Tucson

June 24 - June 28, 2013

We couldn't hide from the heat forever. We spent 4 nights in Tucson seeing the sights and meeting my daughter Abby's future inlaws. We stayed in Catalina State Park in the Oro Valley area, just north of Tucson. Under normal conditions, we would have loved this park: long, wide, private sites, water and electric hookups, beautiful views of the Catalina Mountains, good Verizon mifi signal, the campground almost empty, what more could we have wanted? Well, a little shade might have helped! The high temperatures were over 100F every day we were there, with the highest high being 113! The Liberty has two air conditioners, but they really can't cool the inside more than about 20 - 25 degrees, even with all the window shades pulled and the awning out. Luckily, the heat quickly dissipated when the sun went down. We were even able to turn off the AC and open the windows every evening, once the temperature dropped below 85.

The heat didn't prevent us from enjoying our time in Tucson. It was a dry heat!  My friend Betty and I have had several "discussions" about that phrase. Betty, the scientist, derisively says 110 degrees is 110 degrees, whether it's "dry" or not. I have to beg to differ. One Hundred and Ten combined with 80% humidity in Florida or Baltimore would be unbearable. But 110 in Tucson is just HOT! When you sweat in Tucson, it quickly evaporates, while in Florida the sweat just soaks you and your clothes, compounding your misery.

The main purpose of our stop in Tucson was meeting Abby's future inlaws. My friend Debbie tells me that there is a Yiddish word for my relationship to Abby's future mother-in-law: "machatunem." And my sister-in-law, Carmen, tells me that in Spanish it's "consuegra." I wonder why we don't have a comparable word in English. But whatever you call them, Anna and Dave are lovely people and we had fun getting to know them. Rick particularly enjoyed playing golf with Dave at their country club. Since we arrived in the southwest, we've been trying to see the local wildlife. Between the state and national parks that we had visited we had yet to see a javelina. Rick managed to see three javalinas, a bob cat, quail and rabbits, all on the golf course! Apparently the animals frequent the golf course looking for water from the ponds and the sprinkler system.

While Rick and Dave played golf, Anna took me to visit the little border town of Tubac where we enjoyed browsing the shops and galleries. On the way back we stopped at the historic Mission San Xavier Del Bac which was built in 1783.

 
The four of us enjoyed a delicious and authentic Mexican dinner at Café Poca Cosa.

Rick, Sally, Anna, Dave

Rick and I found some time to visit Saguaro National Park which contains several forest-like stands of these cool cacti. Saguaro are the large, human looking cacti that are so closely associated with the American dessert. But, in fact, they are only found in southern Arizona, California along the Colorado River, and the northern Mexican state of Sonora. They often live more than 200 years and grow up to 50 feet high.

The saguaro were in bloom when we were there. The fruit is prized by Native Americans and many animals. The hole you see in the above plant is caused by a bird building its nest. To protect itself the saguaro builds a hard shell around the area where the bird has intruded.

We spent another interesting day at the excellent Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Part zoo and part garden, it showcases the plants and animals that are indigenous to the Sonora Desert region.

A blooming cactus at the Desert Museum

Rick and I really enjoyed Tucson. We'd like to go back again sometime when the weather is milder.