Taking in Tucson

We've just returned from a terrific week in Western Arizona- Tucson, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, and Phoenix.  We really didn't do much in Phoenix except fly in and out and spend the last night of our trip at a really nice airport hotel sitting in a bar and watching the Tigers end their season in a most egregious fashion, but we did a lot elsewhere and had a blast.  

We flew into Phoenix and immediately drove to Tucson.  While we had been to Phoenix and Sedona several times, we had never seen the Sonora Desert and we thought that this trip presented a great opportunity. We found a great B&B (the El Presidio Inn) in the historic Presidio district of Tucson (within walking distance of all downtown) and used that for our base camp.  The typical historic residential architecture in this region has the actual house built in a square along the property lines, so there is no front or back yard, but then the interior space is a courtyard, where typical backyard activities would occur. The El Presidio, built in 1885, was no exception, as shown in the courtyard picture above. We actually stayed in what had been the carriage house, but was now a suite with a separate living room/kitchenette from the bedroom and bathroom.

  

We arrived there rather late, so we went around the block and had dinner at the El Charro restaurant, which is a top rated Mexican restaurant in Tucson; we actually ate there twice during our three days in Tucson because it was so good, and the owner took the time to talk about Tucson at length with us. 

In the courtyard of the El Charro on our last night watching the Tigers 

 After a made to order breakfast, we took off for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum which is just West of Tucson. It is located within two parks- the Tucson Mountain State Park and the Saguaro National Park West.  The most striking part of the ride was through an area called Gates Pass; the area is filled with Saguaro (pronounced SUorro) cacti and other cacti.

I wanted Ruth to actually put her arm around the Saguaro,  but this is the best she would do

We took a short walk into the mountains before going to the Museum 

Fun Fact: It may take 75 years for a Saguaro to grow arms; many live for 150 years or more 

 We then went to the Museum, which is not so much a Museum as a botanical garden, a zoo,  a wildlife preserve, and a general one stop shop for learning about the Sonora Desert.  There was a cave:

 And walkways through the Sonora Desert:

And a few remains of the flowering cacti season (springtime)

 as well as silk flower displays of what the cacti look like when in full bloom

There was all sorts of wildlife; from reptiles

to mammals

 to hummingbirds

We spent a long time there, and driving through the desert.  After, we decided to walk around downtown Tucson to see the architecture and the city life (downtown Tucson is the home to University of Arizona, so there is a thriving night scene, although more so on the weekends).  

Pima County Courthouse 

Dome on Pima County Courthouse 

St. Augustine Cathedral 

Temple of Music- where plays and concerts are held 

We wound up on Congress Street, where on the weekends there are a good number of bars and music venues; it's an area coming back with a lot of restorations and renovations of older buildings. Two were particularly interesting; the first was the Rialto, an art deco vaudeville/movie theater that first opened in 1920 that has been restored and used for concerts: 

"Rialto" comes from the 14th Century; it was the name of a covered bridge in Venice where novelty shops would congregate, creating an entertainment district 

Note the shoutout to local Congresswoman Gabby Giffords 

The other was the Congress Hotel; a hotel built in 1919 (by the same developer that built the Rialto) that was the hub of activity in the 20's in Chicago. The hotel gained notariety one night in the 30's when a fire broke out and some guests jumped down a fire escape to escape the blaze- the guests were the John Dillinger gang, and they were promptly captured and sent to prison (Dillinger broke out of prison, escaped to Chicago, and was killed in an FBI operation using his girlfriend, the infamous "lady in red", but that's for another day).  The Hotel has been living off of its reputation as the place Dillinger stayed for a long time now; they have a "Dillinger Days festival" with reenactments; they keep the hotel looking as it did when he was captured (including using a telephone switchboard from that period); and their fine restaurant menu features drinks like "Gangster Gin" and appetizers like "Thompson Automatics".  Well ok then.  It was cool to walk through; they also have a live music room and we went to hear some music there our last night in town (although we were probably among the oldest in the room).  

This switchboard is on display, but the one behind their counter looks just like it 

Interior shot (using a blackberry with no lights; sorry) 

The next day, we decided to explore a canyon that is a favorite recreational area for the residents; it is called Sabino Canyon.  There is a roadway that runs along the floor of the canyon almost 4 miles, climbing 1,000 feet in elevation.  The roadway is closed to motor vehicles, people either walk or bike up the road, or take the free shuttle that makes 9 stops on its journey up the road. We took the shuttle up the road to the top of the road, and then climbed further up into the mountains and hiked for a couple of hours along the ridge of the mountains before coming back down to the road.  It was a great hike, but the sun was beating and it was hot!!!  

Creek located on the canyon floor 

After our hike, we needed to cool off, so we stopped for a quick lunch and then decided to tour the house and studios of a fairly well known local artist,  Don De Grazia.  He built a really interesting house/ studio in Tucson; it's now a gallery displaying his art and a gift shop with lots of his art for sale. 

Interior of the home 

Most of his art is western themed impressionistic stuff 

But he does cater to his audiences 

We still had some daylight left, so we decided to go to a Tucson iconic structure; it is the San Xavier del Bac Catholic church which is located in the middle of an indian reservation right next to Tucson. All of the tour books talk about it being one of the finest examples of Southwestern architecture.  It is pretty impressive because it is visible from the freeway as the only multiple story building for seemingly miles.  

Pretty impressive.  We ended our journey with a final meal at El Charro; bid our host at the El Presidio good-bye, and took off for Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, but that's for the next post!!!