Tucson Vicariously

My son-in-law had a conference in Tucson earlier this month and my daughter flew out on the last day for a short touristy vacation to places they had enjoyed during their years in the city for graduate school at the University of Arizona.

My daughter stopped at Eegees on her trek from the airport to the hotel on the first (very hot) afternoon.

The next day they enjoyed the Gem and Mineral Museum which had moved from a cramped basement on campus to the old Courthouse building where they got married (the building is evidently all museums now!). I remember some of the specimens from the photos they sent. The new museum has much better lighting…and a lot more space.

They walked around the campus a bit and photographed vegetation and insects.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is another favorite place. They visited it on the second morning.

Later the same day, they visited the Paton Center for Hummingbirds.

The next day they drove up Mt Lemmon but didn’t hike as they had originally planned. My daughter said the elevation change seemed to make them feel tired very quickly, but they did have a pleasant lunch before returning to the city,

The last evening, they saw the sunset from Gates Pass.

Afterward they walked around with flashlights (including a UV one) looking for scorpions and tarantulas…and they found some!

I don’t think I want to visit Tucson in August….but the pictures were a nice way to remember fun times when visited there --- mostly in the winter!

Phoenix Vicariously

My daughter was at a conference in Phoenix last week and I enjoyed seeing her pictures of the area near the convention center. She went early for a workshop and managed to see a basketball game in the arena that evening!

She sent pictures of desert creature sculptures

And the sign for a pollinator garden – that obviously still has some plants blooming (daisies and lantana) – an urban garden.

My favorites were the images of architecture and murals. The one showing the white roof (along with a mural) was taken from her hotel window. I wondered how often the white needed to be refreshed to maintain its ability to reflect heat.

It’s been over a decade since I was in Phoenix and then I did more in the outskirts rather than the downtown area. Winter would be the time I’d pick to visit again!