Dazed In Arizona

It was in May, of 1996, and we were in Tucson, of Arizona. I'm not much of a bird watcher, but it was only two days after I had added Geococcyx californianus to my Life List. That would be the Greater Roadrunner, and given what I was about to experience, it was just so appropriate that it belongs to one of the 30+ genera of the cuckoo family - the fastest, of course, reaching speeds of nearly 20 miles per hour when chasing prey.

My friend said it was surreal, and he was correct. It was, in fact, one of those kinds of moments you live for but can't imagine would ever actually happen. In fact, in this case no one would have ever imagined it. Period.

I was in town with my wife and two daughters because the elder daughter was competing in the International Science and Engineering Fair. With us was another couple from our area with whom we were friends and whose daughter was also competing. We were excited about the competition, but we were also determined to see all that we could in the area.

We drove up Kitt Peak to see the collection of telescopes at the National Observatory - especially the impressive McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope.

We visited Old Tucson Studios where many television episodes and over 70 movies have been filmed since 1939, including Rio Bravo with John Wayne.

We made a quick stop to see the University of Arizona.

We went horseback riding among the cacti in Saguaro National Park, and we even went underground into the dry caverns of Colossal Cave Mountain Park.

But nooooooo. None of those were surreal. My memory is getting dim, but I think it might have been the last evening of the competition. They threw a party for us at the Biosphere 2 complex.

Biosphere 2 is a 3.15-acre structure constructed between 1987 and 1991 as an artificial, materially-closed ecological system. It was used to explore the complex web of interactions within life systems in a structure that included areas based on five different natural biomes, an agricultural area, and a human living/working space. In September of 1991, four men and four women were sealed in for two years. A second team - and the last - entered a few years later.

And there we sat. We had completed our tour of the facility, and the party was in full swing. My friend - the other father - looked at me and said, "You know, if you had ever looked at me and said that one day we would be sitting on the lawn (see above) of the Biosphere, with over 1500 adolescents, eating hot dogs and hamburgers paid for by Intel and listening to a rock band belt out some golden oldies, I would have had to suggest we take a serious look at adjusting your medications."

He was right. Who would have thought it? And who would have thought things would someday get even crazier in Arizona.

TGB  

{this memory} 15

Every photo has a story behind it, and this one is no exception. The image of my two daughters and me was taken on a mock Sesame Street set in 1985 or 1986.

We are there because of the small matter of 600 miles. We live in Central New York, and one of the grandmothers lived in Virginia Beach. So any attempt to get granddaughters and said grandmother together meant a journey of 600 miles, a distance longer than these two young girls could tolerate in one day. So we would make it into a two day trip and spend the night somewhere along our route. In addition, 600 miles over two days leaves a fair amount of free time, and we would always look for something interesting to do on one of those days. The real challenge was that there are only so many ways one can vary the route from Central New York and Virginia Beach.

One of the most memorable was a stop at Hershey Park. Our older daughter was tall for her age - unfortunately. I say unfortunately because that meant she was tall enough to be allowed on the Comet, the old style wooden roller coaster. Oh, well. The first time we bottomed out the G-force caused her to lower her chin and head. Then she didn't have muscular strength to lift it back up. It was a pretty good roller coaster though - good enough that I couldn't let go to help her lift her head. I did try. So for much of the ride she simply looked down at the floor of our car. No worries though - today she is still an avid rider of roller coasters, wood or steel.

I don't remember all of the places we visited. I know we stopped: at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey; several stops in Washington DC, of course; the Lewes - Cape May ferry; the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel; and others. We looked for anything that would make the trip more tolerable to young girls.

We also would try to introduce more serious experiences. For example, at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadd's Ford (just west of Philadelphia) you can see paintings from all three generations of Wyeths. They weren't particularly interested as I recall. It but in general they loved to spend the night on the road, to eat in a restaurant, and to do something new and exciting.

One of those stops was at Sesame Place, a themed amusement park just northeast of Philadelphia and west of Trenton. That was where this photo was taken. I don't recall exactly why I was pointing or what they were looking at, but I love their expressions. I love the fact that for a most special special moment I had my two daughters in my lap, and I was able to wrap both my arms around them.

That's a memory I cherish.

TGB