Airplane Graveyards - You have heard, of course, about aging elephants that wander off to die in a specific communal place, a kind of elephant graveyard. It's sort of the same concept in south central Tucson, in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, where old airplanes instead of old pachyderms come to rest.

The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, within sight of Interstate 10, contains a storage facility known to many locals as the "boneyard." The facility functions as a holding place to store planes until their ultimate fate has been determined.

The Tucson area serves as an ideal graveyard for airplanes. It has a dry, clear and virtually smog-free climate that helps minimize corrosion. It has an alkaline soil so firm that airplanes can be towed and parked on the surface without sinking. More...

Johnny Lang's Lost Horse Mine - On a winter morning in 1925, Johnny Lang rolled up his canvas sleeping bag and packed what remained of his supplies, a half-slice of bacon and a small sack of flour. He would have to hoof it from his mining site in hopes of catching a freight wagon into Banning, some fifty miles away. Gone were his burros. He had eaten those one by one. The seventy-five-year-old prospector slung his gear over his shoulder, and he tacked a note, dated January 25th, to the ramshackle desert hut that served as his home: "Gone for grub. Be back soon."

Three months later, while pioneer rancher Bill Keys and two companions were constructing the road to what is now Keys View in Joshua Tree National Park, they came upon Lang's mummified body. More...

Lake Havasu, AZ - Boating, skiing, swimming and other water sports are the dominant activities on the Lake. You will find just about every type of water-based recreation including many organized events like music festivals, international jet ski competitions and auto shows.

If you don't have your own water toys, you can rent them. There are a number of facilities that rent boats, skidoos and other equipment. If you just want to relax and enjoy the scenery, you can try one of the many water- and land-based tours. The boat tours take you into remote canyons and historic sites where ancient peoples once lived. Guided land tours will take you on an exploration into lands where the pioneers once tread, while you learn about the geology, flora and fauna of the region. There are two national wildlife refuges in the area, Havasu National Wildlife Refuge and the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge. Read more...

The Night They Shot Mangas Coloradas - "Men, that old murderer has got away from every soldier command and has left a trail of blood for 500 miles on the old stage line. I want him dead or alive tomorrow morning, do you understand? I want him dead."

Joseph Rodman West, Brigadier General of the Union Army and future senator from Louisiana, addressing sentries he had assigned to guard the Chiricahua Apache chief Mangas Coloradas through a dreary wintry night in a makeshift adobe prison cell at Fort McLane, southwestern New Mexico.

His sentries understood. January 18, 1863. Click here for more...