1997 Arizona: Tucson

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1997 Arizona: Tucson

My Godchild, Kaeli [Note: this is written in the present tense, but the folks who drew me to Tucson have moved to San Francisco, so I doubt I'll be back to update this page.]

I spend quite a bit of my time in Tucson, Arizona, visiting with my godchild and her parents. Tucson is a city of contrasts: magnificent desert scapes and strip malls, mountains around the city and Speedway Boulevard (voted the ugliest street in America). A multicultural treat, the influence of the Native Americans, Hispanics, and Europeans is felt in many ways, not the least of which is radio station KHOT, which broadcasts in a real-time mix of Spanish and English.

Food (Restaurants)

The best Mexican food I've come across in Tucson may be found at Mi Nidito (My Little Nest). Despite being a constant winner of the "Best of Tucson" awards, it's still got fantastic authentic Mexican food at a reasonable price. (1813 South Fourth Avenue, +1.602.622.5801)

If you can't handle the invariable wait at Mi Nidito, just down the street is Xochimilco. Named after a famous lake in Mexico, this restaurant serves the most magnificent camarones fantasia, shrimp wrapped in bacon. (2702 South Fourth Avenue, +1.602.882.5636)

If large amounts of dead animal are your thing, the steaks at El Corral are worthy of your attention. Tasty and incredibly inexpensive (the restaurant is owned by the AGRO Cattle Company), we had a wonderful evening for less than most city café lunches. (2201 East River Road, +1.602.299.6092)

About an hour's drive from Tucson is a delightful Italian restaurant that's not to be missed. Owned and run by a couple from New York City (her) and Italy (him), Er Pastor, in Sonoita, is far off the beaten track and well worth the trip. Try the putanesca (Prostitute's Stew).

Food (Groceries, etc.)

Reay's Natural Foods Supermarket has a very wide selection of all the sorts of things you'll need when cooking up a gourmet meal, be it a barbeque of five-course meal. (3360 East Speedway, +1.602.795.9844)

The Rumrunner is a great place to pick up all sorts of very fine wines to compliment the wonderful food you've picked up at Reay's. (3200 East Speedway Boulevard, +1.602.326.0127)

Places to Visit

Sabino Canyon. Just north of the city, it's a gentle mountainous hike (complete with tram for the less ambulatory) that brings you very close to the native climes. Each time I've gone it's been a different adventure of flora and fauna; if you don't like cacti and succulents then don't bother.

I'm writing this (on 31 Dec 94) in Tohono Chul Park, just north-west of the city. A wedding is going on, a festive affair complete with tuxedos, cactii flowering, and a backdrop of the experimental gardens being visited by birds. Tohono Chul is a wonderful outdoor botanical garden, complete with domesticated strains of plants that have adapted to the environment and a tea-tasting area.

The Sabino East and Sabino West parks surround bookends for the shelf that is Tucson. Each has its own characteristics, and deserves a visit. Desert life will reward an early-morning visit, or one just before dusk. Unless you have a saguaro (pronounced "saah-whaa-row") cactus fetish, stay away from the midday hours, else that's all you'll see.

The Arizona Desert Museum is perhaps the best visitor attraction for people interested in how a desert works, and those who want to see its denizens without venturing too much into the desert. Many well-designed displays show off desert life while still honoring it. (And the prairie dogs are a scream to watch.)

Biosphere 2. Less than an hour north of Tucson (by car), this is one spot you'll kick yourself for missing. B2 is a self-contained worldlet designed to show that space travel in such a thing is feasable. The first tries were unable to sustain themselves; not surprizing for any first attempt, and certainly not for one with such shoddy hard science (for which they've been taken to task). While they still produce plenty of ego-generated controversy (which the tabloids luridly lap up), the management is trying harder and working with more research institutes instead of reinventing the wheel. (Folks, a hint: try not to let all the variables vary at the same time.) Don't forget to pick up a souvenir picture of the first team leader (he looks a lot like Patrick Stewart) and the spectacular B2 tee shirt.

Another fun thing we did was to take Kaeli to Nogales, Mexico when she was five weeks old. The border town is a vibrant mix of good and bad food, tourist shops, barrios, and some very nice places if you walk more than a hundred meters away from the thriving border trade.

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