Last November I headed to Tucson to visit my friend Cathy. We met several years ago on the Smithsonian Journeys tour to Copper Canyon aboard the Sierra Madre train. (see post May 2008) Her husband Dan was the medic on the trip, and we had such a great time!
Tucson is lovely. At least, I think so, since I haven't visited in the summer. This was my second trip to see them, and while Dan went fishing for a few days, we headed out.
We stopped as we crossed the mountains, just to stretch our legs and enjoy the views! And what a lovely afternoon we had. Saguaros, mountains, incredible blue sky....
I so wish this tree could talk! What a tale I'm sure it would tell. So much character in its form.
This was as far as we could chase them. There were nearly a dozen Border Patrol vehicles in the lot. We could hear them, but they were doing rappelling exercises off the cliff edge, so we couldn't see them.
Our destination this day was Bisbee, in the very south of Arizona, just a few miles from the Mexican border. Bisbee is an old historic town. Cathy hadn't been in many years, so it was a great outing. We hit the museum -- really a lovely small town history museum, which talked a lot about the mining history of the region -- and had a charming lunch in one of the historic buildings. Then we wandered a bit. Yes, we both did a little shopping -- I did need some Bisbee turquoise, didn't I?
One of Bisbee's big annual events is the Bisbee 1000, a trek up 1000 steps scattered around the town. Because it's a mining town, and because it's in a bit of a valley there in the mountains, the town has a lot of up and down. We climbed just a few hundred.
Then it was off to Tombstone. We didn't have a lot of time, but wanted to stop in during the drive back. We missed all the tourist attractions for the day, but we still were able to walk the town and experience a bit of the history charm.
Closed, but we looked in the windows. And I love these benches made from old wagon wheels and wood.
Yup, the O.K. Corral. Again, closed, but we had a bit of an encounter there anyway....
This is Stinger. He had just finished his last show and came up to us to ask us to take his photo for his mom. Very cute. I think he really liked Cathy.
This is the driveway at Cathy and Dan's house. They live on a dirt road up in the mountains outside of Tucson. It's so gorgeous it's unbelievable. They built the house themselves, and now are thinking about selling and shifting gears a bit as they retire. I can't imagine living someplace so lovely. Of course, I also can't imagine dealing with the scorpions and rattlesnakes on a regular basis either.
And we wandered and did other things for the rest of the time. One afternoon we went to the Arizona State Museum and had lunch with my friend Lisa. We visited galleries, went up Mt. Lemon (which I found so fascinating because of the big fire of 2003 -- fire ecology amazes me), and just wandered and enjoyed ourselves.
Me, with Lisa and Cathy, at the museum.
And on my last night, Dan returned from his trip. We went out for a bit, then had a fabulous dinner together.
Here they are! We took this four-wheeler to the grocery store and the bar. Great fun! Below, the beautiful trout Dan caught on his trip. Wow were they yummy!
I'm so fortunate to have such lovely friends in such amazing places. That's been one of the true pleasures of my job -- meeting incredible people. And then I get great places to visit again! The downside is that everyone is so scattered and I don't get to see many of them very often. Yet when we do connect, it's as though no time has passed, and we just fall into a rhythm and enjoy the company. So many thanks again to Cathy, and I look forward to the next time!!
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