Explore Arcosanti - An Urban Laboratory

Arcosanti - An Urban Laboratory

Arcosanti is a little known art community about an hour and a half North of Phoenix on I-17.  Back in 1970, renown architect and social engineer Paolo Soleri and a group of volunteers began building this communal space for living, educating and entertainment - think "Biosphere 2" but for artists and architects. Soleri believed that modern society needed significant changes to how cities were designed and constructed to minimize urban sprawl, traffic, and help maximize social interactions within society. Soleri coined the term of "arcology" - Architecture and Ecology - which philosophically combines the ideas of how humans interact with their environment.

The guided tour tells the history of the project while walking through the community and explaining how it is still evolving. Our guide this day was a lovely young woman who has been living/learning on site for the past year as an alumni of a previous program. The tour takes you through Arcosanti's art spaces, living spaces, common spaces, and gardens. Students from across the country apply for the limited number of fellowships to spend a year working along master artists and craftsmen to hone their skills and participate in this fascinating experiment. One main source of funding for the organization is the sale of the bronze wind-chimes that are forged on site using bronze sand-casting methods (which is part of the tour).

Tours are conducted daily and are on the way from Phoenix to Sedona or Flagstaff.

https://arcosanti.org

Boeing Factory Tour - Seattle, WA

Boeing Factory Tour

If you are ever in Seattle, Washington and have a couple of hours to spare you should consider booking tickets on the Future of Flight & Boeing Tour in Mukilteo, WA (about 30-minutes Northeast of Seattle) -- it is well worth the effort. The tour starts at the Future of Flight museum which includes exhibits from Boeing's 100-year history and an amazing view of the Boeing flight-line, hangars, and runway. The roof-top viewing area allows excellent vista of dozens of airplanes that are awaiting final delivery to their new owners - airlines that purchased the Boeing 767, 777, or 787 aircraft that were assembled on the other side of the Interstate in the largest factory building in North America (472 million cubic feet of room). You can see aircraft that are painted with the insignia of airlines from across the globe that are awaiting final inspections and the arrival of the airline's aircrew who will sign for the new aircraft and taxi it to the Boeing runway on it's first flight to their owner's country and airport to start carrying passengers or cargo to their destinations. 

Sadly ... cameras are not allowed on the actual 90-minute tour inside the factory (allegedly due to a mishap where a visitor dropped a camera off the viewing area platform onto the wing of a new airplane in the factory causing $$$,$$$.$$ worth of damage to a wing) and so you have to leave your cameras and smartphones in the visitor center (after a stern lecture by Boeing security about no personal devices allowed in the factory). After you watch a 10-minute movie about the history of Boeing and the current company you are ushered onto a bus and driven through the flightine area and across a bridge over the Interstate that each and every new Boeing aircraft has to cross when coming from the enormous factory building to head to the delivery area. 

When you arrive at the factory building you can't help but notice the huge hangar doors in the side of the building (more on that later). You exit the bus and head into tunnels that run under the middle of the assembly factory hangar and walk to a large freight elevator which takes you up to a viewing platform high above the middle of the factor floor. The tour guide was outstanding and provided a constant stream of facts ... mind-blowing facts ... about the Boeing organization and the activities at the factory you are beholding. You start at the 747/787 assembly line ... WOW ... seeing the iconic Boeing 747 in "parts" spread out before you in assembly jigs, parts bins, and sections of fuselage and wing parts is humbling to any Geek. Above you is a complex network of sky-cranes built into the roof of the factory which are used to carry the various parts of a 747 or 787 over to the final assembly area where the light-green plane (the color of the special coating on the aluminum frame that protects the parts before they are finally assembled into a complete aircraft and then sent over to another building for painting). In a typical workday you have tens of thousands of people working at the plant - legions of engineers, assemblers, electricians, mechanics, inspectors, accountants, inventory clerks, logistics planners, buyers, sales people, ... and the list goes on and on - who help create the airplanes we board to fly across the state, country, or globe. 

After about 30 minutes in the 747 assembly hangar you head back to the bus for a ride to another area of the factory (as I mentioned, it is huge) and arrive at the 767/777 assembly area. On one side you see the line of 767s being assembled from the various parts that are built and shipped to the factory from factories across the globe (shipped in via railroad lines, ships, and even by other freight airplanes to the factory). On the other side you see the 777's being assembled on moving assembly lines (yes ... the factory floor contains a moving assembly process that creeps across the factory floor at an imperceptible rate) where the last step is the installation of the "power plants" (a.k.a. the "engines") that are made by General Electric or Rolls Royce.

After we watched the 767/777 assembly line for about 30 minutes we headed back to the bus for the ride back across the bridge to the Future of Flight museum and AMAZING gift shop. As we boarded the bus we saw a United Airlines Boeing 787 being towed out of the now opened enormous hangar doors and out towards the final assembly / delivery area (basically ... we watched it being "born"). The bus returns you to the museum building and you exit through the giftshop. The giftshop is flight Geek heaven where you can purchase beautiful scale models of almost any/every Boeing commercial and military aircraft they have made which then flows into the Future of Flight museum containing a small but fascinating slice of Boeing's aerospace and space history. You could spend hours in the museum (at least I wished I could have) learning about Boeing's contribution to aerospace history. If you have time (and are headed to Sea-Tac Airport anyway) you can stop at the Museum of Flight in Seattle to see exhibits of what they have helped create. While most people think of Boeing as a commercial or military aircraft company, Boeing played an instrumental part in the NASA Saturn V / Apollo missions to the Moon, the Space Shuttle program, and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle which may take the first Humans to Mars. This is a tour that anyone with a pulse and love of aircraft / flight / space / engineering / technology would enjoy. 

Tours are available daily. 

https://www.futureofflight.org

http://www.museumofflight.org

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/#/orders-deliveries

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.