April 21, 2023

April 21, 2023

From the top of our recent hike to Picacho Peak, we saw Pinal Airpark in the distance and remembered I have been meaning to tour this commercial version of our local military boneyard. So Aimee and I and our neighbors to the north made the half-hour drive to this airport where we met the manager who gave us a private tour. He started with its history built during WWII as an Army pilot training field. It is now owned by the county and leased to middlemen who sell the space to park and store airline jets. At one time it was also the home of the CIA’s Air America fleet.

Tucson is an ideal storage area because of our dry climate and inexpensive desert land. While there are competitors around the world, this is the largest commercial boneyard. Shockingly 350 people work here every day, many of whom are highly paid skilled aircraft mechanics.

We piled in the airport manager's SUV and we drove around the large facility passing hundreds of planes. They had tail insignia from countless little known airlines. The planes were in all phases of storage, from planes being prepped to return to service tomorrow, all the way down to planes reduced to rubble being gradually stripped of all their valuable parts. Some of the first items to go are the landing gear, which leaves the plane carcass sitting atop piles of railroad ties. We are only allowed to take photos inside the fence at one location where we are given fifteen minutes to explore on foot. Humorously we left the airport along Cowling Avenue, which is the graveyard for dozens of engine cowlings.

Instead of heading home the ladies insisted we stop at the nearby Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Farm. If Aimee has her way, this may be the closest I get to this iconic African savannah ratite. I am a little surprised how crowded it is when we arrive. It seems the tourism side of this ranch has become the primary focus. It is now a popular petting zoo to feed the usual animals, plus lots of exotics.

We sign up for the full experience. We are each given two cups of food and sent out. We start hand-feeding the domesticated sheep, goats, and Sicilian donkeys. I have little interest, so I push ahead to the hundreds of ostriches kept behind a high fence. Their heads are as tall as I am. I put out my open hand full of feed. Ouch!!! Ostriches have huge sharp beaks. If these Velociraptor descendants still had real teeth, I would have lost an arm. Only afterwards did I notice the feed tubes and warning signs. Ostriches are mean, but I guess you have to be to survive in lion country.

My group catches up and we go on to feed deer, rabbits, parakeets, and ducks. We even fed an asparagus tip to some giant African tortoises. You need to watch your fingers at this zoo.

The highlight of the day was a cage full of Rainbow Lorikeets. We ran into these colorful birds many years ago on a Sydney sidewalk. These smart birds landed on my shoulder and used their beak to peel the top off my syrup container to lap up the nectar inside. This was much more fun than feeding ostriches.

The last feeding experience was back in the Visitor Center, which has a large swimming pool of stingrays. These gentle creatures vacuum up pieces of squid from your hand. This brings back good memories of our dive experience at Stingray City in the Caymans. Lastly we watched a tank of ducks diving under the water to reach released food.

We left through the gift shop where we could purchase ostrich paraphernalia. Ostriches are farmed for their leather, meat, feather, and eggs. Besides feather dusters, we could even buy an unopened egg containing the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs. Both Aimee and I were pleasantly surprised how organized and interesting this kid-friendly tourist destination was.