Tucson, Spring 2020 ~ Travel

With limited time, we only explored the Saguaro National Park – West. The sheer amount of these tall cacti blows your mind, once you start driving through the protected land of the national park, where they grow every few feet for as far as the eyes can see. There are multiple points of interest and hikes, including some ancient rock carvings, and some awesome viewpoints overlooking the valleys surrounding the park. All the travel guides recommend this park over its eastern counterpart because of the density of the cacti.

We visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, but were not as impressed. This is a small zoo and landscape/flora display mostly appropriate for the youngest set. There is a good bugs exhibit and some dinosaur displays. The extensive walk outside, flowing through various animal exhibits is decent enough, but maybe does not warrant the full price of admission.

Mission San Xavier del Bac is quite worth the visit, and with some recent renovations inside and out, it is a sight to behold. There is also a Native American market in the open square before it, with many options for frybread and Indian Tacos. The free tour of the mission, available every 30 minutes or so, is highly recommended, especially for the details of the mission’s construction (they used prickly pear juice in mixing up the lime to set the stones!!!), and many unique details about the art inside.

But the absolute must do on any trip to Tucson was something we almost missed, and managed to fit in during our last day in the area! Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway is a unique drive up the mountain, through 4 separate ecosystems, going from arid desert landscape full of saguaro cacti, and finishing up all the way at the top with alpine forests. It’s the biological equivalent of driving all the way from Mexico to Canada, accomplished in just 27 miles of a winding road. I highly recommend downloading a special app that narrates the whole drive, developed by the University of Arizona, which provides a really rich historical, geological, botanical and ecological story of this unique place.

Tucson Art Brigade Downtown Mural Project now boasts at least 45 impressive murals throughout the downtown core. The scavenger hunt to find and document as many as possible is very fun, as long as weather cooperates. Some can be found by following the Turquoise Trail, which helps to discover all of the historic sites throughout Tucson, and some might require a drive, as they are located in the old industrial part of town.

Nonetheless, the murals are an incredible asset on their own, and many celebrate rich Native American and Hispanic traditions of this region, as well as modern artists.