Where In The World Is Sum1?

Toasty in Tucson

Date: Week of May 7^th


Locale:  Tucson, Az


         After spending a couple of days in Lansing, my travels took me to Tucson, Az.  I flew in and out of Albuquerque so I could visit my sister-in-law briefly and make sure she's doing alright.  She is doing as well as can be expected, cheerful at times, others times teary eyed.  She invited me to dinner Sunday with her daughter and grandchildren there, and it was a good time.  We talked some, I managed to play a bit of Wii Sports with her two grandsons, and had a nice dinner.  Ruth does not like going out to eat, never has.  She would rather sit home and cook than go out to any restaurant, and she's an excellent cook!  She fixed us homemade red-chile with chunks of pork in it, Navajo Fry Bread, Spicy Guacamole, and the fixin's for Navajo Tacos (shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes, etc.).  If you enjoy New Mexican Food, you missed quite the meal!  Yes I said New Mexican, because this is not Tex-Mex, neither is it Mexican.  You have to visit here to understand really.


         Since class was in Tucson, it meant I had a drive ahead of me.  Monday I headed over to Tucson via I-25 to Hatch, then across southwestern New Mexico to I-10, then I-10 to Tucson.  Weather was great in Tucson, at least if you ask me.  It was 105 each day I was there, yet it never felt that hot to me.  The lack of humidity really causes that effect.  I was home for the weekend, and while it was 'only' 85 there, it felt hotter at 85 in Central Illinois than it did at 105 in Tucson.  Of course, it was about 60% humidity in Illinois, less than 10% in Tucson.  Everyone jokes about the dry heat thing, but it's a fact.

         My customer was the Customs/Border Patrol, the class being one on a piece of gear called the 'Quantar'.  This was the first class I taught for Motorola, so I'm plenty familiar with it.  I swear, I could teach this in my sleep!    Not too surprisingly, the class was well received and flowed very well.  Class was completed about 11 am on Thursday, so I drove back to Albuquerque.  This time I chose the mountainous route on state highways.  It was a beautiful drive, but took a bit longer than the trip out.  I loved it though, it's a pleasure to drive state highways instead of interstates.


Photo's From Visit:

Iconic Saguaro Cactus


Beautiful Cactus Flower

Historic/Interesting Places Visited:

         Saguaro National Park (East)          https://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm

                   Saguaro National Park is a United States national park in Pima County in southeastern Arizona. The 92,000-acre (37,000 ha) park consists of two separate areas - the Tucson Mountain District (TMD) about 10 miles (16 km) west of the city of Tucson and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) about 10 miles (16 km) east of the city - that preserve Sonoran Desert landscapes, fauna, and flora, including the giant saguaro cactus.

                   The volcanic rocks on the surface of the TMD differ greatly from the surface rocks of the RMD; over the past 30 million years, crustal stretching displaced rocks from beneath the Tucson Mountains of the TMD to form the Rincon Mountains of the RMD. Uplifted, domed, and eroded, the Rincon Mountains are significantly higher and wetter than the Tucson Mountains. The Rincons, as one of the Madrean Sky Islands between the southern Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Madre Oriental in Mexico, support high biodiversity and are home to many plants and animals that do not live in the TMD.

                   Earlier residents of and visitors to the lands in and around the park before its creation included the Hohokam, Sobaipuri, Tohono O'odham, Apaches, Spanish explorers, missionaries, miners, homesteaders, and ranchers. In 1933, President Herbert Hoover, using the power of the Antiquities Act, established the original park, Saguaro National Monument, in the Rincon Mountains. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy added the Tucson Mountain District to the monument and renamed the original tract the Rincon Mountain District. Congress combined the TMD and the RMD to form the national park in 1994.

                   Popular activities in the park include hiking on its 165 miles (266 km) of trails and sightseeing along paved roads near its two visitor centers. Both districts allow bicycling and horseback riding on selected roads and trails. The RMD offers limited wilderness camping, but there is no overnight camping in the TMD.


In Closing
         I will spend next week back in Schaumburg delivering a class on radio programming.  It's an on-line class, lasting only 2.5 hours/day, so it will be a relatively easy week for me.  I will spend the rest of my day reviewing the course materials for the following week's class.  This class is called Radio Management, and is not one I've delivered very often, nor very much.  As a result, I need to do a little studying/prepping for that class, unlike the class this week.  It's getting warm here in the United States, stay cool; read, write, and review!