Day 9 - Tucson, AZ to Tombstone, AZ then Ruidoso, NM

Day 9 - Tucson, AZ to Tombstone, AZ then Ruidoso, NM

We started our day off stopping by an airplane boneyard in Tucson, AZ.  I read that it's 35 billion worth of outdated, used airplanes that are stored for spare parts on current models.  We were not able to walk on the base but we drove by a portion of the fields and I took a free pictures.

aerial photo of Davis-Monthan air base, home of the airplane graveyard.  photo provided by their website.

After leaving Tucson we headed to Tombstone, AZ. "The town too tough to die"

The town from the late 1800's that Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday walked the streets.  It was a nice stop, small western town out in the middle of nowhere.  The town is set-up for tourist now but I don't think they get the business they wish for.  

We then made our way through White Sands, NM.  Which for some reason I thought would be a totally different experience.  I saw very little WHITE sands.  I've seen footage of rolling sandy hills, I just didn't see it on our drive.  It is home to a missile testing range.  From what I've read it's one of the largest, testing areas for branches of the military in the USA.

We then drive a little further to a small town for the night, Ruidoso, NM.  It happened to be the closet town to Roswell (our next stop) that had a hotel available.  I must admit I was very impressed with Ruidoso.  It's a small, clean town in New Mexico that I'm glad we were able to visit.  The people of Ruidoso were very friendly and courteous.  The area was hit with a forest fire about a month ago and are still cleaning up.  

Miles traveled for the day: 426

~~bob