The SECRETS of Colossal Cave's JOB Offer

Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads....  This one HURT.  With wandering awe we finished our trip from Orlando to Vale, Arizona, and met Colossal Cave Mountain Park.  The spirit of this cactus-covered land was pure peace and inspiration.  The pictures are of our temporary parking spot at the first camp site.   Even though we'd been offered the camp host position a month ago, the existing 5th wheel on the site had not been moved and the road had not been graded (anywhere in the campground) so we couldn't drive up to the host site anyway.

Then we met our boss...the wonderful Martie Maierhauser, who had been overseeing the park for 50 years.  She lost her husband, Joe, in 2008... but he still had a strong presence and even a desk in the main office.  Martie explained the rare beauty and biological diversity of the park, and its fascinating history.  But we soon found we had a problem:  There was no vehicle to help us do our job.  The sizable distances between the 3 camping areas, the ranch, and the cave (high up on the side of a cliff) made it out of the question to manage the area on foot.  And the RV could not travel the washed out, rocky roads.  We decided to visit Tucson while Martie saw what she could do about preparing the host site.  We started with the Pima Air and Space Museum.  They were having a marvelous educational event centered on a paper airplane competition.

All of the kids had a cool shirt that said, "I folded, I flew, I made history".  But I was looking for my favorite:  the SR-71. 

So...I couldn't get even half of this stealth machine in the picture frame...so I tried making a movie.

I found out all of Arizona is in the middle of a SciTech Festival.  I just adore the "doing" of science.  There's even an Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” Symposium next month at this museum.

We walked through the 5 giant hangers with our mouths open.  The interactive displays were phenomenal with excellent histories, photos of the planes in action and actual period artifacts.

This NASA Aero Spacelines 377-SG Super Guppy was my favorite.   It was built big to move segments of rockets, including much of the Saturn rocket that powered the Apollo Program.

We walked our legs off and then went back in the main hangar to check out how the paper airplane races were going.

We had walked ourselves numb, so Bob took a nap out in the RV.  He suddenly woke up and said, "Let's go see my childhood friend, Justin Schmidt."  I had no idea who that might be, but we headed across Tucson to find him.

 

It turned out he's Dr. Justin O. Schmidt, a research entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson.  He studies apiculture- the science of beekeeping- with an emphasis on bee nutrition, chemical communication, physiology, ecology and behavior of bees.  And his wife, Li, is a very talented doctor, a Family Practice Physician with 14 years business, and about to open her own practice.  They are both fascinating to listen to.   Justin has ongoing experiments right in his backyard.  They are both celebrities in their fields and in our eyes, certainly.  They are generous, very kind people. Their two sons are extremely bright and original...and well loved.  Click here to read an article by Scientific American Frontiers about Justin. 

Balboa Park at its BEST

Balboa Park was more of a park when I was a kid.  Now it's a fascinating maze of shops and museums and developed gardens...and so of course we lost Arden right off the bat.   Upon finding him, we decided to confine his explorations to a museum.

San Diego Natural History Museum - Manatee Section

What's better than doing Science with Beatrix and Arden?

 

We were excited to find a mini version of the giant sculptures that greet you at the Birch Aquarium.  Tabitha missed getting in the photo, so we took another.  What kind of whale is it? ....a gray.  We decided to try the movies in the 3D theater.  "Ocean Oasis" turned out to be a gem, as it showed aerials of where we were headed next:  The BAJA!  It explained why The Sea of Cortés is so rich with life and the Baja California desert struggles to support life.  We also watched "Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World"...which was a bit tedious after the brilliant photography of  "Ocean Oasis". 

“The Sea of Cortez is a marine aquarium with the largest diversity of life we can find on earth.” -- Jacques Cousteau  

This sea is considered to be the richest body of water on Earth.   So why is it such a highly productive ecosystem?  One reason you would not guess is the softer, more porous rocks such as Coquina limestone, rhyolites, granite, or diorite (igneous rocks) support sea life.  But the big reason is the geology of the past 5 million years, which has resulted in the upwelling of cold, nutrient rich waters.  Nerd Stuff:  The Sea of Cortés is too small to have much of a real lunar tide of it's own. Even though it has no tides the sea does produce a very strong tidal flow. The lunar tides of the Pacific cause strong currents in the sea which actually occur as a lifting motion. The speed of these currents is determined in part by the width of the shore, the depth of the water and the contour of the bottom. 

Near the Midriff islands, in very deep water this lifting action creates vertical currents know as upwellings. A funnel like effect can be caused also, depending on the bottom and the currents. Because of severe changes in the bottom contour there can be an upwelling and a whirlpool very close together. These radical movements move fish, plankton and other nutriments around as if in a washing machine. The nutriments are affected by different currents and movements throughout the sea, keeping the fish population very well fed and very happy to be in the Sea of Cortés. Happy fish make for happy fishermen!    The fish stories that have come from this sea often seem unbelievable, when in fact, most are true.
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15-foot Oar Fish, taken Sea of Cortés

Back to the Museum....please.   Sorry...Geology is such a favorite topic for me.  We went outside for lunch, and then dived back in for more. 

Arden simply loves bugs, so we had to have a picture of him impaled by a giant rhino beetle.  And Beatrix wanted the above picture of an ice-aged giant beaver skull (Castoroides) that was probably once as big as Paka!
Kristen found her "best spot" at the Spanish Village Art Center.  Craftsmen had made the perfect jewelry for her of Brecciated Jasper...and each shop had even more artistically presented gems.  There was even a pure gem shop.  The kids took off and enjoyed the mini-railroad so we could concentrate on shopping.  Delicious!

Look on the bench for a hint of what the rest of the team was up to during our art appreciation time.  Newel has actually gotten very good at making raps with his new i-Pod ap. 

Ohhhhhh, yah.....   

Then we remembered the old Balboa Park Carousel with its original military band music.   This 1910 hand-carved example of European craftsmanship had a brass ring you could grab for.  Arden tried!  ...and he tried...!!!  It is one of the few in the world still offering the brass ring game for everyone taking the 5-minute ride.

Arden was a good sport about almost getting the ring...and it was time to say "Good-Bye".  (If you catch the ring you get another ride.)  We wandered through the main avenue of architectural wonders, and stopped to see the performers (juggling, joking and amazing all)...and sad, sad, sadly said farewell to half of our contingent.  I think they were somewhere amonst the tons of travel necessities in that van!

Hasta la Vista...vaya con Dios

USS Midway Museum - San Diego Invasion!

We "walked the gang plank" (the left one shown above in the front)

We went to sea without leaving port!..and without checking into our resort rooms.  We stumbled straight from our long drive into the USS Midway Museum.  Having no idea what to expect, we entered a floating city and walked in the footsteps of 225,000 Midway sailors who served our country beginning in 1945.  Meticulously restored aircraft  – from World War II to Operation Desert Storm – were parked everywhere.  Paka was reliving his own pilot and Air Force days. The rest of us were stunned by the size of the ship and the tightness of the quarters. The passageways formed a disorienting maze that kept separating us from other team members.

They offered headsets to tell the story, but we didn't want to keep track of them and the grandkids as well, so we asked our son, Newel, to give us a spontaneous tour.  It was FAST....so I filmed as much as I could for later viewing.  Below is our first view inside the USS Midway (CV-41).

We had to duck everywhere we walked in the crew's quarters ....or you could count on a close encounter with a bulkhead.  Factoids The Midway was the first US warship that was unable to utilize the Panama Canal due to her size.   In 1947 she test fired a captured German V-2 rocket from her flight deck, the first such launching from a moving platform.  Below is the ship's liquid oxygen plant.  Paka loved this part because he had built such plants in Korea and knew their stories.  In 1980 the Midway collided with the Panamanian merchant ship Cactus.  The collision occurred near the liquid oxygen plant and two sailors working in the plant were killed and three were injured.   In 1990 the Midway  participated in Operation Imminent Thunder, an amphibious landing exercise in Desert Storm which involved about 1,000 U.S. Marines, 16 warships, and more than 1,100 aircraft. She became a museum in 2004.

Enlarge the Oxygen Plant by clicking on it

We quickly found out in our tour this ship had everything.  Our grandson did not enjoy the Brig, but we were fascinated by the chow hall and the officer dining room, named "The Bowling Alley".  Ten tons of food were prepared daily for the crew.  (See film clips at the end of this post.)  It was Christmas, so the ship was decorated like it probably never was before.  I should have remembered from my brothers' models of aircraft carriers that the fighters' wings would fold up, so they could pack more onto the ship.  Below Newel is standing by the TMB Avenger. 

Rarely landings on the Midway went terribly wrong.  This Corsair II caught a wicked downdraft in 1984 which resulted in a Ramp Strike.  The pilot did not survive this one, but click here for a video where a Midway pilot miraculously survived.

Arden is investigating options in case the Midway sinks.  Below is the ship's original 2-man version of a lifeboat.  It has everything, it seems, except adequate room for the overboard sailors.  No wonder this unit comes with a bailing bucket!  Just imagine yourself adrift in high seas in this little bit of a pea pod.

Paka was blown out of the refueling pit by a Phantom F-4 back in 1970

Grandma by a Desert Storm aircraft, the A-6 Intruder

Getting ready to Walk the Plank!

Watching Troy's sun set on "The Plank"
(At the end of this post is a picture of The Plank after the sun went down)

The ship was anchored by this park showcasing the "Unconditional Surrender", a 25-foot sculpture that brings to life a famous black and white image of a sailor kissing a young nurse in Times Square, New York City.   For you young kids, there was a  spontaneous eruption of joy and euphoria that swept a worn-out nation when the public announcement was finally made that World War II was over.  Zoe wanted to head on down to explore this park....and play among the weird "Elephant Trees" that were growing there.  But by the time we got our crowd down off of the ship, it was too dark to play.

Above are clips of:  Dining for officers and enlisted men and the lovely Ward Room.

Above are clips of:  Ship's Cafeteria, and our onboard Dining Experience.  Who wouldn't be famished after seeing the chipped beef in the Midway Cafeteria?  Sailors called it:  "S___ on a Shingle"

So who showed up at the Midway after us?  American Idol.  Just use the key words:  San Diego Auditions at http://www.americanidol.com/   It was great to see the Midway get so much media exposure.   It won't be too long before it's not possible to tour these giants of wars past.

Our Personal Paradise...FOUND




Sites have HUGE pads for ANY RV or Tent (see table 4 scale)

Not a problem at all at Silver River SP

I researched all of the state parks in the central area of Florida and felt Silver River SP was perfect for us.  I sent in an application (the best I could write) to http://volunteer.gov/gov/  (which is a super place to apply for work all across America)...and have been waiting for several weeks.  No word, so we took our own advice and called (no help needed) and then drove straight there to see the park for ourselves.  It was BETTER than we imagined.  As soon as we were parked in our huge space, I took off on my bike and soon met Don, one of the hosts.  I spooked him, walking up on him as he was enjoying going through his fishing rods.  He told me one host couple would have to be leaving early (for the unhappy job of having a hip replaced).  Don told me to head for the Ranger Station to talk with the Volunteer Coordinator...but she had just left for several days.  



Well then, it's time to explore the surprises that await in this incredibly fascinating park.  We soon found 15 miles (24.1 km) of pine needle-strewn trails...all shaded and wonderfully twisted through the live oaks and palmettos.   The Swamp Trail led to a sacred spot along the river...known for the great peace it can bring to a soul in turmoil.

 

Recreated Cracker Homestead



Straight down the road from the campground we found a village of restored or "newly-built" 19th century farm buildings (houses, meeting house, sheds, blacksmith, etc.) and a museum that has more bang-for-the-buck than any its size in the world!  The next weekend was Ocali County Days, an action-packed festival re-creating Florida a century ago. This is a living history event with displays, tours, and performances incorporating living historians: real buckskins, rifles, hides, Seminole Indians, Spanish Andalusians (horses) cows, all of the farm animals...and my favorite--bunnies!  It has become a popular annual attraction in the area, so Bob invited our nephew and his wife.  They insisted our son, who is a resident at Florida Hospital, take time off and come with his family.  This was all very exciting, except the campground had been sold out for the event since last year!  A quick check confirmed what I feared:  no other park took tents, and they had no openings for the weekend anyway.  Bob took a fistful of money and his faith in his own convincing ways, and said he'd find a tenting spot.

Unusual trailers started pulling into the park.  This vendor had his goods and a generator on the back of this trailer.  The beards on the men were grown to stare at, and the costuming was extraordinary. 

  

This is the first time in a LONG time where I felt like I could really relax.   Ahhhhh......