Thursday, February 2, 2012 - Casino del Sol, Tucson AZ
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Flash of Light, Plomosa Road, Quartzsite AZ, January 29, 2012
Lightning strikes twice
It's my turn in the barrel - I've been up all night with a variant of whatever Jane has and now at dawn it's time to decide if she's well enough to fly and if I'm well enough to drive her the 150 miles to the airport in Tucson. We decide we're both up for it, dose up on Kaopectate and head out across Phoenix before rush hour and play it by ear from there.
The plan worked - we got to the airport about noon, giving me time to crash for a couple hours and Jane time to get herself gathered up to fly out at 4:45. Phew! - we made it. Happy Groundhog Day.
Night camp
Boondocked - Casino del Sol, 5655 West Valencia Rd, Tucson AZ
- Good Verizon cell phone and Broadband service are available here at Casino del Sol
- Locate Casino del Sol on my Night Camps map
- Check the weather here
Heliograph route between Fort Cummings NM and Tubac, AZ
1886 heliograph transmissions between Tubac near Nogales Arizona/Mexico, and Fort Cummings New Mexico: Joe Marques (Flagstaff) was doing some research in old Flagstaff newspapers and found something that might interest. In the Arizona Weekly Champion, Saturday August 7, 1886, page 2 column 1, it says: "A message was recently sent by the government heliograph (signalling by sunlight flashes) from Fort Cummings, N.M. to Tubac, Ariz., a distance of 400 miles, and an answer received in four hours." What a great [research] find! This was during the Geronimo Campaign of 1886, and the heliograph system at that time did indeed extend between the two stations. From Tubac, the most westerly terminus, the intermediate stations were Baldy Peak or possibly Josephine Peak just a little south of Baldy), Fort Huachuca, Antelope Spring, Emma Monk, White's Ranch, Bowie Peak (or Helen's Dome), Steins Peak, and Camp Henely (east of Fort Cummings). This means the message would have been relayed seven times, one way. It most likely was a test message, and relatively short, but I would love to know what it and the reply really said. The 1886 "airline" distance between Tubac and Fort Cummings; and of course on to Fort Cummings. I calculate the one-way distance between the two extremes as being 241 miles, with round trip of course being 482 miles.