2-15 Sunny 65
I’ll bet a title like that makes you curious doesn’t it?
Titan Missile Bunker.
THE Titan Missile in the silo.
Sahuarita is a fairly new planned unit development 15 minutes south of Tucson. Our daughter lives in one of the adobe style homes there, but Sahuarita also holds another little secret; A nuclear missile silo. Actually it is the only surviving missile silo from the cold war days (many of you remember “duck & cover”). Duck & Cover was an attempt by our government to make us feel safer in case there was a Russian Missile attack, when in fact the only difference it would make is you would be vaporized in a fetal position instead of standing up. This Titan II silo is now a museum, part of the Pima Air Museum, called the Titan Missile Museum.
Bonnie (left) "Turns the Key"-once that key is turned you have no further control of the missile.
Official Documentation-As long as it wasn't headed for the Keweenaw, I'm good with it.
I do not want to unduly alarm anyone, but while in the launch control room deep within the hardened bunker, my awesome wife Bonnie “Turned the Key”! We do not know where the Titan went, as this is still classified information. If you are reading this blog right now (not vaporized) it was not programmed to head in your direction. I could give you a bunch of boring statistics that you can find on line about this missile site, but you can read that elsewhere should you choose. I can just tell you it was highly interesting and entertaining; well worth the few bucks for the tour.
This lovely Laguna Shadow Agate was a great find at a rock shop.
The Lace Agate with Cuprite & Chrysocolla was a rare rock shop find.
Since this is a rock related blog, I must tell you that the other day as we headed back and forth to Bisbee I shopped at a couple rock shops. One in Benson produced a collection of Laguna Agates that the owner was selling for someone. I found a real beauty of a shadow agate, about fist size, for a fair price. Watch for upcoming jewelry from this!
On our way back through Tombstone Bonnie spotted a rock shop I had not seen the last time I went to Bisbee. Patty, the owner, recognized us as rockhounds right off and removed (unscrewed) the top from a wooden box on the porch. Lots of Arizona rough rock was inside, and sharp-eyed Bonnie found a crazy lace agate containing Cuprite and Chrysocolla. I have never seen any material like this, so I knew it was quite rare. That piece was bought directly as were several more small specimens.
Patty said that the shop had only been open for a couple months when they moved from Wisconsin. She was knowledgable in minerals from the Lake Superior area, but is still learning about the local rocks. I helped by pointing out a piece of picture petrified wood from Holbrook, Arizona.
After I got back, some research on line produced limited results. It seems that the lace agate containing Cuprite and Chrysocolla is from a secret location in southwest Arizona. I’ll be eager to make jewelry from this unusual agate when I get back home.