Posted on 08/10/2018 5:11:27 AM PDT by GunHoardingCapitalist
So, the continuation of my business training trip is sending me to Phoenix Arizona for a week. My road trips include Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Phoenix Natural History museum.
Does anybody (espically rock hounds/astronomy nuts) have any suggestions for science/space attractions? I will be there during peak viewing for the Perseid Meteor shower and would love to do some meteor watching or visit an observatory.
Bump for later
The Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson is one of the world’s largest non-government funded aerospace museums.
If you are young, buy a saguaro cactus seedling and take it home. In 40 years you can bring it back and sell it for $400 for someones front yard.
Sedona is pretty, but just north of there is gorgeous Oak Creek Canyon which is the route to Flagstaff. The night skies of Flag feature about 10 times as many stars as most US skies.
En-route to Sedona from Phoenix is the federal park for Montezuma’s Castle, mud brick buildings built in the cleft of a cliff face, making it impregnable to ground assault.
Meteor Crater, east of Flagstaff, is enormous, and because it is in an arid, high altitude desert, erosion is minimal.
Probably the best gem and mineral exhibit is at the Sonora Desert Museum, which includes a zoo and a desert botanical garden. Though the best botanical garden is in Phoenix, the Desert Botanical Garden.
Near the Sonora Desert Museum is Old Tucson movie studio, which if you like western movies, you will recognize many of the buildings in it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tucson_Studios#Movies_filmed_at_Old_Tucson
Just southeast of Tucson is Colossal Cave, a privately owned “dry cave”, that had been used as a bandit hideout.
Tombstone, southeast of Tucson, is a small town and it helps enormously to know the history of the place, and what the buildings signify before you go there. In the same direction is the mining town of Bisbee, which is a truly unique place, and offers mining car tours.
Kitt Peak National Observatory, southeast of Tucson, is a mountain covered with telescopes, including a solar telescope. The highway leading to it is up and down across washes, so is likely the deadliest stretch of highway in the state.
South of Tucson is the San Xavier del Bac mission, a 400+ year old mission, still used as a Catholic church and school for the Yaqui Indians there. It is the most photographed building in AZ.
South of there is the Titan II Missile Museum, kept by treaty after that class of 5-story tall missile was discontinued. They still have a dummy missile in the silo, and host tours of the underground missile facility. A good place to get your accumulated WWIII willies.
In Phoenix area there is the Heard Indian Museum and the huge Phoenix Art Gallery.
Lemon Mountain immediately outside Tucson is a beautiful drive.
“Go to Prescott and tour the Ruger factory.”
I live 8 miles from the factory and did not know they allowed tours.
Also if you have time to head south to the Tucson area Kartchner Caverns is awesome. Very interesting history of how this whole huge unknown cave formation was found
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartchner_Caverns_State_Park
Tombstone is worth a day especially if you like the movie/history
Bisbee has a really cool mine silver or copper or something
If you are in the Sedona area, go a little further west to Cottonwood and take the Valle Verde railroad trip through the canyon.
https://verdecanyonrr.com/journey/in-the-canyon/
“Lots of sights at the Ruger factory. Front and rear!!!”
I drove to the factory on my way to the shooting range and they no longer offer tours.
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