Drew and I love Tucson and Arizona. We hope that you'll feel the same when you (hopefully) come to town. Below is a list of recommended sites and activities in Tucson and the surrounding area. For more information, visit the Arizona tourism website (follow the link on this page). Also, a map of Arizona and Tucson is found below (click on them to enlarge). At some point in the future, I'll also list nice restaurants, etc. in Tucson.
Outside Tucson:1. The Grand Canyon (5-6 hours drive. Be sure to the time the trip so you don't hit Phoenix during rush-hour)
2. Sedona - gorgeous red rocks, great restaurants, antique and artist shops, etc. Highly recommended
3. The Chiricahua National Monument - fascinating rock structures and great hiking and camping. Approximately 120 miles southeast of Tucson (http://www.nps.gov/chir/planyourvisit/directions.htm)
4. Bisby (approximately 2 hours) and Tubac (45 minutes) are both small towns with many classic and reasonable southwestern shops (eg. selling beautiful turqoise, pottery, etc). Bisby is much bigger and more beautiful than Tubac, and is more of an artist town in its own right. Still, if shops are what you're going for, Tubac should do the trick. There's also many southwest shops in Tucson, but fewer and more expensive than in Tubac.
In (or almost in) Tucson:Museums, Observatories, and Parks:
1. The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - a unique combination of a zoo, a botanical garden, and a museum of the natural history of Tucson and Arizona itself. Highly recommended. The location is shown on the maps in earlier blog posts. http://www.desertmuseum.org/
2. The Museum of Creative Photography - located on the university campus. The free exhibits change frequently. www.creativephotography.org/
3. The Pima Air and Space Museum (http://www.pimaair.org/index.php). We've never been but it's recommended as a fascinating tour of an airplane cemetery
4. The Titan Missile Museum - the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation, approximately 25 miles south of Tucson. (http://www.pimaair.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=51)
5. The Kitt Peak National Observatory, located 56 miles southwest of Tucson. We've heard good things about the tours, but be sure to check the schedules beforehand (http://www.noao.edu/kpno/)
6. Biosphere 2. The tour is interesting but a little pricey. Don't worry - you won't run into Paulie Shore. I believe it's about 30 minutes north of downtown Tucson
7. Tohono Chul Park
(www.tohonochulpark.org) It has many easy trails that wind thru the various gardens found throughout the park. If you'd rather sit and relax, there is also a Tea Room that offers breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. It's located in the north of town, near the Letts residence.
8. Tucson Botanical Gardens www.tucsonbotanical.org. The botanical gardens are much smaller than Tohono Chul, but there’s still a lot to see here. The cactus and succulent garden is really neat, but there are also several other small gardens to check out, including the butterfly garden (at some times of year), herb garden and shade garden. It's very centrally located (near Penny and Drew's house)
Outdoor activities:
Tucson is a great city for hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, etc. There are several mountain ranges surrounding town, each with a different ecosystem. If you haven’t done much hiking in the desert, we have one word for you: WATER. Bring lots of water. Feel free to ask us for specific recommendations.
1. For the
Coronado National Forest, a list of trails, their difficulty, and other such useful information can be found at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/forest/recreation/trails/trails.shtml.
2. Sunsets at Gates Pass. The sky in Tucson, particularly the sunsets, are often spectacular. A great place to watch the sunset is Gates Pass. Starting from central Tucson, take
Speedway Avenue west out of the city until you reach the mountains (~15 minutes), then pull into one of the parking lots near the peak to enjoy the view.
3. Sabino Canyon. Located at the base of the Catalina Mountains. There was some storm damage there recently, but you can still hike around and/or take a tram partially up into a canyon, with great views and a verbal description of the surrounding area. http://www.sabinocanyon.com/
4. The Tucson mountains have the quintessential Sonora desert, with lots of saguaro and other forms of cacti.
