Explore AZ Tortilla Flat

Exploring Tortilla Flats, AZ

Recently after a wonderful and rare rainstorm here in sunny Arizona we decided to take a day trip and headed to Superstition Mountains and headed to Tortilla Flats. Tortilla Flats is more than just a tourist destination - Tortilla Flat is the last surviving stagecoach stop on the Apache Trail. There is a small town, complete with a Saloon for breakfast or lunch, and a neat museum. My daughter found many photography opportunities here and all throughout our day trip.

Canyon Lake is a few miles away where you can boat, fish and camp. Ever heard of Steam Boat Dolly? She is here and available for cruises. We stopped at the Marina to look around and explore. You can rent boats and explore the lake or have a picnic along the shore.

Keep on driving and you will find the Goldfield Ghost Town. This is the valleys only authentic ghost town. It became a territory in 1893. Here you can experience a mine tour, zip line and even a bordello museum! Don't worry, it is family friendly.

Only two more stops were on our checklist. The Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman Museum is a 15 acre photography haven. Here you will find the Elvis Chapel were the movie CHARRO was filmed. Nature trails and the Cossack 20-Stamp Ore Mill, museum and much more.

After all that excitement we stopped at the Mining Camp Restaurant in Apache Junction. Cocktails and good food ( large portions) were just what I was looking for.

So grab your kids, bring your best camera and explore your state. This whole day trip was about 5 hours long only an hour drive from the East valley.


www.TortilFlatAZ.com
www.goldfieldghosttowm.com
www.canyonlakemarina.com
https://azstateparks.com/lost-dutchman/
http://superstitionmountainmuseum.org
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064155/
http://www.miningcamprestaurant.com

Ford Driving Skills

Ford Driving Skills Class

This past November my son attended the Ford Driving Skills day. What an experience! For 5 hours the students were behind the wheel learning to navigate in difficult situations.

• Hazard Recognition / Accident Avoidance
• Vehicle Handling
• Impaired Driving Simulation
• Speed / Space Management, and distraction

This program is FREE  for all newly licensed (permit and graduated) drivers. Parents are welcome to stay, watch and learn along side their kids. Students receive memento phot, t shirt and certificate of completion. 

Everyone should sign up for alerts when this program comes to your state. Word of advice - sign up immediately.  It fills up fast!  My daughter won't be ready till October 2019. Yes, it's on my calendar and I will be sending her also.

shttps://www.drivingskillsforlife.com

The Art of Survival exhibit @ Chandler Museum

The Art of Survival exhibit @ Chandler Museum 

The Chandler Museum just premiered a special exhibit of The Art of Survival: Enduring the Turmoil of Tule Lake. Tule Lake was a Japanese American internment camp / "segregation center" in Northern California where over 120,000 Japanese Americans - many who were American citizens - were forcibly relocated from their homes along the West Coast after the February 1942 Executive Order #9066 from President Franklin D Roosevelt. The exhibit was a glimpse into a very dark and embarrassing era of American history where people were incarcerated en-masse for several years (without being charged or convicted of any crimes) based on what a 1981 Federal Commission stated was due to "wartime hysteria, racism, and a failure of political leadership."

The exhibit features the evocative artwork from individuals who were in the camps as well as video interviews of the individuals who survived the camps. Throughout the exhibit are drawings, paintings, placards and posters focusing on specific aspects of the camps, what life was life for those living in them for 4 years, and what it was like for the families afterwards to attempt to rebuild their lives in a mostly unwelcoming society. The exhibit is honest and moving and worth the effort to find and attend. If you cannot attend in person, research Tule Lake on Google because if we do not learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it.

Las Vegas for the Saturnalia Holiday?

Las Vegas for the Holidays

This Festivus was spent in Las Vegas. Again. The kids actually asked to go back and we happily complied. Vegas has changed a great deal since I was kicked out of the Golden Nugget as a child. To be fair, no one told me I could not put that quarter I found in the slot machine. I successfully avoided getting in trouble on this visit. 

We enjoyed the lights on the strip, exploring the shops in the Venetian and the Forum Shops at Caesars, saw classic cars at the Linq, visited the the State Natural History Museum, visited the 7 Magic Mountains outside Vegas, and the Mormon Historic Park (hey, its history, interesting, and even though we are not LDS they let us in!). A big hit was the Linq High Roller - at the top you are at 550 feet above ground giving riders a great view high above the Las Vegas Strip (we rode it at twilight providing an amazing view of the city as it lit up for the evening). We explored the "original Strip" and found  lots of iconic neon signs and historic markers. Nearby to the original strip was a neat little artisan shopping center made from shipping containers with a play area for kids and a stage for live music. 

The most important aspect of going anywhere is the family time. Of course its easier and faster to fly, but if you travel by car you see what what most others only read about or find some "hidden gems" along the road. On I-93 we found Santa Claus, AZ (sadly it's dilapidated), visited Nothing, AZ (lived up to the name), and saw a lot of historic markers and beautiful landscapes. If you make the trip, try to take some time to pull over and take a picture, explore, be silly, and try new things. 

http://www.lasvegas.com/things-to-do/
http://parks.nv.gov/parks/old-las-vegas-mormon-fort/
http://downtowncontainerpark.com

Happy Birthday David Bowie

David Bowie Birthday Remembrance Murals

Ground control to Major Tom...  Who can read that sentence and not hear the music play in their head? Whether you are a product of the 60/70/80/90's or a teen discovering the magic and brilliance and magic of yesteryear, going down to Phoenix is worth the drive for these murals created by local artists celebrating the various Bowie album covers.

Located in Phoenix on a wall on 7th Street just 2 blocks North of McDowell Rd on the East-side of the street.

The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society

http://planetary.org

This past weekend the family and I happened upon the headquarters for the The Planetary Society - an organization founded by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman in 1980 to advocate the exploration of Space. Today, Bill Nye,  Dr Jim Bell, and so many others are carrying on where Carl Sagan left off to educate and advocate for missions to explore the Solar system and beyond. The staff seemed amused by our geeky excitement and gave my daughter the best GS patch ever and were very gracious with their time and answered our questions and showed off some of the fascinating exhibits and projects they are working on including the LightSail and Exoplanet search. This is an organization that all science-minded people should join and help support. 

Explore JPL NASA Open House

Explore JPL (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) 

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

This past weekend my family and I once again traveled to Pasadena, CA for the JPL NASA "Explore" weekend (their annual public Open House event).  This year JPL used a free ticket system to better plan and control the number of attendees entering the JPL campus for the event and what an improvement from last year. Many people online were quite upset at this change and were unable to acquire tickets before the event "sold out" on the website, but I am here to say it was wonderful! The lines were shorter and you could attend more of the various activities and tours across the JPL campus. Overall this year was calmer and so much easier to see everything in greater detail. 

We were in the first group (8:30 AM) to enter the JPL campus and immediately made our way over to the Spaceflight Operations Facility for the tour of the Mission Control area (where you get to see the celebrations of a successful mission against the large US flag and sea of computer consoles and exuberant mission specialists) and see where they manage all of the currently active missions (e.g. Voyager I & II, Cassini, Mars Opportunity & Spirit rovers, Mars Curiosity rover, Dawn, New Horizons, Juno ... and many more). Next we head over to the Spacecraft Assembly Building (the "clean room") that is used to assemble, test, and prepare the various spacecraft and rovers before they are sent off on a rocket to start their journey of exploration.  

  

"Explore JPL" (a.k.a. the JPL Open House) is a once a year event held over a weekend in the late Spring where the public is invited to "see what they pay for" (e.i. what your taxes fund) and get to meet and talk with the various staff at JPL, see the "twins" of the Mars rovers (they always build 2 - one to send to Mars and another to use for testing here on Earth), and learn about how they build these incredible spacecraft. As it was last year, the best part of the tour is being able to talk to the JPL staff - each with a unique story to tell and important roll to play in the success of these amazing missions. You will meet young women and men who control multi-million dollar spacecraft on a daily basis, engineers who design and build spacecraft, machinists who create unique parts used in the spacecraft, project managers and accountants and educators who strive behind the scenes to provide critical support to the programs. While the rovers receive the brunt of the lime light, without the tireless efforts of all of the people at JPL the missions would not succeed.

If you want to attend next year, keep an eye on the JPL website and sign up ASAP once they announce the date be sure to get up early on the date of the registration and keep refreshing the browser until you get your tickets. JPL is close to downtown Pasadena, CA where there are lots of neat museums and shops to check out before and after the Explore event. JPL is also an hour away (with good traffic) from the California Science Center where you can see the Space Shuttle Endeavour and many other excellent exhibits.  The Explore JPL is something that anyone with an interest in space exploration should try to visit once.

Enjoy!