Tucson - Week 1

Well, so far, in Tucson, we have suffered a rainy and quite chilly week with more to come this week. I know, I know - what the heck am I complaining about! 😄 Chilly here is upper 60's and low 70's - I need to hush! Any hoo, the first day we were here it was nice enough to head over to Saguaro National Park. While there, the weather moved in and we didn't get a chance to hike or anything much other than snap a couple of quick pics. We will go back later this week.

The tall spindly plants are succulents called Ocotillos. They, like many other desert plants are in bloom and the very tip top of the plant bloom bright red. Gorgeous!

View of the storm from the park with part of Mt. Lemon in the background, the peak is covered by storm clouds

By Thursday things were looking up in the weather department and the shorts and sandals were brought out again! After work both Thursday and Friday we did brewery "tours" - imagine that (those of you who know Mike)! It was fun and the beer was very good. Of course we met a couple characters along the way and Mike was able to get a couple stickers (he collects stickers from the breweries he has visited).

We struck out with stickers here, but met some fun folks and had a nice draft.

There is the tragic problem of many homeless here and most businesses don't "have" public restrooms. This place put it rather succinctly, don't you think? I think the homeless situation has deeply affected us as we are so blessed and able to live so comfortably! In Nebraska, we tend to forget or maybe never really saw true poverty and misfortune.

Friday night we went to Barrio Brewing. We had great drafts but also a Tucson culinary delight: the Sonoran Dog! A wonderful take on a hot dog Tucson style with beans and queso. It was YUMMY!

The barrios are "neighborhoods" in old Tucson. They are being gentrified and I am glad. There are so many cool old homes and buildings that I would hate to see torn down or fall down. This brewing company used an old warehouse for their restaurant and brewery and it was packed!

According to the weather report (and they weren't wrong), we only had Saturday to really get out and explore this past weekend. We packed a lot into one day even though we will be in Tucson until April 11th. First up was Mt. Lemon. During the first part of the week, Mt. Lemon had received quite a bit of snow. There is a ski resort at the top. We headed up early as we are still acclimating to the Arizona time zone and no daylight savings time. One thing that should be said about Tucson is that they have MAGNIFICENT bicycle trails; paved and all through the city! Mike and I went out (weather permitting) every lunchtime for about a 45 minute ride - it was great! What we didn't expect was all the cyclists that enjoy riding to the top of Mt. Lemon and I couldn't help but think of my brother and our friends Pam and Marty who are avid cyclists. There is only one way to the top of Mt. Lemon and, then, only one way down obviously. TONS of cyclists riding up. Bless their hearts! 😀 No pics of them - I was a bit sick with vertigo. Here are some of the land-grounded places we stopped at on Mt. Lemon.

At the top of Mt Lemon at the ski resort and a little ski town called Summerhaven. The lifts were running and you can see the snow behind us.

Saturday afternoon, we came off the mountain to explore Old Tucson downtown. We were looking for a Farmers Market but found an Easter egg hunt instead. 😄 So, we located another brewery and some cool local artisan shops and made an afternoon of it.

Upon recommendation of a friend of Mike's. This place was fantastic! I really love this pic of us!!!

Now, as you may know, when we were in Turlingua, Texas and hanging out in Big Bend National Park, I got the best sunset photo I've ever taken (you can see it in a post earlier - below). Now, the challenge is "on" to best myself! We knew the weather was going to be pretty awful for the next couple of days (and it is), so we decided to go back up to Mt. Lemon and try to capture another sunset pic. I'll post a couple here, but they don't compare to the Big Bend one, so I'm still on a mission. C' ya on the road - Julie

Overexposed, but a nice Saguaro pic with the lights of Tucson in the valley below.

I was really trying to capture the layering of the mountain ranges and this does show that somewhat. The wind was very strong that evening and there was a lot of dust in the air. Still, not a bad pic.

P.S. Some have wondered if I brought my art supplies. Yes, but just my watercolors. I am trying to learn to paint with watercolor, so I only brought those as I knew I would get frustrated and break out the pastels that I am well versed in. Here are a couple of examples of my attempts. I am a beginner but having fun with the learning!