are everywhere and I guess the steadiest employment in Las Vegas belongs to the street performers who are located about every 10-feet with the desire of parting you from your cash.

There was an Elvis impersonator on every block and in every size. Young Elvis, old Elvis, skinny Elvis and fat Elvis were everywhere. The best combination of street performers was the Elvis, Pee Wee Herman and Michael Jackson trio on Fremont Street.

I tried not to make eye contact with a mime, but he kept staring at me for minutes. I still didn’t drop a dime in his bucket.

Call me a scrooge and an old fuddy duddy, but I just got tired of the constant attempt to separate me from my money. We left with our budget intact, but with no desire to go back anytime soon.

By the end of Friday we were both pretty exhausted and ready to eat. We caught the city bus back to Fremont Street and the area of our hotel and found a prime rib dinner for $7.95 and it was pretty darned good, especially at that price.

We stayed for the Fremont Experience light show, but discovered it was the same show we saw the night before so we retired to our room to get some sleep for what promised to be a pretty long day of driving today.

By 9:30 p.m. we were both asleep and stayed that way until about 3 a.m. when a group of folks decided to have a loud party in the hallway for about an hour. I thought about calling security, but decided that we were in Las Vegas and the odd balls were probably us for not partying all night.

I finally got back to sleep about 4 a.m. with a 5:30 a.m. wake up call. The early call was to allow for a fairly tricky travel day for us.

One of the funnier moments of our stay occurred when an Asian man who had just checked into the Golden Nugget walked by the huge shark tank, which is part of the hotel pool complex. The sharks and large ocean fish swim around the huge aquarium and pool guests can slide down a water slide that goes through the aquarium. The man looked surprised and then laughed and yelled at his friends, "Look at the food swimming around the pool."

We left Las Vegas about 7 a.m. heading to Williams, Arizona to retrieve our trailer and then make the trip to Tucson in the late morning and afternoon. All went as planned until I arrived at the trailer and discovered some very unseasonably cold nights had worn down our trailer battery to the point it would not power the lift for the hitch.

So I backed the Tahoe as close to the hitch as I could so I could plug in the power cord and used the Tahoe battery to power the tool that raises and lowers the hitch onto the trailer ball. With that done we were on our way and made our travels up and down the mountains of Arizona to Tucson.

The park where we are staying, Voyager Resort, is very nice and one of the best parks we have stayed in so far. Security met us at the gate and escorted us to our spot with a golf cart. It took a little longer than usual to set up mostly due to how tired we were.

After we were set up we headed to Tucson for a quick dinner and a gas fill up in preparation for my Navy reunion which starts on Monday. Tomorrow promises to be a quiet day and clean up day for us.

Mileage out: 79833

Time out: (Williams, Arizona) 11:11 a.m.

Mileage in: 80129

Time in: 4:16 p.m.

More photos from Las Vegas

The pool aquarium at the Golden Nugget. The water slide passes through the shark tank.

The Luxor Resort and Casino

The Luxor.

The MGM Resort and Casino

The real MGM lions in their habitat in the casino.

We walked under a sleeping lion.

The fake MGM lion.

The New York New York Casino and Resort.

The Bellagio Resort and Casino.

The Harley Davidson store.

That's the Las Vegas I remember.

A great visit to California and a trip to Lost Wages

Badly worn tire

Well, into each trip a little rain must fall. We had some real rain and some unexpected financial rain drop into this trip. We never complain about the real rain as most of the places we are visiting out west can really use the moisture.

But when I went to have an oil change today (Tuesday, Oct. 4) my fears of a left front problem with the Tahoe were confirmed. A couple weeks ago I noticed some excessive wear on the left front tire on the inside tread.

Today, it had gotten much worse and the tread was worn down dangerously smooth on the inside of the tire, which forced me to have the two front tires replaced. These are the original tires on the car and all four have 80,000 miles on them, so not a big surprise.

Jim, Joan, Tim, Brittany, William

Tires for this bad boy are not cheap and what I suspect is a tie rod problem will need to be addressed when we get to Tucson later this week. To preserve the new tires, I had the tire folks put the new tires on the rear of the car and the two older tires, both with acceptable tire tread on the front of the vehicle.

If I’m going to wear down another tire, it’s going to be an old one not one I just bought. The tire folks assured me that while they tried to tighten up the tie rod to minimize the vibration it is safe to drive for another 1,000-plus miles until I can get to a Chevrolet dealer in Tucson.

That was $600 we were not expecting to have to come up with on the trip. It will also put a crimp on our plans for Las Vegas.

Back to our trip to California. We had a good time with the boys and Brittany in Santa Cruz, even if it was kind of a quick visit. We are pleased with the progress Tim and Brittany are making in their education and always enjoy our visits to William in his beautiful mobile home near the Monterey Bay.

We stayed at the Bay Front Inn about a block from the Santa Cruz Wharf and Boardwalk. It was a very nice motel at a very nice price.

Me

Unlike the rest of our trip we ate out most meals and all with the family.  It was fun to give Brittany, the granddaughter, rides to some of her work shifts.

Anyway we were back at Cynthia’s Tuesday night for our last night in California before heading to Nevada and then Arizona. Eventually we will be headed to Tucson and my Navy reunion. The weather has taken a sudden turn to the cool side and it looks like it will be unseasonably cool as we head through Arizona.

Cousin Cynthia is a great hostess, cook and friend and we miss her already. This is probably the fifth or sixth time I (we) have stayed with her and we really appreciate all her efforts in putting us up. We look forward to the time we can return the favor.

Joan in "The Habitat" at the Flamingo Hotel

We left Cynthia’s early Wednesday and found the going wet for most of the trip to Las Vegas. Neither Joan nor I have been here for more than several decades and we found the city much changed since the last time we were here.

Joan saw something quite rare on the trip through the Mojave Desert. Torrential rains were falling for much of the trip making the driving interesting and sometimes challenging as the windshield wipers had trouble keeping up with the volume of rain.

At one dry point in the drive we were chasing a tumbleweed down the highway, which may be an indication of how high the winds were.

We also passed a road, I believe in Eastern California that was spelled “Zzyzx Road.” Man, would that be a big Scrabble score if you could use proper names.

With the on again, off again rain (mostly on) the temperatures fluctuated between about 70 and 40 and the 40 came at the top of Tehacapi Pass and for a moment I thought we might get some snow.

It was also incredibly windy, so I was very glad I did not have the trailer in tow on this trip. Traffic was moderate for most of the trip until we arrived in Las Vegas when it slowed to a crawl. We arrived about 5 p.m., but that includes about 40 minutes to drive about 4 miles through the Las Vegas freeway system.

This morning (Thursday) I got up early and walked from the old downtown Las Vegas (that’s where the Golden Nugget is) to The Strip. It took me about three hours and I estimated the walk at about 8-9 miles.

On the way back I took Las Vegas Boulevard so I could walk by the “Pawn Stars” pawn shop, which had a long line out front with people just waiting to go inside for a peek. I like the show, but not enough to wait in a long line to go inside. I will put up some photos after I remember to take my camera on my walk on Friday morning.

Also passed by “The Little White Wedding Chapel” which is the place Joan’s sister Patty and brother-in-law, Keane, had their drive through wedding about 10 years ago. There was a plaque at another wedding chapel announcing it was the location of Jon Bon Jovi’s wedding, but no such plaque for Patty and Keane at the other chapel.

After I returned back to the hotel from my walk I collected Joan and told her I had found cheap transportation down to the strip. For $7 you can talk the bus for 24 hours up and down the line between the old downtown and The Strip.

When we caught the first bus to The Strip the machine that sold the $7 tickets was broken so we rode for free, which meant I didn’t buy the $7 ticket until our return trip back about 6 p.m. so I will be able to use it all day tomorrow saving us another $7.

We gambled a little, but we used the free slot play that was offered at each casino for newcomers who signed up for the various promotional offers. At one casino we got $50 of free play, but most were $5 or $10 and we just went from one to another. At the last one, Joan won $50 and I won $23 on the free play so we are probably a little ahead of the game.

Fremont Street Experience

Tomorrow we are going back to the Strip to see more of the fountain displays and other free stuff. No shows for us on this trip. We had a great Greek salad for dinner at Planet Dailies. Later we watch the beautiful free light and music show at the Fremont Street Experience. The overhead light show is made up of 2 million lights on a metal canopy that is three blocks long.

The old downtown strip has been converted to a walking mall with the classic old casinos and each night there is a light and music show. I took some pictures, but they won’t do it justice.  Probably this is the last post until Saturday night as the Internet at the hotel costs $12 a day and I won’t pay that, so I borrowed a signal to put this up tonight.

To end the evening Joan and I watched the end of the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees divisional playoff game in the lobby bar at the Golden Nugget. When Papa Grande through the final strike to end the game in the Tigers’ favor we both yelled out “Yes,” which seemed to attract a lot of attention. We slinked away to our room.

Should also point out that it was warmer in Lapeer, Michigan for the past two days than it was here in Las Vegas. That promises to be the case through tomorrow. It has been cold in the mornings and very mild (60s) in the afternoon.