Neon Museum at Night

We've visited the Neon Museum twice, once about six months after it opened and six years after that but we've never visited at night to see the signs lit up. Even though there's a higher fee for the evening hours we still got free admission with our NARM pass. Guided tours can be added on for an additional charge. The cell phone tours have been discontinued but there are signs with information and QR codes plus employees stationed throughout who are happy to answer any questions. 

 

The museum restores the neon to more signs every years so there are always new signs to admire. Colored lights illuminate the signs that haven't been restored. We went at dusk so that the brightness of the neon wouldn't wash out the photos. Cameras are not permitted but cell phones and tablets are okay. 

The ground is hard packed and rolling is easy but it's a little wavy so you may find yourself going in a direction that you didn't plan on. :D

Large vehicles can be parked next door at the Cashman Center.  Museum  36.17781, -115.13481 

Springs Preserve Museums

We visited Springs Preserve in 2011 using our Garden Pass which gives us free access to gardens all over the US and even in a few other countries. This time we decided to pay the discounted price so that we could visit the museums that aren't included with the pass. According to the website the garden pass is good for the Botanical Garden and Trails only so that means to visit the Desert Living Center, Origen  Museum, Nevada State Museum, Waterworks Exhibit, Boomtown-1905, and the Butterfly Habitat pass holders must pay the extra price. 

We went too slow and only saw the Origen Museum and the Nevada State Museum. We'll have to go back next year! The Origen Museum covers human history of the Springs Preserve and Las Vegas which includes Native Americans, land auctions, the growth of the railroad, Hoover Dam, and a simulated flash flood. The Nevada State Museum features fossils, early settlers, the beginnings of Las Vegas and Reno, and a changing exhibit gallery. 

The museums are accessible but a long, paved uphill path must be navigated to get to the entrances. One exhibit in the Origen Museum is too high to view. We walked/rolled part of the way along the accessible, paved Exploration Loop Trail but didn't have enough time to go from the trail access point at the tram station to Boomtown, approximately 1/3 mile. The entire loop is 3.5 miles. The tram (trackless train) is accessible and I think it goes around the entire loop with a stop at Boomtown. 

We were directed to the south parking lot where there's an entrance to the botanical garden area. When entering note the location of this entrance/exit. We couldn't find it when it was time to leave and ended up walking/rolling along a road that didn't have a sidewalk. The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Preserve  36.17017, -115.19205

S Blake Ranch Rd Boondocking

We gained about 2000' as we headed north from Phoenix and the cold weather complete with a sleet storm was a bit of a shock. The pinyon forest was a nice change of scenery though. This boondocking spot has roads that wind through the trees. There's a vehicle behind almost every tree in this photo but the trees give everyone a lot of privacy. 

The ground is hard packed so rolling is fairly easy. 

This spot is actually on a county road that branches off of Blake Ranch Road. The country road is narrow and uneven but navigable by most vehicles. Most RVs will fit in the boondocking spaces. The road gets worse after this spot.  Boondocking  35.14836, -113.81063 

Ghost Town Road Dispersed Camping

 We were staying for just one night so we picked the first spot that we found off of Ghost Town Road. If we had been staying longer we would have explored farther along Cemetery Road and turned down one of the several roads leading to a number of good boondocking spots. At times Ghost Town Road is busy with trucks heading to the gravel pit which raises dust so it's better to drive farther in. 

 The ground is hard packed so rolling is fairly easy.  Camping  34.18309, -112.8582

 

Scottsdale's Museum of the West

 The museum galleries feature permanent and changing exhibits of pottery, sculptures, paintings, and a large collection of western artifacts donated by Abe Hays, a local collector and art dealer. Included is a fun painting that starts on the wall and continues onto the floor. Visitors become part of the painting when a photo is taken from a designated spot. I didn't get it quite right so Tony looks a little squat. :D

 

The museum is accessible. 

There are a few parking spaces in the alley at the north side of the museum. Short vans will fit but watch for low branches. We parked in the large lot on 2nd Street across from the Stagebrush Theater. There's also on-street parking. Museum  33.49212, -111.92836

Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2 (Earth is Biosphere 1) was built as a self contained, experimental project with a rainforest, ocean, wetlands, grassland, a desert, and an agricultural area plus living quarters and work spaces for eight people. The project was meant to test the viability of a closed system and to gain knowledge that would be beneficial for survival on another planet. 

The eight people, four women and four men, entered the biosphere on September 26, 1991 and stayed for exactly two years. But all was not well. The crew had to break into their emergency food supply because the crops weren't growing fast enough and some plants and animals died. They did manage to produce 83 percent of their food but all crew members lost weight. The most serious problem was lack of oxygen caused by microbes in the soil that produced carbon dioxide faster than the plants could produce oxygen. Sixteen months into the experiment pure oxygen was pumped into Biosphere 2 to protect the crew who suffered from a decline in physical and mental health from the lack of oxygen. 

A second crew entered the biosphere in 1994 but that experimental lasted for just six months due to management disputes. Although the projects are often considered failures much was learned about sustaining plant and animal life a totally enclosed system.

Starting in 1995, the biosphere was used for research by Columbia University. The University of Arizona took over in in 2007 and eventually purchased the site. Today research projects include studying the terrestrial water cycle and how it relates to ecology, atmospheric science, soil geochemistry, and climate change.

Tours of Biosphere 2  are self-guided with a phone app that must be downloaded before starting the tour. The tour lasts about 75 minutes and covers about a mile. There are two guided tours but neither is accessible.

         Airlock door                               Living quarters

This is one of the most interesting things. There are two "lungs" that were designed to accept air from the biosphere as it expanded during the hotter parts of the day. Without the lungs the glass panels would have popped out.

We were very impressed with the amount of planning done to make the self-guided tour as accessible as possible. After we bought our tickets we were given directions to the accessible path and were met at each stop when necessary to receive more specific directions. Back tracking was necessarily at several spots. A small elevator used only by wheelchair visitors and a lift up a short flight of stairs provide access to two areas. There's one long switchback ramp. The kitchen, dining area, and I think one of the ecosystems were not accessible due to steps. 

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Biosphere   32.57734, -110.85084

RC Airstrip State Trust Land

There are three types of public land in Arizona where dispersed camping is permitted - BLM land, National Forest land, and Arizona Trust land. Camping on BLM land and NF land is completely free but Arizona Trust land has a small yearly fee. The time limit is different too. While all of them allow 14 day at one location, Arizona Trust land allows only 14 days for the entire year. This can be split between locations but it's still just 14 days in total. 

We've stopped for quick overnights on Arizona Trust land a couple of times without getting a permit, risking a fine, but since we planned to stay at this site for several days we decided we better do it legally. The permit is easy to get by applying online, then either printing out the receipt or saving a photo of it. 

The RC Airstrip was originally the Catalina Mountain School, a boy's juvenile correctional school, that was in operation from 1967 until 2011 when the boys were transferred to other facilities. All of the buildings were removed leaving parking lots, foundation slabs, roads, and large trees intact. This gives campers an option of places to park. There's a large paved lot near the entrance and a large dirt lot a little farther in. The slabs vary in size from room for one vehicle to large enough for a group. There are also spots under the trees if you want shade. The roads around the slabs are in fairly good condition but the outer edge roads have some rough patches. Walk them first to be safe. The entire area is about 200 acres so there's plenty of room for everyone. 

We really liked this spot for the beautiful scenery and the roads that made good walking/rolling trails. It's also very clean and quiet except for the traffic noise from Oracle Road. Grocery stores, Home Depot, Walmart, a free dump station and fresh water, and almost anything else that could be needed or wanted is within ten miles. 

We camped in the dirt lot. If you chose that location, park along the long sides and leave the ends open for the old guys that come every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning to fly their remote control planes. The trust land is also used by horseback riders, walkers, and occasionally kids on dirt bikes and ATVs. Camping  32.47014, -110.92091