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The BioSphere 2 In Oro Valley, AZ

About 20 miles north of Catalina State Park is the BioSphere 2.  So while we were in the area, we figured, why not, let’s go check it out.  Plus we got to hang out with Tricia and Keith from Geeky Explorers some more.

Well, let’s just say, we’re glad we didn’t go to far out of our way to see this.  While an interesting concept, we feel this facility is outdated and really not needed anymore.

The BioSphere 2, which is labeled #2 because the actual Earth is our first BioSphere, is currently owned and operated by the University of Arizona.

Brenda Approaching The Bio-Dome Area

They don’t let you just wander around willy-nilly.  Oh no.  You have to take a tour.  Which was ok.  We learned about the different areas inside the different domes.

There are actually 7 different areas that make up the BioSphere 2.  There’s a tropical rain forest.

The Tropical Rain Forest In The BioSphere 2 Building

An Ocean.  Granted not a very big ocean, but it’s an ocean.

The Ocean In The BioSphere 2 Building

A desert environment.

The Desert Environment In The BioSphere 2 Building

The University or Arizona uses this facility for many different experiments.

Experiments inside the building

This is a totally sealed environment.  No air in and no air out. So to maintain this atmosphere without imploding, the BioSphere 2 has two “lungs”.

One Of The Lungs That Operates The BioSphere 2 Atmosphere

We were pretty amazed at the engineering of this “lung”.  The black part on top is rubber.  Depending on the pressure in the atmosphere inside the building the top inflates and deflates accordingly.  When you enter and exit this compartment your ears pop.

Tricia And Keith From Geeky Explorers

All in all we had a great time hanging out with Tricia and Keith from Geeky Explorers and taking this tour with them.

One side note.  I’m glad we didn’t drive an hour to this facility when we were staying in Tucson at Lazydays RV Campground.  It would not have been worth it fighting the traffic and all.  But being only 20 miles from Catalina State Park, where we were staying, and hanging out with some new friends made it a little easier to go to.

Our Site At Catalina State Park

Catalina State Park is located at the base of the Catalina Mountains in the Oro Valley, just north of Tucson, AZ.

We found out that some fellow bloggers, GeekyExplorers, were going to be staying at the park.  So we found that a compelling enough reason to go for a few days of R&R.  I say R&R because staying at Lazydays, while a really nice park, it’s located right down the street from the Air Force Base.  Therefore you constantly have planes, helicopters and the nearby train noise disturbing you.  So the state park sounded perfect.

Unfortunately, the park only had 1 spot available and for only 3 days, with no hook ups.  OK, not bad.  They do have hook ups (electric and water with a dump available) at the park, they just were all full.

When we checked in to the park they actually had a cancellation in the electric and water hook up area for 2 of the 3 nights we had reserved.  Needless to say, we quickly scooped that up.  So 1 night with no hook ups.  Then we could move to the next campground over and stay for the other 2 nights with hook ups.  Nice.  Plus, that is where we found GeekyExplorers, Keith, Tricia, their 2 kitties and Samantha, their GS.

David and I enjoyed getting some puppy love from Samantha.

David getting Some Puppy Love From Samantha

It’s been a while and we’ll take it any way we can get it.  Samantha just had surgery on her hips 2 months ago and I must say, she was doing wonderful.  Running around like a puppy, enjoying her walks and the outdoors and of course, loving all the attention.  Like she doesn’t get enough attention anywhere she goes.  She’s just too cute.

Our View From Our Site Of The Catalina Mountains In The Catalina State Park

We had wonderful views of the mountains.  Beautiful days…minus one, Valentine’s Day.  Valentine’s Day started out rainy and cold.  Then the temperature dropped even more and the rain actually turned into SNOW!  Yes, you heard me correctly.  Southern Arizona with snow.  It snowed so much in the Oro Valley, where the park is located, it made ABC news.  That’s how unusual snow is around these parts.

Tricia, formally from Rochester, NY our home town, was actually hoping it would snow enough to make a snow angel next to a cactus.  That would have been a great shot.  Alas, it melted just as quick as it fell.

Snow Falling In The Catalina State Park On Valentine's Day

David Took This Picture Of Me On Valentine's Day With The Snow

I went outside to take some pictures of this phenomenon.  When I came back inside, from being outside only a minute, David took this picture of me.  You can really see the snow in my hair.

The Snow Coming Over The Mountains

Catalina State Park is a definite must go back to.  It’s nice and quiet.  Large sites easy enough for big rigs.  50amps and water, when you can get them.

You feel like you are out in the middle of nowhere.  But contrary to that, you have a Super Walmart, movie theater, Petco and restaurants right across the street.  Yet you don’t here or see any sign of them in the park.

Plus you can horseback ride through some trails in the park.  We didn’t have time for that, but it’s on our list for next time.

Catalina State Park Views

Sunset At Catalina State Park

While here, you just can’t get enough of the views.  Mountains everywhere.  hiking trails and horse trails.

And the sunsets are a site to be seen!

Whisper Hard At Work At The Computer

So…You know I had to get at least one picture of a cat in here.  Whisper apparently is waiting for his inspiration to come to him in a dream before writing his memoirs.

Entrance To The PIMA Air and Space Museum In Tucson, AZ

While we were in the Tucson area, we visited the PIMA Air and Space Museum.

As usual, David surprised me with all the planes he knew about.  I think personally it’s a guy thing.  Sometime while in school they must take all the guys aside and teach them all this stuff.  At least that’s my theory and I’m sticking with it.

The World's Smallest Airplane, Named The Bumble Bee

At the museum there are several different hangers as well as a huge outdoor area for all these planes to be displayed.  David, for some reason, is obsessed with the SR-17 Blackbird.

David And The SR-17 Blackbird

Of course we found one in the first hanger.  So that makes 2 spotting’s of this plane.  The last spotting was when we toured the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, FL.  What made it even more interesting this time was that we just met a gentleman in Quartzsite that worked on the SR-17 when it was being developed.

The museum had an interesting plane wreckage that was recovered a few years ago.

A Plane Wreck That Was Recovered Many Years Later

A Plane With Spy Cameras Built Into The Nose

The Lens From Bausch And Lomb Made In Rochester, NY

t was interesting to find this plane with spy cameras mounted in the nose.  That’s not the interesting part though.  The interesting part is that the lenses were from the Bausch and Lomb Company that’s located and made in Rochester, NY, our hometown.  If you look closely, you can see the inscription around the lens.

David Getting Into The Action

In another hanger we found this.  Of course, David had to get into the action.

Another Plane That I'm Sure Some Guy Out There Knows What It Is

With the many different hangers, displaying many different types of planes I found one that I liked.

P51 Mustang

The P51 Mustang!  The Cadillac of the skies.  This plane is in one of my favorite movies, Empire of the Sun.

A Painted Plane Outside The Hangers

The PIMA Air Museum had some artistic pieces on display also.  It was a fundraiser made possible by local artists.

The Super Guppy Cargo Transport

While wandering outside, this was a huge plane that we were immediately drawn to.  It’s called a Super Guppy and it’s a plane used for cargo transport.  Look closely at the picture.  That’s David below the plane.  That shows you how huge this plane truly is.

The museum has a few different tours you can take on top of wandering through the hangers.  We opted to take the “Boneyard” tour.  You board a bus and drive down the road to the active Air Force Base.  Part of this Air Force Base is dedicated to recycling planes, helicopters and such.  They take these planes, take them apart and sell their parts.  According to our tour guide, this is one of the few divisions in the military that actually make the government millions of dollars.

Planes Lined Up In The Boneyard

The Boneyard consists of acres and acres of planes all lined up nice and neat.  They spray this white rubbery material in all the openings, windows and such so birds can not destroy the parts and wires.

Planes In The Boneyard

The White Rubbery Spray Covering This Plane In The Boneyard

The Boneyard is not at all a place where planes go to die and get recycled.  Some of these planes are kept whole and are just stored there until they are refurbished and sold again.

Helicopters In The Boneyard

All in all, the PIMA Air and Space Museum was a nice stop.  However they did have only one hanger dedicated to “space”.  And that was very disappointing.  So it should, IMHO, only be called the PIMA Air Museum.

PIMA Air and Space Museum In Tucson, AZ

Our Site In Tucson At The Lazydays RV Campground

While in Tucson we had our windshield replaced.

After years of chips and repairs, it was time.   Traveling behind dump trucks carrying rocks did not help.

So we called our insurance company and were able to get the windshield replaced.

New Windshield Going Into Place

Our windshield is a two piece windshield.  So technically we got two new windshields.

David Re-Wiring Around The Windshield

David Re-Wiring Around The Windshield Frame

David took advantage of the windshield being out by re-wiring his cables that he had fed around the frame and such.  So it was easy access to these wires.

New Windshield

So now we have a nice and clear, new windshield.  It’s soooo clean!

I’m sure it will not stay that way once we hit bugs, but at least it’s super clean for now.

BK seemed to like it.  It streamed the sunlight in nicely and he passed out on the dash.

BK Passed Out On The Dash In The Sun

It’s the little things in life ;)

Cactus And Various Plants On Hiking Trail

While in Tucson, AZ we saw that fellow bloggers Laurie and Odel from Semi-True Tales From Our Life On The Road were in town.  We tried to meet up with them a few times in the past but something always seemed to come up.

We were determined to make this happen!

So we made plans to meet on Super Bowl Sunday.  No worries, the game was later in the day, so we met in the morning.

Plus Laurie had a brilliant plan to take a hike when we got there.  Perfect for working off the Super Bowl goodies we were to consume later.

Hiking In Tucson, AZ

A Large Saguaro Cactus Along The TrailPlus, Laurie had this brilliant idea to go for a hike. Perfect right before indulging in all that Super Bowl food.

We met them at their motorhome, where they were currently parked at Justin’s Diamond J RV Park, on the east side of Tucson.  There are some lovely hiking trails just off the back of the rv park.  So it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Speaking about Justin’s Diamond J RV Park, we’ve been there before!  We didn’t remember it until we started walking around, but we tried to stay here a couple years ago and they were all full.  Oh well.  There’s always next time.  It’s really quiet, no trains or planes and great hiking trails right outside the park.  Unlike where we are now, near the AFB.  Nothin but noise, noise, noise.  So it’s definitely going on the list for next time.

A Large Saguaro Cactus Along The Trail. This One Is Said To Be Over 150 Years Old.

Laurie, Odel And Myself Along The Hiking Trail Behind The RV Park

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Laurie and Odel.

We had some interesting talks about politics, the state of the economy and such.  Usually taboo topics, but for some reason we ventured their.  No arguing, No raised voices.  Just a nice conversation.  It’s nice to be able to talk to someone, with different views, and not get your blood pressure boiling because your butting heads.  Rational and level headed.  The way adults should be :) (Are you reading congress?)

We walked away unscathed from our political conversation and with some different points of view to ponder over.

Laurie And Brenda On The Hiking Trail

So thank you Laurie and Odel for your hospitality.  We had a wonderful time finally meeting you.

And thank you for the yummy Girl Scout cookies.

We shall meet up again.

And I’m not just saying that for more cookies :)

Our Site In Lazydays RV Campground In Tucson, AZ

Well….we finally got a new mattress. After going back and forth on whether we should get a new memory foam mattress to replace our old one, or go with a new Select Comfort air mattress, we decided…

Our New Memory Foam Mattress Before Expansion

New memory foam it is.  Our old memory foam mattress served us well.  It lasted a good 15 years or so.

The reviews online for the Select Comfort air mattresses leaned to much in the negative direction.  Which made us too nervous to try it out.

After looking at different options and David did a lot of research he found Sleep Innovations.  They are made in the USA which we love and they make a memory foam mattress for Serta, a long time recognizable name brand.

David did a lot of research on the company and their product.   They get good reviews, have a decent price point and the warranty is nice.

Then we narrowed it down to two places to buy.  Sam’s Club and Amazon.  Sam’s had a nice price, were local and in stock, but only one variety to choose.  Amazon had several varieties, nice prices and they were sold through Prime, which means we could get it delivered the next day for $4 bucks!

So Amazon won out.  We ordered our mattress and had it in two days?  Thanks to UPS for screwing that one up.  Oh well.

It’s amazing how they ship these things.  It came in a box that easily fit in the back of our Saturn Outlook SUV, with the trunk door closed mind you.  No mattress tied to the roof with twine fraying with every turn just waiting to fly off the roof for us….no thank you!

We had a harder time folding our old mattress and getting that sucker in the dumpster than we did getting the new mattress in our motorhome and set up.

The New Mattress Starting To Expand

Once the new mattress was on the bed platform, we started opening it up.  With this process, you must move pretty quickly.  You see, the mattress is shipped folded and compressed, with all air out of it.  So once the mattress is exposed to air, it starts expanding and unfolding.  So getting the plastic that it was shipped in off can get tricky if you wait to long.

Our New Memory Foam Mattress

10 seconds later, yes I really meant 10 seconds, we had a mattress.  Yeah!

It is really cool to watch.

And yes, they say it is not fully expanded for 72 hours, but you can sleep on it right away.  The expansion it still had to do was marginal.

Sleeping on it was nice.  We both got a good nights sleep.  So yeah for that.

I think we got ourselves a winner.