Ready to get on the road again
Poor Freddy, when the slides are in he cannot turn around and does not know how to go into reverse
Headed to an Army base 15 miles north of the Mexico border
Fort Huachuca (wau CHU ka)
established 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca.
It covers 119 square miles
Apache Flats, the base RV park
Not busy now but in the fall and winter, it is hard to get a reservation here
Definitely in the desert
It is hard to get pictures of Road Runners, they don't stop for very long.
We saw deer often
Ft Huachuca was initially established to combat the Apache Indians led by Cochise, Victorio and Geronimo. It was home to the 10th Calvary, the Buffalo Soldiers, that fought in the Mexican war. It has gone on to become the headquarters of Army Intelligence and Drone research, development and training.
The original buildings of the Fort
Note the current buildings in the same spot.
Not a large museum but worth the visit. Sadly, you have to have access to get on the base to visit it.
The McClellan Saddle
We had one when I was a kid
Full cavalry gear
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the "Negro Cavalry" by the Native American tribes they fought in the Indian Wars.
American Indian Wars
Spanish–American War
Philippine–American War
Border War
World War I
World War II
The 10th Cavalry was transferred to Ft. Huachuca in 1913
and were part of the expedition that defeated Pancho Villa and the Mexican army
Fredric Remington spent some time at FT Huachuca with the Buffalo Soldiers
He wrote an article for The Century Magazine about a two week scouting trip with the Buffalo Soldiers
One whole room is filled with black and whites he painted.
I do not know if any are originals or not.
Lt. John J Pershing led the Buffalo Soldiers at Ft. Huachuca, later in life to become General of the Armies. The Pershing tank is named after him
Dr. Leonard Wood was stationed here as a contract surgeon. He fought in the Apache campaigns and was in the final pursuit of Geronimo.
In 1910 he was promoted to Army Chief of Staff.
A Missouri army is named after him, Ft. Leonard Wood.
I graduated from Combat Engineering School there when I was 18 years old.
Next door to the main museum is a second museum
This one is mostly dedicated to drones
They did have Army Intelligence here also but are in the process of moving that to the library.
The ANUSD-1 Army Drone from 1953 to1961
Due to the isolation and wide open spaces, they still test and train drones and drone operators here.
This was flying while we were there
older type drones
On the road to Tucson
We had lots of time so we decided to take the long way, about 40 more miles.
We like the scenery
Nogales AZ and Nogales, Mexico in the distance
On I-19, all the overpasses are decorated
Our first siting of Seguaro Cactus
On to Davis-Monthan AFB
The worlds largest aircraft boneyard. They are stored here because of the dry air, nothing corrodes.
Obviously I did not take this picture of the entrance to the RV park on base. Our temps here were in the triple digits. This proves that it is not always hot in the desert.
In camp next to us
Our view
from the RV
We are right in the middle of over 4,400 different types of aircraft.
All were flown in here and just parked.
In 1974, I came here with a crew to pick up one that was stored here. I thought it was big then, but now, WOW
Some aerial views
Some are types still in use
Some are obsolete types
The Coast Guard is well represented
I have lots of time in these type of helos, HH52
Upper right corner are two USCG C130s
I have time as crew member on these also.
As you can see, some are scrapped after a time
On to Verde Valley, about 1/2 way between Phoenix and Flagstaff
Pictures do not give this entrance into Verde Valley justice
The town we stay in is Cottonwood
The campground is a Thousand Trails CG. One of the parks we have a membership in.
We can stay in Thousand Trails CGs up to 3 weeks without paying anything except our yearly dues.
Our front lawn for about 2 1/2 weeks
Gimbel quail
There were at least 3 set of baby chicks around our camp site
Sedona is the best know town in Verde Valley. It is a tourist town but a lot of famous people visit here often. We have been here several times, always in cooler weather.
The red rocks are the real attraction
In the past, We have rode the dinner train along the Verde River during peak leaf change. Note the gold instead of green trees. It lasts about 2 weeks.
We've been to Montezuma's Castle
Took a helicopter ride over the area and down into some of the canyons.
This trip was pretty hot so we tried to stay cool
One of the reasons for coming back here is the frybread stand on the Apache reservation
Their Indian Tacos are the best.
Now on to some National Parks
Comments