Adventures Around Tucson

After nearly two months of being in Arizona, I finally made the decision to take a two-day trip to Tucson by myself. I was a bit nervous about traveling alone, as I've never done it before, but I thought, what am I afraid of, it's not like I'm doing something stupid and dangerous! And I am so thankful and glad that I did, it was a wonderful experience! The reason this entry is called adventures 'around' Tucson, and not 'in' Tucson, is because there isn't much to see 'in' Tucson. All the beautiful places are around the city, like the parks, canyons, mountains, caves.

I started my two-hour drive to Tucson at 7:40am the day after Thanksgiving. It was COLD, I had to put the heater on for the first 30 minutes of the trip. It was a great drive as soon as I left the Phoenix area and the traffic slowly disappeared. I had my ipod playing in my Jeep, as I'm singing and driving along, with Wilma (my faithful GPS) plugged in and ready to tell me where to turn. I got to my first destination by 10am - Saguaro National Park West. I drove on an unpaved road through the park, which is the closest I've been to 'off-roading' with Jake. I think he was happy about the drive :) There were several trails in the park, I went on a couple of short ones and saw beautiful views of the Sonoran Desert and saguaro (kind of cactus).

One of the many saguaros.


















A saguaro being difficult.


















Jake's and my first unpaved road experience!














Teddy bear cholla. Isn't it cute and cuddly? :)


















View of the Sonoran Desert from the top of one of the trails.














A little after noon, I arrived at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, which is a zoo / botanical garden in the middle of the desert. Boy, did I pick the 'wrong' day to go! The parking lot was so full that I had to park inside a gated area for staff members! I guess all the families who chose not to take their energetic 5 year olds to the mall decided to take them to the desert so they can run around rampant on acres of open land. I decided to head for the sit-down restaurant inside the museum first to satisfy my hunger so I'll have the energy to deal with the kids. The restaurant was pretty packed and the only table left was a table for 4, so the hostess sat me down with 3 empty seats around me. So I'm drinking my coffee and familiarizing myself with the museum map, and this man asked me if I'd mind sharing the table with his group of 3. I was up for it, no point in wasting the space right? We ended up chatting over lunch - they were a married couple and brother of the wife visiting for Thanksgiving. It was an interesting way to meet random people. With my stomach full, I started on my tour of the desert animals and plants. I'm usually a big fan of animals and zoos, but for some reason, I felt especially bad for them that day, mostly because each animal was by itself, with no one to play with. They're just sitting there with all these humans standing around with their cameras, staring and awwing at how cute they are. It just didn't feel right to take pictures of them, so I didn't. I did enjoy the hummingbird exhibit. They are amazing creatures, beautiful and elegant, and the way their wings flutter so quickly is really cool! At some of the indoor exhibits, there were SO many kids crowding and running around that I felt like screaming for them to get out of my way. It is fun to observe and overhear conversations when traveling alone though. This little Asian boy was taking a picture of his parents. And he says to his dad after he took the picture, 'hey dad, don't you think I'm an ace at taking pictures?' His dad goes, 'I wouldn't say you're an ace, maybe average.' (or maybe he said amateur, couldn't make it out) Then the boy says, 'But dad, I really think I'm an ace photographer.' LOL, persistent little kid. It was too cute.

A view of the 'museum'














After the museum visit, I headed for the hotel to check-in. The hotel was in the middle of the University of Arizona campus, so I was able to take a walking tour before it got dark. It's a beautiful campus.

On the road from the museum to the hotel














University of Arizona campus










































Just when I was reminiscing about how 'easy' school was, relatively speaking, I was quickly reminded that it wasn't as fun as I remembered it.














By the time I got to the hotel, stormy clouds had started to form above me and a few drops of rain had fallen. Thoughts of driving downtown to try a Mexican restaurant recommended by my Fodor's guide slowly gave way to room service. I ordered a rigatoni dish and a glass of white zinfandel. What the heck, I was on vacation. I sat on my king sized bed with down comforters and pillows, and ate my meal while watching TV. It was wonderful. I heard some live music playing downstairs in the lobby but I was content hanging out in my room and relaxing after a long day. The bed was SO comfortable, I almost wished I rolled around while I slept so I wouldn't waste all that extra space! Ah. I'm getting a king-sized bed with down pillows and comforters one day.














The next morning, I was checked-out by 8am. It was so cold as I drove into downtown Tucson to see what was there. After about 30 minutes, I realized 'not much', so I headed for the Colossal Cave Mountain Park. I learned that the cave is a perfect 70 degrees all year round, so it was a great way to escape the cold weather that morning. As I drove along the mountains, I saw huge dark clouds hovering over Mt. Lemmon. I saw on the news the night before that there was a snow storm warning for the mountains around Tucson that day, so I decided that perhaps I shouldn't attempt my drive up to the top (9,000+ ft in elevation!) of Mt. Lemmon that afternoon.















Our guide for the cave tour was really cool and funny, which was good because I think I did feel a bit claustrophobic and nervous that the stalagmytes (spelling?) were going to fall on my head. At one point of the tour, we were 7 stories below the parking lot! It was very interesting, apparently many outlaws hid in the cave, and bats at times live in it! Oh, I learned that bat poop is frequently used in cosmetics, especially eye shadow and lipstick. LOL!




























Our tour guide informed us that before the stairs, floors, lights and railings were put in the cave, there was a man giving a 2-hour tour of the cave for 25 cents each back in the day. In the picture below, you see a column near the top-center of the photograph, from there, the drop to the bottom is more than 30 feet. What they used to do was tie a rope around the column, and one person at a time lowered himself on the rope to get to the bottom. And get this, there was no light except the candle you're holding. So while you're going down on this rope, you had to give your candle to someone else at the top. The first person going down is holding onto this rope and seeing nothing except pitch black. How crazy is that?!


















Interesting sign inside the Colossal Cave Mountain Park.














After I left the park, I decided to go to Sabino Canyon which is near Mt. Lemmon. I figured given how cold it was, staying near elevation of zero is better than 9,000 ft. On my way there, I was starving, so I stopped in a Jack in the Box and got a breakfast burrito and a warm cup of coffee. When I got to the canyon, I was surprised because the road leads to the bottom of the canyon rather than the top. So the view is the exact opposite of the Grand Canyon, which is from the top. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I hiked for about two hours in the canyon, and just seeing the view, the trees, feeling the wind blowing and the warmth of the sun on my face, hearing the sound of the leaves rustling and flow of water from the creek, it was so perfect. At that point, I realized that I was glad that I was traveling alone. I actually didn't feel like talking to anyone, I was content being alone and just 'taking it all in'.















Where the creek is when there is actually water :)
































This area had the most flowing water from what I saw, I really wanted to climb down the rocks and sit near the water. I struggled for about 10 minutes. What if I fall and become unconscious and no one finds me? What if I get down there and can't climb back up the rocks? Theresa, stop being a wuss, there's a family with kids across the creek, they made it down. Yes but their dads probably carried them. So what if you fall? It's such a short drop, maybe you sprain your ankle. So finally, I went down to the creek. There were actually small fish in it! To prove that I made it down the rocks, I took a picture (whoever invented the timer on cameras is brilliant).














































The rocks that I climbed (jumped) down. Yes, it nearly came up to my shoulders when I stood next to it, hence I couldn't climb back up it with ease. But I found another way up :) It actually wasn't that big of a deal, I'm just a scared-y-cat.











































By mid-afternoon, it was time to leave the canyon, as I wanted to make it home before it was completely dark. Yes, smart move, driving northwest in the middle of the afternoon. For about 20 minutes, I could barely see because of the sun in my eyes, and I had sunglasses on too! It was a challenge. Whew. I made it home just in time for dinner. I was pooped and in bed by 9pm :) What an awesome trip!