8-11-24 Page & Lake Powell, AZ

We didn’t get out of Peyton, CO unscathed.  The slide failed again.  This time, the fellows diagnosed the problem as the controller (computer brain) of the system.  Their explanation was that the new slide motor confused the controller and it finally gave up and died.  This time the slide was deployed when it failed.  No driving this way.  So we were stuck.  But we were extremely lucky to have contacted a company whose experts came out with all the spare parts they thought we might need and within an hour, the problem was resolved.  They replaced the computer.  $$$ 

 

We lost a day there so Bayfield, CO, our next campground was foreshortened by a day.  Nevertheless, we found a fun thing to do:  The Bottom Shelf Brewery in Bayfield has a cozy little saloon where many locals hang out.  That burned a couple of hours.  The town block party was also on our schedule but, again, it rained buckets.  Seems we’ve had a cloud tethered to Noobee.  It rains almost every day on us and that makes us very gunshy with the slide problem. 

Outdoorsy RV Park, Bayfield, CO

The little river runs through the park
and we saw a fisherman.  I don't 
know what fish they catch.  Walleye?!
(But as Dave Barry would say, "Fishing
is fun but then you catch one.")

Bridge over the river

The Outdoorsy RV Park is beautiful, though, with a little whitewater river that splashes right through the middle.  Foot bridges cross over the river.  It is really serene and pretty.

 

We are on the penultimate leg of the trip.  Page is a beautiful part of planet Earth, located just a few miles from the south end of Lake Powell.  The red and white rock formations are amazing.  Glen Canyon dam created Lake Powell and all its fingers and it is quite a human feat.  Almost 5 million cubic yards of concrete make up the dam, enough to build a 2-lane highway from Phoenix to Chicago.  It took 8 years to complete.  Depending on whom you ask, Glen Canyon dam rivals Hoover dam in size.

Glen Canyon Dam

Bridge over the dam

 

We have slowed it down.  We found a little pocket on one of the fingers of Lake Powell where we could set up a little picnic area with the Jeepster.  The water is warm and so blue and a striking contrast to the red and white rocks that frame the lake.  We did a bit of swimming and paddleboarding, sat in the sun and enjoyed the view. 

Look closely - Rob's out there!

What a view!  Warm water
and sunshine for a change!

So far, up on my knees... 

Standing up!  I made it!

 

A great day for a picnic!

Tomorrow, God-willing and the Creek don’t rise, we will head for Mesquite, NV for a few days of horsing around.  And then we’ll go home.  This concludes my Summer 2024 t-logs, my good friends and faithful followers.  Thanks for all your support!  We love you!

8-6-24 Peyton, CO Part II

 Monday was another day of touring, this time at the National Museum of World War II Aviation.  Blair took us on the tour to view the breathtakingly beautiful collection of aircraft in the hangars.  Many of the rare planes were wreckages that have been restored by the museums team of skilled artisans that, I swear, could build you a Swiss watch from a ball of crumpled tin foil.  It is mind-boggling.  We were warned time and again not to touch a single molecule in the museum, including, understandably, the mechanics’ tools and tooling in the restoration shop.  Since many of the planes are many decades old, restoration and creation of replacement parts requires an extensive library of nearly-extinct blueprints and ancient instruction manuals and books. 

"Engine Manual for Older
Engines," copyright 1939

 

One particular plane that is in the final stages of restoration is the USN Martin PBM Mariner Helldiver.   In March, 1984, two 19 year old kids, Jeff Hummel and Matt McCauley, were scuba diving in Lake Washington and found the plane at the bottom of the lake.  They wrote to the Pentagon, told them of the find and asked if they could have it.  The Pentagon replied in government-speak that they did not have a “protocol” for that.  The boys interpreted that as, “Yes.”  After all, the USN was done with the plane.  It had been used in the 1940s for fire drill practices in which they would deliberately create a fire onboard and then put it out.  When they were through with the wreckage, they simply threw it in the lake. 

Matt McCauley and Jeff Hummel
with the Helldiver in their driveway

Bringing the Helldiver
up from the bottom of
Lake Washington, 1984

The boys acquired hoses and balloons and raised the wreckage and hauled it home to their driveway.  The Pentagon learned of this and sued the 2 kids;  they wanted their plane back.  But the story has a happy final score!  Boys – 1 Pentagon – 0.  The judge said, “The divers were energetic and well-mannered young men that helped make this country what it is.”  It became the beginning of what turned into a career of wreckage search-and-rescue for the 2 boys and they are now famous for their discoveries.  The museum hopes the Helldiver will be flying in the air show on August 17-18, 2024.  (Jeff and Matt’s most recent find is steamship SS Pacific.  It sank in 1875 and they found it at Cape Flattery in 1,500 feet of water.)   

That actual Helldiver now, almost
completely restored and
scheduled to fly on Aug. 17-18, 2024

More pictures to do the talking.  

TBM Avenger (Torpedo Bomber)
George H. W. Bush was flying
one of these when he was shot down
over Chichi Jima.

Bomb bay of the avenger

Cessna Bird Dog 
2,400 of these were built.
Its function was recon, help
bombers find their targets 
and then assess damage.  Cool!

This torpedo failed by design (1941).
The props only rotated in one direction
causing the torpedo to veer left 
and miss the target.  It would also 
detonate before it hit the water or
go too deep and miss.
The engineers said that was bullshit,
it worked just fine.  After 3 years,
they completed the redesign.

F4U Corsair
This one was flown by Pappy
Boyington who earned a
 Medal of Honor and Navy Cross.
In all, Pappy shot down 28 Jap
planes.  the Japs called this
airplane, "Whistling Death,"
because they could hear it coming
and that was not a good thing.
(Pappy was a UW graduate!
Go Huskies!)

DGA-1
This plane was designed
and built by Benny Howard
who had a grammar school education.
He called it the DGA for,
"Damned Good Airplane."
Donald Douglas said he was right!
During Prohibition Benny added
an extra tank to the airplane to 
carry whiskey!  I love this man.

PBY Catalina
Patrol bomber built in the 1930s
and 1940s by Consolidated.

PBY Catalina amphibious
One of the most widely used 
seaplanes of WWII.  Served with
every branch of the US armed forces.

T-28C trainer
1,948 were built by
North American.

T-28C trainer at the museum

Restoration shop.  The aces
that work here promise that that
wreck you see there will fly again.

Restoration shop.
Do NOT touch their tools!

The mechanics swear that
this will fly again.

Nose art... looks just like me!

More nose art

And more nose art

Last but not least, a hero of
WWII:  Rosie the Riveter

8-5-24 Peyton, CO Part I

There is a fellow nearby, Mel Bernstein, whose nickname is, “Dragonman.”  He is a Viet Nam War veteran and, believe me when I say this, Dragonman bleeds red, white and blue.  On Sunday, we signed up for a tour of Dragonman’s Colorado Springs Historical Military Museum.  I had learned of this place on the Discovery Channel, I think, and it has been on my bucket list for years.  We were both flabbergasted and stunned right from the word, “Go.”  The museum is 78,000 sq. ft. in size and every inch is packed with precious military items, from patches and medals to Jeeps, ambulances and half-tracks and everything imaginable in-between.  There are whole rooms dedicated to each war in which the US has been involved, from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan.  Some of the items are rare, priceless, one-of-a-kind or nearly-impossible to obtain.  For hours, Justin (a USN veteran) and Dragonman held up and explained to the tour group what many of the precious items represented.  It was a jaw-dropping and sometimes tearful experience (the Holocaust memorabilia was one such).  The museum contains a huge number of firearms and tens of thousands of rounds of live ammo.  The FBI and ATF have Dragonman unrelentingly in their crosshairs.  He is therefore very careful and protective and keeps the museum fenced and under lock and key.  We feel honored to have met him and to have had this experience.

 

Since words do not do justice to this magnificent display, I will let pictures do the talking.

Wooden bullets used by the
Nazis in WWII for target practice

Viet Nam room

Viet Nam uniforms and ammo

Entryway to Dragonman's museum

Suicide bomber's apparel
Mideast wars

Jewish prisoners' garb during
the Holocaust - Each one of these
cost Dragonman $3,000 to obtain.
One is from Auschwitz, one from 
Birkenau and one from Dachau.

Warning signs at the
entrance to Dragonman's 
vast establishment

Another sign

Shackles worn by slaves
on the auction block during
the Civil War era

Sgt. Major USA uniform

Same model Derringer pistol
that John Wilkes Boothe
used to kill Abraham Lincoln.
It fires a 22.

RPG that was used in the
Middle East

Case of RPGs

Just one of many aisles of
our soldiers' uniforms, firearms,
helmets and folded flags

Each uniform belonged
to the soldier pictured 
who was awarded the
Purple Heart.  There is an
entire row of these.

The genuine newspaper front page

All of the military nurses uniforms
from the beginning until now

Nazi Kaiser helmets - priceless

Display of medics from
the Korean War

MASH unit - Korea

Water-cooled machine gun - In 
Dragonman's opinion, the most
reliable machine guns of WWII

USA!  USA!  USA!

Patton display  (I love Patton.)

Rows and rows of Jeeps
and soldiers whose helmets
are honored

Lindy and Dragonman

A flag from Viet Nam

Justin, our other docent said, "We are
not woke, here.  If you are woke,
please leave, now.  No refund."

Rows of jeeps and ambulances

"We got 'im!"  Picture of
the soldier who nailed Saddam
Asshole Hussein.

Saddam Hussein Iraq War era

Poster from the Iraq War

Uniform worn by Hitler
pictured below the uniform

A handcuff used by the
Nazis to haul off the dead Jews' 
bodies to the ovens

Full-body grass
cammo outfit from the
Viet Nam era

Flags of every country in 
our solar system

Dragonman explains how
Samurai used their swords to
commit harakiri if caught - WWII

An exact glass capsule of
cyanide that slips out of a cammo
bullet casing.  Ava Brown bit down
on one of these when she and Hitler
committed sideways.  It causes death
in 2 minutes.  All the Nazi guys
carried one of these in case they
were captured.

British bolt action 
grenade launcher from WWII

This is an authentic silver belt buckle. 
It was worn by Hitler's personal body
guards.  With the touch of a finger,
it could fire 22 rounds into a
possible enemy assassin.  There
were only 15 ever made.

1 1/2 ton 6 wheel cargo truck -
built only fro 1942-45 by Dodge