We got the call last Thursday. Cousin Bobby found MP's mom lying next to the bed unconscious and she was in I.C.U. at St Petes hospital. She had somehow fallen and her body was accepting room temp so she was hypothermic with a body temp of 93. Somehow she had gotten her hand tangled up in the box springs under the bed and her index finger was horribly mangled ....It looked like the end. We packed immediately and left Green Valley at 4:00 a.m.. Our plan was to drive north staying in touch with the family so we could get MP to a major airport along the way when it was time. I stayed on Highway 15 all the way from Las Vegas, 700 hundred miles on the first day and 500 on the second as my mother in law seemed to be stable and maybe getting better, she is one tough lady. To make a long story short it wasn't long before we got a pic of her sitting up in bed eating salmon, yep, she ain't dyeing this time. At first she had lost memory from the hypothermia but that came around and then she had her finger amputated and she was playing her suduko puzzles with what she calls ' stubby' ...jeez...So, we're back in Montana. MP's mom will be released to an assisted living soon and all is right with the world, just another bump in the road. It's been an emotional week and a bit of a whirlwind.
Needless to say I didn't have time for our usual daisy sniffing along the way. But we did stop for fuel in Dubois Idaho and I was duly impressed by the isolation of this place. You don't get here by accident. Once a thriving town it now has just houses and one gas station/ grocery / beer / front porch sitting all in one store...Downtown Dubois, you must go someday and wonder how and why people live there...I'll find out on the next trip when I have time to talk story with the locals.
You know you're in the far west when you see a sign that says ' next services 82 miles '. This is what that looks like.
Lucky for me , right before we had to blast off to Montana we got to do some ultra cool stuff....Growing up as an Army Brat one of my hobbies is Military History, I read a lot. So right in Green Valley is a National Historical location which is the only Titan Missile Silo in existence. This place along with 11 other were rushed into service in the desert and came on line as a nuclear deterrent at the height of the Cold War, 1963. Each missile had multiple re entry nuclear bombs. Together with the other Titan Batteries in Arkansas and North Dakota it amounted to hundreds of Nuclear weapons to assure what was called M.A.D. = mutually assured destruction . Naturally the Russians had Hundreds as well so both sides new it would be pointless to push the button when there was so much fire power involved. I have my own theory....considering that missile powered space flight was so new and complex I think they figured most of these things wouldn't work so redundancy was the key to winning a nuclear war. Here's me top side and the missile looking down, very cool.
At the Titan site we were encouraged to visit the Pima County Aerospace museum, we were told that it was very covid friendly as it's huge, almost 100 acres. So the next day we were there and it's about the coolest I've ever been to. Max and me did the Boeing Museum is Seattle but this place is like Seattle's on steroids. When I was a kid not only did I see a Nike Missile launch at Fort Greeley Alaska but many times we were at Edwards and George Air Force Base in California which is part of the desert training area with Fort Irwin where we were stationed. The experimental Delta wing Bomber the EXB-70 crashed near Fort Irwin...So it was cool for me to see all the planes I've heard of and so many that I've seen like these first swept wing bombers the B-47 that were stationed at Eielson AFB when us kids would go there to swim.
As we walked and I described all the planes to MPeasy A-10 tank busters and B-1 bombers flew over from the museums neighbor, Davis Monthan AFB. The entire area is aviation. This Korean War era Mig-17 was one of my favorites. It battled our new swept wing fighter the F-83 Sabres and I have to say the Sabre looked to be a way more refined aircraft...in fact all the Russian Aircraft looked to be kind of primitive compared to their American counterparts and many were obvious copies. Here's the Mig and me in front of a vertical takeoff British Harrier that won the War of the Falklands for the country that brought us the Beatles.
As we were dropping some lettuce in the gift shop I noticed this on the wall and asked the cashier if she knew what it was called and she didn't. Well it's an Alaska thing I guess as it's the Marston Mat that they say helped win the war in the Aleutians , almost instant runway and...works darn nice for launching boats on the Kenai River.
Right down the road is what they call ' The Bone Yard ' .... It's actually where hundreds, no thousands of decommissioned airplanes rest in the dry and metal friendly desert. Some of these planes are relics but a huge portion of them have been put away with care and are maintained if ever needed again, the work of the 309th Aerospace + Regeneration Group. Very impressive the military might of our country. We saw hundreds of Hercules type cargo aircraft lined up I'd bet dollars to donuts from what I know of the U.S. military our guys could have them in the air in days. I told MP the worlds bullies like Kim Jong-Un ought to get a free tour.
So life is kinda normal. We're in Hammy and enjoying being in our new home. We walked along the river this morning and although it ain't the world famous it's just right for us right now, right here. Ain't MP cute walking in the snow squall ? I'll be batching it come mid week for a while when she goes to Helena to help get her Mom settled into the new place...it's a big part of why we're here....it's love.
We came home to a beautifully remodeled bathroom. My new friend Steve Robinson made it new again and as he decided to set the vanity into the wall it's made the worlds smallest bathroom way roomier. We love it Stevie....mucho gracias.... I hope ya all come back to Mile 14.😎
Those airplane boneyards are great.
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