Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Red Barn RV Park, Roswell, New Mexico

September 10, 2019

Temperature 81

Stafford Air and Space Museum

Another comfortable night for sleeping.  Another beautiful day.  Skies are overcast.  The wind, as always, is whipping through the park.  The temperature is a comfortable 81 degrees.  There is absolutely no humidity.  What more can you ask for?  Thank you Lord for this wonderful day you’ve given us to live and enjoy.

Well, I though I had seen everything.  That is until today.  A mid 2000’s big rig of 40 feet pulled into the the park.  Both sides all caved in along the locker doors.  Wires of all kinds hanging down in the back.  Lenses missing off of lights.  As I watched him back into a site I began to understand why.  That is one guy I would not want to meet going down the road!

The new safety cables came today and I already have them installed.  They are thicker than the original ones and so don’t fit through the tow bar.  No problem, I found a way to keep them off the ground.  The skid wheel we’ll have to reorder when we get to our next new home since it was not due until Thursday or Friday.

Let’s go back to the Stafford Air and Space Museum.  There is so much more to see and discover.  We’ll begin here, did you know?

We’re going to move now to the Aviation Exhibits.

This is a full scale flyable replica of the original Wright Flyer.

 

How it was constructed and how it was controlled during flight.

That first flight.

Where the income came from to finance their aviation experiments.

The Wright Brothers wind tunnel.  It took them over a month to learn how to use it effectively.  They used it to test more than 200 scale model wing configurations.

This is a Curtiss Pusher.  It was one of the first aircraft to be built in quantity.  It was also the aircraft type which made the first takeoff and landing from the deck of a ship.  This is a full scale flyable replica.

This is a Bleriot XI.  It was the first aircraft to cross the English Channel.

The design of this plane forever changed the shape of aviation.

This is a Sopwith Pup.  It was one of the first operational fighter aircraft.  It served the British well on the Western Front during the first two years of World War I.

It was also one of the first aircraft to use a mechanically synchronized machine gun that allowed it to fire between the blades of a rotating propeller.

Other WW I fighters.

This is a full scale replica of the Spirit of St. Louis.  It is a custom built Ryan NYP aircraft named for his financial backers from St. Louis.

The periscope on the left side.

The Aviator, Charles A Lindebergh.

The historic flight.

This is the Bell X-1 Rocket Plane.

On October 14, 1947 it became the first aircraft to punch through the sound barrier.  Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager piloted the historic flight and named the aircraft Glamourous Glennis in honor of his wife.

This is an F-86 Sabre Fighter.  It was America’s first swept-wing jet fighter aircraft.  It gained fame during the Korean War as the outstanding fighter of the day.

This is a MIG-21R Fishbed Fighter.  This Soviet aircraft was the most produced jet fighter aircraft in history.  It served as the front-line fighter for nearly all of the Soviet-bloc countries during the cold war.  This specific aircraft was flown by General Stafford during his tenure as Commander of the USA Flight Test Center at Area 51.

It’s cockpit.

This is an actual F-16 aircraft.  It was developed under the direction of General Stafford.  It still serves as one of America’s front-line fighter aircraft.

Finally, I discovered this room with a wrap around display case of model airplanes of all kinds.

Let’s finish tonight’s tour with a few odds and ends.  We’ll begin with a full scale replica of the Little Boy Bomb, the first nuclear weapon used in warfare.  This replica was the type of atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

But Little Boy pales in comparison to the B-61 Thermonuclear Bomb.  This actual flight-ready but disarmed bomb is one of our country’s current air-dropped nuclear weapons.  It’s amazing to me that such destructive force can be carried in such a small package.

We’ll conclude tonight’s tour with this really neat bench.

So much for tonight.  Tomorrow we’ll pick up and finish our tour with exhibits about rockets and space exploration.  I hope you’re enjoying our tour so far.  Tomorrow will be just as great as the last two blogs.  Stayed tuned.

So much for our day on The Road of Retirement.  The new safety cables have been installed.  We’ve played a round of Mexican Train.  Barbara made another wonderful meal.  Time now to get some sleep.

Thanks again for joining us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Red Barn RV Park, Roswell, New Mexico

September 9, 2019

Temperature 82

Stafford Air and Space Museum

These past few nights are my kind of nights.  The temperatures have been going down into the 60’s which makes for some really comfortable nights for sleeping.  I just hope it stays like this for the foreseeable future.

Not much happening today.  We stayed home and just relaxed.  We got the laundry done.  And I finally was able to make reservations for the parks we’ll be staying at in Arizona for this winter.  It was tough going for a bit.  All the state parks are already booked.  Most private parks it was the same.  But I stuck at and finally my perseverance was rewarded.  Time will tell what these parks are really like.  They all have a 7 or better rating on CampgroundReviews so I’m optimistic.

Tonight we’re going back to Weatherford, OK.  Specifically, back to the Stafford Air and Space Museum.  The Stafford Air & Space Museum is named in honor of Weatherford native and legendary test pilot and astronaut, Lt. General Thomas P. Stafford. The museum is considered as one of the finest and most comprehensive air and space museums in the central United States.

The museum has worked closely with the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, and the U.S. Air Force Museum to assemble one of the finest collections of aerospace artifacts in the central United States. It houses over an acre of exhibits under one roof and showcases thousands of items representing the evolution of aviation and spaceflight.

The Stafford Air & Space Museum is named in honor of famed fighter pilot, test pilot, author and astronaut Lt. General Thomas P. Stafford.

Stafford was born in 1930 and raised in Weatherford, OK.

 

Regarding his childhood in Weatherford he once stated.

He attended Weatherford High and it was during this time that he began to recognize his own interests and potential.

He dreamed of going to the prestigious United States Naval Academy and with the help and coaching of his teachers he began to prepare for the rigorous entrance exam.  Stafford applied to the Academy and was accepted to the class of 1952.

Finishing in the top 25 percent of his class, Stafford was offered a chance to join the newly formed U.S. Air Force.  In 1952, Stafford was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.  Stafford attended the first phase of pilot training at  Greenville AFB, San Marcos AFB, and Connally AFB

where he flew in addition to other aircraft, the T-33 Shooting Star.

He always wanted to fly higher and faster, so his natural progression was to move on to test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base.  He graduated in 1959 from the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California, receiving the A.B. Honts award as that year’s outstanding graduate.  After graduation, he remained at Edwards AFB as a flight instructor. While working as an instructor, Stafford created the first civilian instructor position at Test Pilot School to ensure continuity, and co-authored the Pilot’s Handbook for Performance Flight Testing and the Aerodynamics Handbook for Performance Flight Testing

On September 11, 1962, Thomas Stafford was among the second group of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

As an astronaut he had a long and distinguished career.

He first entered space as Pilot on the Gemini VI-A mission on December 15 and 16, 1965.

The primary mission objective was to rendezvous with the Gemini VII spacecraft, launched eleven days earlier.

But it almost didn’t happen.  During the first launch attempt the booster engines ignited and then immediately shut down.  This called for the crew to eject which would have destroyed their spacecraft.  But the crew realizing that the rocket had not left the pad elected to stay with their craft.  This decision saved their capsule and avoided possible injury to themselves.

After a quick fix to the booster they lifted off a few days later and headed toward their rendezvous with the Gemini VII spacecraft.  Stafford helped make the first rendezvous in space, aiding the development of techniques to prove the basic theory and practicality of space rendezvous.

This is the actual Gemini VI Spacecraft.

The cockpit.

A picture of the heat shield.

This is Stafford’s space suit used in Gemini VI

From June 3 to 6, 1966, Stafford was Command pilot of Gemini IX

They performed three different types of rendezvous, including a demonstration of an early rendezvous that would be used in Apollo, including the first optical rendezvous and a lunar or abort rendezvous.

The three-day mission ended safely after 45 orbits.

From May 18 to 26, 1969, Thomas Stafford commanded Apollo 10, the first flight of the lunar module to the moon. His crew consisted of Lunar Module pilot Eugene Cernan and Command Module pilot John Young.

During this “dress-rehearsal” for the Apollo 11 moon landing, Stafford performed the first rendezvous in lunar orbit and the entire lunar landing mission except the actual landing.

But all didn’t go as planned.  Toward the end of the mission the capsule in which Stafford and Cerman where went into a wild, spinning gyration that nearly spelled the end of the spacecraft and it’s crew.  Stafford, with his pilot skills tested to the limit, finally was able to bring the spacecraft under control.

 

During its return to Earth, Apollo 10 orbited the moon for 61 hours and achieved the highest speed ever attained by humans, 24,790 miles per hour.

Thomas Stafford logged his fourth and final space flight as Apollo commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission, July 15 to 24, 1975.

This was a joint US/USSR space flight, culminating in the historic first meeting in space between Americans and Soviets.  After two days in space, Soyuz and Apollo docked on July 17, where the crews met and conducted joint experiments and held press conferences.

Stafford and cosmonaut Leonov meet in the docking ring after the docking of the two spacecraft.

 

The flight ended successfully after 217 hours in space, though a near-disaster occurred during the final descent of the Apollo module. Due to a malfunctioning valve the crew cabin was flooded with toxic gas from the spacecraft’s thrusters for 30 seconds. Despite the poison fumes Stafford was able to open the valves and save the lives of all aboard. With this, his last mission, Stafford logged a total of 507 hours and 43 minutes in space flight, for which he received the Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings. In 1993, he was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for saving the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project U.S. crew from fuel intoxication.

When presented with this medal Stafford said:  This is the greatest honor of my life. I am very proud to have contributed to our nation’s future in space and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the beginning of America’s venture into the new and endless frontier.

In June 1975, before ASTP, Stafford was offered command of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. He accepted and assumed the assignment on November 15, 1975. Stafford oversaw both the Air Force and NASA test facilities at Edwards AFB, as well as test ranges in Utah and Nevada.

He retired from the Air Force in 1979.

We’ll end here for now but there is so much more to come.  Stayed tuned to future blogs for the remainder of the tour of this absolutely fantastic museum.  There are so many more exhibits, displays, and planes to see.

That’s it for now on The Road of Retirement.  We’re enjoying our time here just relaxing, reading, and doing odds and ends.  A couple of more days and we’re back on the road again.  But for now we’re just chilling.

Thanks again for joining us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Red Barn RV Park, Roswell, New Mexico

September 8, 2019

Temperature 88 – Yes, It Cooled Off For A Day

UFO Museum and Research Center

I do believe we are finally getting used to being on Mountain Time.  Going back that hour when we first arrived here really threw us for a loop.  Something like jet lag is probably the best way to describe it.  We just have to remember that the rest of our family is 2 hours ahead of us.  We also have to remind Amanda that when she calls in the morning at 7 am her time, it is actually 5 am for us!

This is the first RV park where I can’t put out the patio awning.  Not for lack of room, but because of the wind.  We have constant wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph with higher gusts of 20 mph plus on a daily basis.  Thankfully, the passenger side/refrigerator side is only in the sun for maybe 2 to 3 hours.

Let’s see, the new safety cables and the skid wheel are on order.  Hopefully, both will

arrive before we leave here on Thursday.  The cables I’m sure of but the skid wheel is going to be a close call.  Time will tell.

Today we decided to go to the big attraction, and probably the real reason most people come to Roswell and that is to visit the

This is what Roswell is all about, since 1947 Roswell has been synonymous with UFO’s.

The Mission statement of the Museum is simply this:  The UFO museum was organized to inform the public about what has come to be known as “The Roswell Incident” as well as all other aspects of the UFO phenomena. The corporation’s mission statement includes the goal to educate, not convince, the general public about the Roswell Incident and all aspects of the UFO phenomena.

With that thought in mind, let me share with you the information that is on public display at the Museum

Roswell, we discover, was not the the start of the UFO craze.  The public’s fascination with UFO’s began in Los Angles on February 25,1942.  At 7:21 am the 37th Artillery Brigade lit up the night sky as they unleashed a barrage of rounds at a large, clearly visible unknown object which remained unharmed while hovering motionlessly over the city.

The next published incident which ushered in the age of flying saucers occurred on Tuesday June 24, 1947 at 2:57 pm.  Kenneth Arnold, a respected pilot and member of the Idaho Search and Rescue Flyers, stated that he encountered a chain formation of 9 shining objects approaching Mt. Rainier at a calculated speed of over 1,700 miles per hour.  He stated that they had neither wings nor tails yet their capabilities were beyond those of any aircraft known by him.

Then in July 1947, something happened northwest of Roswell during a severe thunderstorm. Was it a flying saucer? Was it a weather balloon? What happened?

For those who believe the story goes that aliens were sufficiently intrigued by the Land of Enchantment to travel untold trillions of miles to check it out. Alas, whether it was a result of altimeter failure or distracted driving, during a thunder and lightening storm the saucer botched the approach and dived to the dirt.

On July 3rd William Mack Brazel saddled up his horse and rode out to check for storm damage from the night before.  He encountered a debris field larger than a football field consisting of strange metallic objects.  He collected some of the debris and rode off to show it to his neighbors.

Floyd and Loretta Proctor were the first to be shown some of the material from the wreckage.  Loretta latter stated it was extremely light in weight.  I had never seen anything like it before. . .it was very flexible and wouldn’t crush or burn.  The couple told him to go to the authorities and informed him that a reward of $5,000 was offered for a piece of a flying saucer.  Since it was a 3 hour ride to Roswell he delayed for 3 days before going to the sheriff with what he had.

Then there was Grady Barney Barnett.  Surveying in the desert north of the Foster Ranch on July 3rd he stumbled upon the wreckage of a disc according to his closest friends.  Seeing 4 dead bodies on the ground, he attempted to investigate.  Before long he is joined by a group of curious university archaeologists in search of artifacts.  They thought they had uncovered a plane crash.  As they gathered for a closer look a pair of military officers drove up in a truck and took control, ordering him to stay away from the craft.

We also have the Roswell fireman.

Mac Brazel finally goes to the sheriff with his story.  The sheriff recounts a similar warning issued to him as with the fireman.

The Sheriff seeks assistance in identifying the debris that Brazel brought in.  He reaches Maj. Jesse Marcel who was dispatched to the site to collect all of the remaining debris.  Read what he has to say in the 3rd paragraph just 3 years before his death.

Now we have the story of the Base Commander

What did he dictate to his Public Information Officer?  This is what he said.

Frank Joyce, announcer at KGFL was hesitant to broadcast what he has been given.  He also has other suspicions as well especially since Brazel’s statement is so different then what he first told him on the phone from the sheriff’s office.

Suspecting that a military cover up is going on Walt Whitmore slips Brazel away to his own home.  He conducts a candid interview with him, apparently consistent with his original story.  But wait until you read how it all ends.

But Whitman had his interview.  The question was Would he be able to broadcast it?

We’re not done.  Others quickly got involved.

This is what followed.

This is what others had to say about the incident.

So what really happened?  Let’s jump forward to today and the Roswell Dig.

The team heads out to the site of the original crash.

Aerial shot of some test pits.

To prevent any salting of the site extensive photos are taken before, during and after the excavation of each site.

At the conclusion of the project all samples were sent to lock boxes at Wells Fargo in Roswell.

The conclusion?  The project leader stated that based on what was discovered I don’t believe the US Government has fully disclosed all that they know.

Weather Balloon?  Space Saucer?  Or?  We probably will never know the truth.

Ok, time for some other exhibits in the Museum.

 

 

There you have it, just a taste of a rather fascinating museum.  There are other exhibits which I didn’t include, there are just so many.  If you’re ever in the area take a tour.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  It’s getting late and I need to tie a few things down.  The wind is howling outside.  You can hear the vent covers on the roof catching the wind and trying to fly away.  I had to go out and tie Gertrude down, I found her on the end of the picnic table about to go off the end.  Yes, this part of the country is a whole lot different than anywhere we have been before.

Thanks for coming along again today.  We always appreciate your company and comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 20019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Red Barn RV Park, Roswell, New Mexico

September 6, 2019

Temperature 95

We Found Our Train

Travel Day

This Part of the Country Gives New Meaning to the Word Desolate

The winery proved to be a wonderful spot to spend the night.  So peaceful, so quiet, not a sound to be heard.  But soon enough we found our train!  Everywhere we have gone lately we have had a train.  We would have been so disappointed had there not been one this time.  As we prepared to go to bed we heard it’s whistle loud and clear from across the canyon.  The next day on the road we saw it up close and personal as we traveled down Route 60.

The tracks run parallel to Route 60 and the railroad traffic was constant in both directions.  Short trains, long trains, trains with all kinds of cars.

Before we left today we had a decision to make What route would we take?  Our RV GPS wanted us to take Route 60 to Route 285.  This would have been a trip of a bit more than 4 hours.  Not good.  I looked at the map and noticed if we took Route 70 it would be a straight shot from Route 60 to Roswell in just about 3 hours.  So why not?  Route 70 was listed as a major truck route.  I loaded truckrouter and checked what route it would suggest between Canyon, TX and Roswell, NM and it also gave me Route 60/Route 70.   That would be our route.

What was the trip like?  Once again we spent the day climbing higher, ever higher.  Yup, we are definitely in the high plains country.  The roads were smooth, minimal construction, absolutely no traffic.  Yet, as we rolled along mile after mile we both decided that this part of the country gives new meaning to the word desolate.  You could look to the left, the right but nowhere would you find a soul.  Nothing but scrub pines, a few cattle but that was it.  Not even a house, not even an outhouse! It all added up to one long, monotonous ride.

In time we saw the sign for New Mexico.  It’s that small green sign in the picture.  Could they make it any smaller?  Are they trying to hide the fact that you’re in their state?  Don’t blink or you might miss it as we almost did.

Soon enough we were in Roswell and searching for our new home.  Then we saw the sign and we knew we were there.

This is the office.

 A sure sign that you are in Roswell.

I get this strange feeling that I’m being watched!

This is the campground.  It is small, well taken care of, and all sites are dead level.  Lee, the woman who owns the campground is absolutely wonderful.  She makes you feel like you are one of the family and glad to be at her park.

This is where we are, in the back adjacent to a farmer’s field.

This is our home which is site #9.  It is a back-in, hard packed gravel, dead level, with all utilities convenient to the utility bay.  We have partial shade from noon to the end of the day.  Gertrude is off to the right on a picnic table and happily pulling in all the western arc satellites.   We both agree it is a beautiful place to call home.  The front, by the way, got debugged right after this picture.  It was a mess and needed to be done like ASAP.

We had one small issue today.  Coming out of a gas station we again dragged our tow bar.  Usually no big thing.  However, this time the safety cables somehow got caught under the bar and both were shredded.  We could continue to use them but I would not trust them.  Time to find replacements.   Time also to find a wheel to put under the tow bar.  I had one picked out once and then forgot to order it.  Not this time.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Tonight we are giving thanks for a safe ride; and, for a wonderful new home where we can hang our hats for a week.  Life is good.

Thanks for coming along on the ride with us.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!