I left San Diego on Wednesday morning and drove to Tucson, AZ. It took almost seven hours, largely because I stopped so often to stretch my legs and back. I passed a number of border patrol cars; I-8 runs along the Mexican border. It also runs through the mountains, which are beautiful, dry, hot and part of the desert - probably the Mojave, still, though it is hard to find information about where the various deserts begin and end. Eventually the freeway leaves the mountains for a long stretch of flat desert interspersed with irrigated farms. At one point there were white sand dunes in the distance, stretching along like hills. Once I crossed over into Arizona, the desert landscape began to change. Instead of just grass, creosote and yucca plants, I started to see cholla, prickly pair and mesquite trees, even jojoba, ocotilla, and then, finally, saguaros - the final, definitive sign that I was in the Sonoran desert. Eventually I made it to Tucson and my friend's house, in the foothills.
I am amazed at how big Tucson has become! The university has to be at least twice as big as it was when I did my graduate work there almost thirty years ago. They have a huge stadium there now and many more buildings scattered all around the city. Even Pima Community College is much bigger - one of the people in my MFA program taught there, but back then there was only one campus; now there are at least three, scattered around the city. There is a big downtown with tall buildings, and the city stretches out way into the foothills.
I got up early this morning so I could get out to the Saguaro forest and do some walking around in the desert before the heat became too intense. It took awhile to find Speedway, but once I found that road, I knew how to get to the Saguaro forest. It is still beautiful out there. That part of Tucson hasn't changed. Pima County controls Tucson Mountain Park, which is the first part of the Saguaro Forest. It contains many trails and works at conserving the area. I hiked for a little while up one of the easier trails, taking photos. Then I went to the desert museum. The Arizona Desert Museum is between the Mountain Park and the Saguaro National Monument (also known as The Saguaro National Park - actually, it is unclear to me if they are separate entities that run into each other or one and the same; the signs were confusing). The museum is amazing and renowned world wide for its conservation of desert wildlife, flora and fauna. I spent about three hours there. Much of it is outside and involves a lot of walking in the intense heat. They do have water fountains scattered around it, but eventually I was ready to drop, so I left. I drove up the mountains to the visitors' center of the national park. I watched a short film there on the local native Americans' view of the Sonoran Desert, which was very interesting. Then I drove back into the city and drove around the many blocks and streets of the University of Arizona campus. It has become huge. Then I drove back up Speedway - which seems to still be the main artery of the city, in much the way it was when I was a student there. I found Casa Molina, a wonderful Mexican restaurant that I used to go to when I lived there. It is still there, and has grown to three locations around the city.
Now I am sitting in an air conditioned Starbucks using their free WiFi to write this. Once this is posted, I'm heading back to my friends' house and going swimming in the pool their small community in the foothills offers. Tomorrow I continue to head east. I doubt I'll get past New Mexico, but we'll see.
I am amazed at how big Tucson has become! The university has to be at least twice as big as it was when I did my graduate work there almost thirty years ago. They have a huge stadium there now and many more buildings scattered all around the city. Even Pima Community College is much bigger - one of the people in my MFA program taught there, but back then there was only one campus; now there are at least three, scattered around the city. There is a big downtown with tall buildings, and the city stretches out way into the foothills.
I got up early this morning so I could get out to the Saguaro forest and do some walking around in the desert before the heat became too intense. It took awhile to find Speedway, but once I found that road, I knew how to get to the Saguaro forest. It is still beautiful out there. That part of Tucson hasn't changed. Pima County controls Tucson Mountain Park, which is the first part of the Saguaro Forest. It contains many trails and works at conserving the area. I hiked for a little while up one of the easier trails, taking photos. Then I went to the desert museum. The Arizona Desert Museum is between the Mountain Park and the Saguaro National Monument (also known as The Saguaro National Park - actually, it is unclear to me if they are separate entities that run into each other or one and the same; the signs were confusing). The museum is amazing and renowned world wide for its conservation of desert wildlife, flora and fauna. I spent about three hours there. Much of it is outside and involves a lot of walking in the intense heat. They do have water fountains scattered around it, but eventually I was ready to drop, so I left. I drove up the mountains to the visitors' center of the national park. I watched a short film there on the local native Americans' view of the Sonoran Desert, which was very interesting. Then I drove back into the city and drove around the many blocks and streets of the University of Arizona campus. It has become huge. Then I drove back up Speedway - which seems to still be the main artery of the city, in much the way it was when I was a student there. I found Casa Molina, a wonderful Mexican restaurant that I used to go to when I lived there. It is still there, and has grown to three locations around the city.
Now I am sitting in an air conditioned Starbucks using their free WiFi to write this. Once this is posted, I'm heading back to my friends' house and going swimming in the pool their small community in the foothills offers. Tomorrow I continue to head east. I doubt I'll get past New Mexico, but we'll see.