Drive-In Movie Night

The pandemic has caused the RV park to cut back substantially on their organized events. One way they have enabled people to get together is by having an outdoor movie every couple of weeks. Tonight, they are showing "Sully" starring Tom Hanks...

COVID-19 Stimulus Package

Congress on Monday passed a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package that no one read before they voted on it. Senator Rand Paul, who voted against the bill, wrote: "Deficit busting bill will be 5,593 pages! If there are 250 words per page, then that's 1,398,250 words. If Congresspeople read at the American average of 300 words/min, then a Congressperson might read this in 4,660 minutes or 77.68 hours!" Congress was given only two hours before having to vote on the legislation. Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted "This isn't governance. It's hostage-taking".

The bill contains hundreds of unrelated legislative items negotiated by leadership for special interest groups. It is politics at its worst. Here are some of the expenditures contained in the bill...

• $300,000,000 for Migrant and Refugee Assistance
• $10,000 per person for student loan bailout
• $100,000,000 to NASA
• $20,000,000,000 to the U.S. Postal Service
• $300,000,000 to the Endowment for the Arts
• $15,000,000 for Veterans Employment Training 
• $30,000,000,000 for the Department of Education stabilization fund
• $200,000,000 to Safe Schools Emergency Response to Violence Program
• $300,000,000 to Public Broadcasting 
• $500,000,000 to Museums and Libraries
• $720,000,000 to Social Security Administration
• $25,000,000 for Cleaning supplies for the Capitol Building
• $7,500,000 to the Smithsonian for additional salaries
• $35,000,000 to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts
• $25,000,000 for additional salary for House of Representatives
• $3,000,000,000 upgrade to the IT department at the Veterans Administration
• $315,000,000 for State Department Diplomatic Programs
• $95,000,000 for the Agency for International Development
• $300,000,000 for International Disaster Assistance
• $90,000,000 for the Peace Corps
• $13,000,000 to Howard University
• $9,000,000 Misc. Senate expenses
• $100,000,000 to Essential air carriers 
• $40,000,000,000 goes to the Take Responsibility to Workers and Families Act
• $1,000,000,000 Airlines Recycle and Save Program 
• $25,000,000 to the Federal Aviation Administration for administrative costs 
• $492,000,000 to National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) 
• $526,000,000 Grants to Amtrak 
• $25,000,000,000 for Transit Infrastructure 
• $3,000,000 Maritime Administration
• $2,500,000 Public and Indian Housing 
• $5,000,000 Community Planning and Development 
• $2,500,000 Office of Housing

Even foreign governments are getting billions of dollars. Among the payouts: $1.4 billion for the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, $1.3 billion to Egypt, $700 million to Sudan, $135 million to Burma, $130 million to Nepal, and  $85 million to Cambodia. Israel will also haul in $500 million and Ukraine will get nearly the same. If this money were to go to American citizens, we would be getting a lot more than a $600 stimulus check. And lastly, why are we giving this money to foreign entities when our country is running a national debt of almost 28 trillion dollars?

Silverbell Sasco Loop

Terry, Gail and I joined Sunny, Jane and Leyman northwest of Tucson to explore the Silverbell Sasco Loop, a fun drive in the desert with lots of interesting sites and some very unique saguaro cactus.

Our first stop was the Titan II Missile Interpretive Site which served as a deterrent to nuclear war during the cold war. There is not much to look at as it consists of signs telling you what used to be there and some old concrete foundations. It would be interesting to know what the government left buried underground. 

Heading westward we passed one of the largest open pit mines I have ever seen. The overburden material from the mine has formed small mountains that run for miles and continues to grow as it is an active mine. We had lunch on a large, flat spot where they had dumped slag from a smelter...

Next were some very large and unusual saguaro cactus...

"Mutant" saguaro

Magnificent crested saguaro which are fairly rare

A little ways off the trail where the abandoned mining town of Silver Bell was located is an old cemetery with simple gravesites marked by wooden crosses...

Sasco, which is an acronym for the Southern Arizona Smelter Company, was a company town with a large smelter that served several mines. Here is what's left today...

Intrepid group of adventurers at what remains of the Rockland Hotel

At a time when most of the country is in lockdown, we were able to get outside and enjoy life. It's a nice feeling.

Desert Cam Take 2

I placed my trail cam back at the same spot as the last desert video and was able to capture a Gambel quail, a hawk, a coyote and a road runner...

I think I will try a different spot next time to see if I can find some different creatures. Ultimately, I would like to film some javelinas and a bobcat or puma.

Arizonian Christmas Parade

Each year residents of the Arizonian RV Resort decorate their vehicles for the annual Christmas parade...

Desert Cam Take 1

I found a watering hole in the desert back of the RV park and setup my trail cam where I could video anything that came to drink. After two days and nights, this is what I captured...