Santa Fe

[TC Chris]

I'm in Santa Fe on a family trip. Any suggestions for must-see, must-do?

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

We used to travel US 70 from the Texas state line thru Roswell, Riadoso, down to Interstate 10. Lots of pretty country on that drive, lots of "in the middle of nowhere" as well. It goes thru the white sands as well.

[William]

Doesn't that route contain the military airplane grave yard?

Bill

[electra225]

The plane graveyard is down by Mirana, AZ. I was there once with my stepdad. He flew P-51's in WW2. The old WW2 song about "coming in on a wing and a prayer" was written in honor of the DC 3 according to Sam. Sam always told me that any pilot who crashed a DC 3 wasn't much of a pilot in the first place. Sam said it was common to see DC 3's coming in for a landing with part or most of one wing gone. He also said a P-51 was the best plane ever built. I always figured his stories got better with the telling......

[danrclem]

Carlsbad Caverns is awesome but it's a long way from Santa Fe.

[TC Chris]

Didn't the DC3 have a military designation?I used to fly the civilian commercial version in the mid-60s...always felt like the plane & passengers were working together to get in the air. The stewardess would pass out chewing gum for ear-popping. They would alter the seating arrangements to get the weight balance right. They were super-dependable. I missed them when the local airlines went modern.


Chris Campbell

[TC Chris]

Listen to this. Amazon mis-delivered a package to our STR house here. Walked it over to the right address. Owner was from MI and owned radio stations and dealt with TV stations. He collects radios--had a 1932 E.H. Scott and a 1936 Philco bar radio in the living room.

Chris Campbell

[William]

Did he play either of them for you? The Scott's are impressive units to hear.

Bill

[TC Chris]

No, didn't get to hear. Wish we had more time here to go over and check it out.

Chris Campbell

[Conelrad]

DC3 = C47

Marana has the retired airliner sales & cannibalize yard. OK, but nothing special. There is also a bit of real estate there the CIA plays games with...

Davis-Monthan USAF base in SE Tucson has the 'graveyard'.

Very impressive, hundreds of mil aircraft in every state of disrepair, it is the parts widows of our nations air services. One can drive all around the fenced huge area.

D