Nature Sites In and Around Tucson - Part One

This journal includes reviews of the Reid Park Zoo, Tucson Botanical Gardens, and Tohono Chul Park. Also, included is a review of one of my favorite restaurants, The Melting Pot.

The Reid Park Zoo's main highlight is the Polar Bear habitat, which has three polar bears.

The Tucson Botanical Gardens features a wonderful herb garden and desert garden.

The Tohono Chul Park features great short hiking trails.

Quick Tips:

It can get very hot in the summer, so these places are best visited when they first open during the summer. The Botanic Gardens are actually full of shade in most areas, as is the zoo, which has the added kids water area for cooling off. Tohono Chul can get hot, so try a break at the tea room to cool off and enjoy a snack.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around is with a car. The bus system can work out okay, except for most routes it is 30 minutes between buses and it can be a long hot wait if you arrive at the wrong time. A schedule is a must-have for this method and overall the buses are decent at being on time.

The Melting Pot is open Sunday through Thursday, 4:30pm to 10pm, and Friday and Saturday 4:30pm to 11pm. This restaurant is quite popular, so reservations are recommended, especially for larger groups. I have noticed that often the tables that seat two are empty, so for two you may not have that long of a wait if you decide to go at the last minute.

The Melting Pot is a chain fondue restaurant. Fondue is not just about great food, but it is the active experience of dipping and cooking at the table that makes the whole meal fun. Depending on the size of your party and the table you will have one pot and heating stove or two. When you have two, it is great to choose two different options for everything, so everyone can try different things.

The meal starts with cheese fondue. My favorite of the two we had was the Cheddar Cheese which is described in the menu as containing aged sharp cheddar cheese, Emmenthaler Swiss cheese, a lager beer base, garlic, and seasonings. The other kind we had was the Wisconsin Trio Cheese, which has a more bitter taste that I did not really enjoy. This one includes Fontina, Butterkase, Buttermilk Bleu cheese, white wine base, scallions, and sherry. To dip in the cheese, you are given small pieces of food such as bread and apples.

The entrée part of the meal may include a salad depending on what you choose. Our choices had salad and we had the mushroom salads, which included lots of mushrooms, greens, and Parmesan Italian dressing. It was a delicious salad. There are many different entrées including vegetarian platter, shrimp and sirlion, and breast of chicken. For the entrées, you also have to choose an oil base for cooking the things in. We choose coq au vin with flavors of fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, spices, and burgundy wine, and Mojo Style with Caribbean seasoned boullion and flavors of garlic and citrus flair. The Mojo Style has a little spiciness, which I did not really like, but I really liked the flavor of coq au vin. I had the vegetarian platter and it was full of great stuff including artichoke hearts, Portobello mushrooms, and Gorgonzola.

Dessert is my favorite part of a fondue meal. You can actually go and just have dessert, which is great for those who do not want to do a whole fondue meal. The two chocolate fondues we chose were Yin & Yang and Cookies 'n Cream Marshmallow Dream. The Yin & Yang is half dark chocolate and half white chocolate swirled to look like a Yin Yang symbol. The Cookies n' Cream Marshmallow Dream is dark chocolate topped with marshmallow cream, flambéed, swirled, and garnished with crushed Oreo cookies. Oreo covered marshmallows, strawberries, pineapple, poundcake, cheesecake, and more is provided for dipping in.

The Tucson Botanical Gardens are open daily 8:30am to 4:30pm. It is closed on January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving Day, December 24, and December 25. Admission is $5 for those over 12, $2.50 for kids ages 6 to 12, and kids under 6 are admitted for free. Their website is www.tucsonbotanicalgardens.org and is useful for finding out about special events going on at the gardens.

The gardens are designed in a way that you can easily follow the paths around to see everything without really recovering ground. The map even outlines how you should make your way through the gardens in order to do this. The gardens are, for the most part, handicap accessible. The door to the building with the gift shop and you pay your admission even has an automatic door activated by the typical blue wheelchair button. The only place I noticed it might have been tough if my brother had come along was in the small tropical greenhouse where there was one wide path and one narrow path, but you could pretty easily look down the narrow path and see what is there without having to go down it. Also, some of the paths are gravel, but it is packed down enough that wheelchairs and strollers should have little to no problem.

The Botanical Gardens have many different areas including a Herb Garden, a Historical Garden, a Zen Garden, Cactus and Succulent Garden, and Native American Crops Garden. My favorite garden was the Herb Garden, as I have always loved to see and smell herbs that can be used for different purposes. I especially enjoyed the different mint plants that where in the Herb Garden including bubble gum mint, spearmint, and pineapple mint. One day, I hope to have a diverse mint garden in my own backyard, but until them I will have to be satisfied with enjoying the ones at the Botanical Gardens.

Besides plants, you may also be lucky enough to site some wildlife while in the gardens. During my visit, we saw several lizards. We also got to see a Northern Cardinal, as well as many other birds including a family of quail with members from big to very small.

The Gardens have a café rather centrally located. There are also several water stations throughout and they should not be ignored since it can be easy to get dehydrated in the desert climate of Tucson. The way the gardens are designed, though, you do not feel the heat too much as there is plenty of shade, but it is still dry and you are likely to get thirsty.

The Reid Park Zoo is open daily 9am to 4pm. It is closed on December 25 and closes at noon on Thanksgiving Day. Admission is $6 for adults ages 15-61, $4 for seniors, age 62 and older, $2 for kids ages 2 to 14, and children under 2 are free. The zoo's website is www.tucsonzoo.org and great for using to find out about special events and classes at the zoo.

The Reid Park Zoo is not a very large zoo, but it is still worth a visit. The whole zoo can be seen rather easily within two to three hours, but you could spend longer if you have kids with you, especially if they play in the water play area. The zoo has four main areas.

The first area to your left as you enter the zoo animal exhibits is the Asian animals. In this area you can see animals that have their origins in Asia including gibbons and a tiger.

Past the Asian animals you will enter into the area with African animals. African animals on display at the Reid Park Zoo include giraffes, elephants, and white rhinos. Near the otters in this area there is a water play area for kids to enjoy. This is especially a great place for the kids on a hot day. If you are going with kids, I recommend bringing a swimsuit or a spare pair of clothes for them.

In the back corner of the zoo past the African animals is the Adaptation Zone. This is where the zoo's highlight is located. The highlight of the zoo is the polar bears. I know almost everyone thinks it is crazy that a zoo located in a hot, dry desert climate would not be able to have polar bears, especially since it is an outdoor enclosure. In fact though it does not take much to make it possible for the polar bears to live rather comfortably here. They were also the most active animals we saw on the day of our visit with one walking around and two swimming. Besides the polar bears there is also a nice aviary in this area and a few other animals exhibits.

The last area is the South American area, which is located back at the front of the zoo to the right as you enter the zoo. This area recreates a South American habitat and has enclosures displaying several animals from the South American continent. A few of the animals here include jaguar, anteater, llama, and rhea. This area also has an aviary with some colorful macaws.

The zoo also has two restaurants. When we left at noon, only the one near the entrance appeared to be opened and even that one seemed to be just beginning to open. The one in the South America area showed no sign of preparation to open when we left at noon.

Tohono Chul Park is located at 7366 N. Paseo del Norte, Tucson, AZ. The park is open daily from 8am to 5pm. The gift shops, greenhouse, and exhibit house open at 9am. As long as you enter the park by 5pm you can stay until sunset. The buildings are closed on New’ Years Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day, but the grounds are open for free on those days. The park is also free the first Tuesday of every month. Regular admission charges are $5 for adults, $4 for 62 and over, $3 for students with ID, $2 for children 5 to 12, and free for kids under 5. There website is www.tohonochulpark.org.

The Park offers many trails to walk. While it may be possible to go through the whole place in one day it would be pretty hard to do and actually see the natural beauty that the park has to offer. Do not rush through the place, but instead choose a place to start and fully explore the area for as long as it takes you and then choose another and another depending on the time you have. In the summer it can be quite hot, so plan accordingly and bring a water bottle (there are some fountains to fill up to stay hydrated) and wear sunscreen. A hat and/or sunglasses are also nice to have. To take a break and cool off during you visit you can have a snack or meal in the Tea Room.

One of the best trails is the Saguaro Discovery Trail, which is great trail for seeing Sonoran desert plants and learn about this environment through the great signs posted at regular intervals along the trail. Depending on your rime it is also nice to take the South Loop Trail as you head back towards the other areas or the exit. This trail is about a quarter of mile loop.

Another option is the North Loop Trail, which is a quarter of mile. Near here is the exhibit house, which hosts changing exhibits. There is also a garden for children in this are.

One place that is great to stop in no matter your route is the Hummingbird Garden located near the tea room. If you are lucky you will be able to see some hummingbirds that are attracted to the plants in this are.

Other wildlife to be on the lookout for are bobcats, coyotes, and javelinas, especially in the North Loop area, although they still remain rare to sight. Birds can often be spotted throughout the park. Just a few birds include cardinals and doves.