Tripping in Tucson

You know how you get a picture in your mind about a place you've never been but have heard a lot about? I had a clear picture of what Tucson would be... a modern city grown up around a preserved core of old Spanish-style adobe barrios with a quaint plaza surrounded by shops and restaurants... can you hear the Mariachis? Boy was I wrong. There is an old town near city center but it's just that... an old town. Crappy old buildings that were probably crappy when they were built in the 40's. Lots of shops selling Gothic posters and dope paraphernalia. The University of Arizona dominates the city center so there's that  student-shabby air about the place. The building at the right is what I incorrectly pictured Tucson old town would be like, only problem is it's in Patagonia!

Tucson has almost a million people. Within the city limits, where most live, the streets are crummy and congested. When you go north of the city limits, you enter the gated paradises of the rich and retired. The streets are better (how does that work I wonder) the landscaping is primo, the cars are nicer and the women svelter (is that a word?).

Our park is very nice, indeed it is the best we've ever stayed in. It's quiet, convenient, shady (important in the blazing 85 degree sun) and has great amenities. Although in the city limits it's only a short drive to great golf courses. So far we've played the Ventana Canyon and Mountain courses. Jill waxed me on the Canyon course. She would have had a personal best if she hadn't had a blow up hole on the 18th. I love watching her play... so consistent and so sexy.

We drove down through an area called Patagonia about 50 miles south of Tucson. It was highly rated by friends but was a bit of a disappointment. It was sort of billed as a Sisters-like town (Sisters is a small western style town in Oregon) only in a Southwest style. OK maybe, sort of... not! Patagonia, indeed all of southern Arizona is flooded with illegals who cross the border just a few miles south. You see lots of INS agents including road blocks. At right is just one of many INS depots.

From there we drove to Tombstone, home of the gun fight at the OK corral. This is a four block long tourist trap. If the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday hadn't killed three cowpokes here in xxxx this place would have dried up and blown away long ago. However, if one looks beyond the "gunfight" and asks why were the Earps and other legends of the ole west in Tombstone in the first place, the story gets more interesting.... Silver. Over 20 million dollars worth acted like a magnet sucking in 18,000 miners (in those days they didn't count women, Chinese or blacks so the population was actually much larger). There were 3400 prostitutes working a couple of hundred bars. The town sits on miles of tunnels dug by the miners.

We learned all of this when we paid 5 bucks to see the world's largest rose bush!!! (This from a guy who's concerned that using the word "potpourri" will reflect on his masculinity). I could say that I only went because Jill wanted to see it, but the fact is I wanted to see it. In this overblown dusty town with tons of gift shops, saloons and restaurants, down a side street barely noticeable among all of the glitz, sits a small storefront museum that claims to house the world's largest rose bush. At this point my feet hurt and my attitude was in free fall so I decided that anything would be better than more pseudo cowpokes selling trinkets made in China.

As you might expect with something so incredibly cultural there was no one in the place. The proprietor turned out to be the local historian and with nothing else to do gave us a private tour of the museum. It barely mentioned the fabled gunfight but had heaps of stuff about the mines and miners. Made the whole trip worthwhile!!! Oh yes... the rose bush. You can see the photos. Over a hundred years old covering over a half acre and still growing. About as big as the banyan tree in Lahina.

On another day we went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum about 30 miles west of Tucson. Great facility and well worth the visit. Gives one a real appreciation for the unique flora and fauna of the region. Nearby is the Old Tucson Studios. This is an active film studio where lots of cowboy movies were filmed, including several with John Wayne and the Three Amigos with Chevy Chase. Looking at clips from Wayne's movies reminded me of when I ran into him a the Kahala Hilton in the early 80's. He came out of the dressing room in the apparel shop wearing an ugly aloha shirt. He stood in front of the mirror and announced with a big smile "now I are a kaamaina!"  (means local in Hawaiian)