Old home Arizona

Overview

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Arizona is where my family and I lived for five years until the summer of 07. We moved here from the east coast to take a job and here we are. Arizona is a nice state and there is much to do and plenty of time to do it due to the weather. The number of blue sky, sunny days is extremely high and rain and inclement weather is a rarity. In addition to Tucson, there are many local mountain ranges to check out, including the Catalina Range just north of Tucson, where you will find Mt. Lemmon and Ski Valley. To the south of Tucson is the Santa Rita range and then going farther south is the city of Nogales and to the east is the Patagonia Mountains. Nogales can be a tour day in itself, so be prepared....Read More

Arizona is where my family and I lived for five years until the summer of 07. We moved here from the east coast to take a job and here we are. Arizona is a nice state and there is much to do and plenty of time to do it due to the weather. The number of blue sky, sunny days is extremely high and rain and inclement weather is a rarity. In addition to Tucson, there are many local mountain ranges to check out, including the Catalina Range just north of Tucson, where you will find Mt. Lemmon and Ski Valley. To the south of Tucson is the Santa Rita range and then going farther south is the city of Nogales and to the east is the Patagonia Mountains. Nogales can be a tour day in itself, so be prepared.

So if you come to Arizona, be ready to do things, be outdoors, experience the local Hispanic and Indian culture and bring your sunscreen. And remember...it's a dry heat!

Quick Tips:

As I mentioned, bring your sunscreen. The sun is fairly intense and you can get burned up quickly if your not slathered with sunblock.

Another tip is to make sure that you drink plenty of water. Tucson is hot and very dry, so you probably won't notice that you're losing lots of fluids due to evaporation, but you're losing it and you need to put it back or you'll be laid up in your hotel room instead of enjoying your trip.

Also worth nothing is to stay away from some of the touristy Mexican restaurants where the food is not nearly as good as that which you'll find in the mom and pop's restaurants. I'll begin to put up some reviews on worthwhile restaurants in the near future. This also includes buying Mexican trinkets and souvenirs. Stay away from shoppes that charging what you think is too much for these items. If you think they are, they probably are. If you really want to get things like this, you can always go down to Nogales, Sonora and buy the real deal and you can do the who bargain and haggle thing with the merchant. They are famous for that and Nogales, Sonora is a fairly American friendly, English speaking area as they want the tourism dollars. That being said, steer away from areas like Tubac, Arizona which will sell you the same stuff that you can get in Mexico and charge you four times the price and not be ashamed about it in the least.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around in Tucson and surrounding areas is to rent a car. There is far too much area out here and in between places to do the taxi or bus thing and there is no mass transit system in Tucson itself. So, plan on spending a bit of time driving also. But that can also be a good thing because you will be in the Sonoran desert which is a rare and unique ecosystem in itself and I'm sure you will find plenty of views to snap photos of. Read Less

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Agave Restaurant

Restaurant

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The Agave Restaurant is located inside the Desert Diamond Casino off of Interstate 19. I am specifically recommending the Sunday Champagne Brunch in this review. The brunch is on Sundays from 10am to 2pm. The price is $12.95 per person, including beverage, and the food is great. The brunch menu includes everything from prime rib to crab legs to shrimp to regular breakfast foods. There is also a chef working the counter who will make to order different dishes, including made to order omelets and eggs. The prime rib is the best though. Nice cut and it is just as juicy as any that you would get in a fine dining environment. I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the food. In addition, there is a ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 20, 2007

Agave Restaurant
Desert Diamond Casino
Tucson, Arizona
(520) 393-2720

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Reid Park Zoo

Attraction

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The Tucson Reid Park Zoo is a nice zoo for the size. It is a little small, but you can see the whole thing in matter of two hours as opposed to leaving after seeing only half of it like some big zoos.It has a fair number of animals with good sized habitats and it is broken up into regions. The zoo itself is very easy to get around in and also to self-tour. They do however offer guided tours that are more in depth and will take you behind the scenes. The best part about the Tucson Zoo is that the majority of it can be navigated and you can remain in the shade as there are lots of trees. The giraffe paddock is very spacey and they have three giraffes inside that you can feed, which is neat. They...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 17, 2007

Reid Park Zoo
1100 South Randolph Way
Tucson, Arizona 85716
(520) 791-3204

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Tucson Sidewinders

Attraction | "Tucson Sidewinders and Tucson Electric Park"

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Triple A baseball at its finest! The Sidewinders are the AAA farm team for the Arizona Diamondbacks and they play at the beautiful Tucson Electric Park in south Tucson. The stadium holds approximately 10,000 and tickets start as low as $6 with reserved box seats as low as $9. The stadium is as nice as they get also. With a grass seating section around the outfield and also along the left field line that provides great seating for families with little ones, there is something for everyone at TEP for a night with the Sidewinders. TEP also has great food and drinks for your enjoyment during the games. Whether you want to do the traditional dog, popcorn, and cracker jacks, Chicago style with a pol...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 18, 2007

Tucson Sidewinders
Tucson Electric Park
Tucson, Arizona 85713
(520) 434 - 1021

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International Wildlife Museum

Attraction

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The International Wildlife Museum is a very interesting museum on the west side of Tucson in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains. Containing a very exhaustive collection of mounted animals, you will probably see a stuffed version of something that you've only seen on the Discovery Channel before you leave.With everything from deer to water buffalo to polar bears to a elephant, if you can imagine an animal that you have seen before or wanted to see, in a not so alive fashion, this is the place for you.Broken down into regions and different areas, the entire museum can be completely navigated in about two hours maximum. Entirely indoors, you do not need to be concerned with the heat or...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 18, 2007

International Wildlife Museum
4800 West Gates Pass Road
Tucson, Arizona 85745
(520) 629-0100

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Mount Lemmon

Attraction | "Mt. Lemmon"

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Mt. Lemmon is the peak of the Catalina Mountain range which forms the northern border of Tucson, Arizona. Mt. Lemmon is over 9,000 ft high and is a welcome respite from the heat and bustle of Tucson. Up in the mountains, you can enjoy a true fall season with changing leaves and snowfall in the winter. Ski Valley is also located atop the mountain and offers skiing and winter sports when snowfall allows.Mt. Lemmon suffered severe fire damage in the Aspen fire in 2003, but has made incredible strides in recovery since then. This is partially due to the large numbers of people who have decided to include Mt. Lemmon and Ski Valley in their vacation and day trip plans and have contributed much in th...Read More

Mt. Lemmon is the peak of the Catalina Mountain range which forms the northern border of Tucson, Arizona. Mt. Lemmon is over 9,000 ft high and is a welcome respite from the heat and bustle of Tucson. Up in the mountains, you can enjoy a true fall season with changing leaves and snowfall in the winter. Ski Valley is also located atop the mountain and offers skiing and winter sports when snowfall allows.

Mt. Lemmon suffered severe fire damage in the Aspen fire in 2003, but has made incredible strides in recovery since then. This is partially due to the large numbers of people who have decided to include Mt. Lemmon and Ski Valley in their vacation and day trip plans and have contributed much in the way of tourism dollars to their reconstruction and renovation.

Despite the damage from the fire though, the natural beauty is shining through. From the bottom of the mountain and the majestic sahuaros that line the roads and hills to the aspen and pine forests at the top, Mt. Lemmon offers a widely changing landscape as you ascend to the top. The drive itself is incredibly beautiful and can be made in under an hour. There are many turnoff spots along the way where you can stop and take in the scenery and make photos as well. On the way to the top, you have several options as to how to spend your time. There are restaurants and shops from Summerhaven to Ski Valley where you can spend your time and money as well as numerous picnic spots off of the road on the way up. At the top at Ski Valley, the ski lift is in operation most of the year to take people up to observe southern Arizona from the Phoenix area all the way down towards Mexico. Also at Ski Valley is the Iron Door restaurant, which is supposed to be very good, although I have not tried it. Across from the restaurant is the ski lifts, another restaurant and a little shop that serves some of the best chocolates, fudge and confectioneries that you'll ever taste.

Mt. Lemmon is located about 35 miles up the mountain from Tucson. To get there, simply take Tanque Verde Road to the Catalina Highway and then go straight up until the top. Temperatures generally average about 25-35 degrees cooler than in Tucson, so be prepared. And there is no gas on the Mountain, so make sure you go up with enough to get back down with. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 19, 2007

Mount Lemmon
Catalina Highway
Tucson, Arizona 85619
+1 520 547 7510

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Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Attraction | "Arizona Desert Museum"

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The Arizona Desert Museum is very unique in that it is a living museum. The majority of the exhibits are a collection of the wide variety of cacti and plants native to the local Sonoran Desert. In addition, there are live snakes, other reptiles, insects, and other animals that are native to this ecosystem and that are displayed on 100 acres of pristine Sonoran Desert. They are set through an outdoor walking course with descriptions alongside of them that clarify what each is. It is very informative and gives one a complete understanding of how complex this environment is.There are also restaurants called the Ironwood Terrace, the Ocotillo Cafe, Phoebe's Coffee Bar, and The Cottonwood Sna...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 24, 2007

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 North Kinney Road
Tucson, Arizona 85743
+1 520 883 1380

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Phoenix Zoo

Attraction

Quote:

Living in Tucson, we are just under two hours from Phoenix. This is good for many reasons, one of which is that Phoenix has an awesome zoo. The Phoenix Zoo is the largest non-profit zoo in the United States, at 125 acres of land. There are 2.5 miles of walking paths in the zoo as well and over 1,200 animals on display.The zoo is broken into four distinct areas that have trail systems in them. The Africa Trail, the Arizona Trail, the Tropics Trail, and the Children's/Discovery Trail. All of the trails are very easily navigated and interesting for the whole family.The zoo is fairly large, so it will take approximately two or three hours to see the entire thing. This is somethin...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 25, 2007

Phoenix Zoo
455 North Galvin Parkway, 64th Street Between Van Buren & Mcdowell Roads
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
(602) 273-1341

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Tombstone Historic District

Attraction | "Town too tough to die"

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Tombstone is the Town Too Tough to Die. Home of the infamous Fight at the OK Corral, and former home to Wyatt Earp and the Earp Brothers, as well as a plethora of other well-known old west icons such as Doc Holliday, Johnny Ringo, and Ed and Bat Masterson. Tombstone is located southeast of Tucson, Arizona, on a relatively flat plain between the Dragoon, Whetstone, and Huachuca Mountain ranges, and is quite a pleasant drive. As you enter the city limits from the north, you will encounter the Boot Hill Cemetary. If you've never seen it, it is worth a look as some of the tombstones are quite interesting. From there, let you travels take you to the Main strip of Allen Street and you should f...Read More

Tombstone is the Town Too Tough to Die. Home of the infamous Fight at the OK Corral, and former home to Wyatt Earp and the Earp Brothers, as well as a plethora of other well-known old west icons such as Doc Holliday, Johnny Ringo, and Ed and Bat Masterson.

Tombstone is located southeast of Tucson, Arizona, on a relatively flat plain between the Dragoon, Whetstone, and Huachuca Mountain ranges, and is quite a pleasant drive. As you enter the city limits from the north, you will encounter the Boot Hill Cemetary. If you've never seen it, it is worth a look as some of the tombstones are quite interesting. From there, let you travels take you to the Main strip of Allen Street and you should find all that you desire there within walking distance.

The OK Carrol is worth a look and they have several shows per day as do many of the other sites within town, including Helldorado Town which features Old West shows on a regular basis. There will be plenty of period-dress cowboys walking around and it gives a truly authentic feel to the town.

Make a stop at Big Nose Kate's or the Crystal Palace if you need to have a drink or two as they always offer a genuine experience for your drinking pleasure. Food is also in full supply with quite a few restaurants within walking distance of the main streets. I have eaten at Nellie Cashman's as well as The Longhorn Restaurant and The OK Cafe. All of the food was very good, but Nellie Cashman's offered the best sitdown-type food that is not burgers.

For an additional treat though, try the Old Hall where it has been turned into a museum, or Spanenberg's Gun Shop which sells much more than just firearms. There are many very interesting exhibits inside from the heyday of the town in the early 1880s. That, along with many of the other shoppes, exhibits, and things to do will keep you busy for a day.

I highly recommend Tombstone as a day trip if you're in the the Tucson area for a few days, even with kids as there is a lot for them as well. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 27, 2007

Tombstone Historic District
Highway 80
Tombstone, Arizona 85638

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Pima Air and Space Museum

Attraction

Quote:

The Pima Air and Space Museum is a very unique and interesting place to visit. With over 160 planes, 100,000 square feet of hangar space, and home to years of our Nation's aerospace history, it is a must-see if in the Tucson area. Some of the specialties at the museum are three B-52 bombers, JFK's old Air Force One and an SR-71 Blackbird, still the fastest jet in the world.They offer tram tours or walking tours and, with both, you get to see all of the planes on the facility. With five hangars offering displays in addition to the vast numbers of aircraft, you will need to allot at least three hours to tour the entire facility, but it is well worth it. The tram tour makes things a little ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 30, 2007

Pima Air and Space Museum
6000 East Valencia Road
Tucson, Arizona 85706
(520) 574-0462

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Tucson Journals

Old home Arizona

Old home Arizona

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Agave Restaurant

Reid Park Zoo

Tucson Sidewinders

International Wildlife Museum

Mount Lemmon

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Phoenix Zoo

Tombstone Historic District

Pima Air and Space Museum

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