We traveled to Tucson in February, 2004 with Verna’s parents to have a few weeks in the sun. And we found it; we had a couple of cool days with some rain, but in general it was in the high 60’s and low 70’s. We spent our time relaxing and visiting some of the local sites.

One of our first stops was the Biosphere 2. This was originally created to determine if scientists could create a self-contained environment in which people, plants and animals could live for an extended period of time. The reason it is named Biosphere 2 is that it was created to better understand Biosphere 1 - namely Earth. The photo at right shows the Biosphere and surroundings.

It was lived in for 2 years by 8 people and their time in the biosphere discovered many problems with creating an artificial environment. Mainly, it pointed out that Earth is an incredibly complex environment that maintains itself in a very critical balance. The experiment here highlighted the fact that any one aspect out of balance can have disastrous effects on the overall environment.

Some interesting facts about the Biosphere: it covers 3.15 acres it is 91 feet at the highest point; 539 feet long it is sealed off from Earth below by a 500 ton welded stainless steel liner instruments constantly monitor the air, soil and water it has a 25’ ocean (photo above) containing a million gallons of water it has 5 biomes: rain forest, desert, savanna, march and ocean it houses more than 3,000 species of living organisms it has 2 lungs which provide air-volume control

One fine day we took a walk out to Sabino Canyon. This is a preserve area on the outskirts of town, providing a recreational and educational are for the local residents. The canyon is accessed by a 3 mile road that follows the river between 2 mountains. It is now closed to general traffic, but a tram provides transport to park visitors. We took advantage of the tram to ride up to the end of the canyon and hear the guide’s comments about the environment. We then walked back to the park center, enjoying the unique area. The hillsides are covered with the saguaro cactus, most of which are probably well over 100 years old.

These cactus are unique a few areas in the southwest. While they don’t have annual rings like trees do, we can get an idea of the age of a Saguaro by its height and shape. They are very slow growing and in an area like this, it will take about 6 to 7 years to grow 1 inch tall. At 17 years it will be about 1 foot tall. The cactus won’t have a side branch until it is 55 to 60 years old and is about 15 to 16 feet tall. A full grown Saguaro will have multiple branches and reach about 46 feet tall; this will take about 173 years! So, as you look at the pictures, notice how many of the cactus have multiple branches and have reached a uniform height.

On another sunny day we took a trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to the west of town. This is an outdoor museum which has striven to present the local flora and fauna in a natural setting. They have done a great job of creating habitats that are both natural to the animals as well as accessible to the visitors. Wild cats, bighorn sheep, snakes, birds, butterflies, beavers, fish, wild boars, coyotes and others were on display. 

Everything was presented in the natural environment with as little intervention as possible, giving the visitor a good sense of the true desert. The photo at right is of a native Ocelot. Take a look at the size of those paws!!! Even though the cat is small in size, it is not a desert denizen we want to come up against.

One demonstration we were able to see was on the Harris Hawk. The rangers shared the lifestyle of the hawks while seeing them fly and roost in their natural setting. Especially impressive was seeing up close how they gingerly land on the top of the spiny Saguaro (below), as well as the pecking order behavior displayed as the largest (female) always got the highest perch!

The view from the museum area is truly breathtaking. It overlooks the Avra Valley (bottom left) which separates 6 mountain ranges. To the west is the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. And if you are interested in information about the local Indians, the history museum at the University near downtown Tucson has an excellent exhibit on the history, lifestyle, and culture of the local tribes.

We also took a road trip south, almost to the Mexican border to visit the hillside community of Bisbee. It is an old mining town that has survived and has many remnants of its past. The day was rainy, so we have no pictures of the town. Also south of Tucson are the caves. We took one of the tours and were quite impressed by the control exerted over visitors in order to preserve this natural site. Quite a nice tour, but no pictures allowed! On the way back to Tucson we made a stop at Tubac, a small town turned into artisan shops. Had a great lunch there too!

Having spent a couple of weeks here, we find that it is a place we could probably live - at least for the winter. We are afraid that the summers would be way too hot for us to enjoy, but we loved the winter conditions. The sunsets were spectacular (below right).

The city of Tucson is large enough to support a wide variety of shops and restaurants, yet it not really a huge metropolitan area. So you can find a restful pace with which to conduct your life. It is also supports a huge retirement population, so there are a lot of folks with a similar lifestyle. We may even have to start looking for some property here.

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