We started our day at the University of Arizona Tree Ring Museum. This is a big deal museum, the biggest and best of its kind anywhere. They have over 750,000 tree ring samples going back to the 1920s and coming from around the world. They have several professors pulling down grants on various tree ring related issues. I would say more, but I can’t get past what I’ve already said.

After lunch, we went to the Arizona History Museum. We saw pretty much what I expected. Some of the boards seemed to have text that was word-for-word what I had read earlier. That doesn’t mean I didn’t see a few way cool things. For example, here’s a snap shot of a Thacher slide rule. The scale rotates in a helix around the cylinder to get additional precision in calculations. It is very rare to see one in this excellent condition.

Studebaker was known for building rugged, dependable, high quality horse drawn wagons. Here’s a 1903 Mountain wagon that would be perfect for traveling across Arizona. I don’t think I convinced Danita this would be a fun thing to do.

Unlike most other wagon manufacturers, Studebaker successfully converted themselves into a thriving car manufacturer, maintaining their reputation for rugged, reliable, dependable cars. Here’s a beautiful 1923 “Big 6” Sheriff’s special, generating 70 HP and capable of going 80 MPH. Studebaker sold this as a 7 passenger touring car. Many Arizona Sheriffs had one of these bad boys.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.