Tucson is filled with tourists in the winter, when our very lowest lows may hit 20°, but generally don't go below freezing and most frequently hover near 40°. But that's the lows - the highs on those same days could easily be 60° or 70°. Our dry desert air means that the common temperature differential is 40° from day to night. Winter storms are rare and generally don't last longer than a day or two.

Summer is hot, and summer is long. Expect high temperatures to hit 100° by mid-May, and to range from the upper 90's to 105° until September. Nights are beautiful and cool, still in the 60's and 70's through June, and then again in September. Monsoon nights (July and August) are warm (low in the 80's), but the storms are truly spectacular and worth seeing. Real Tucsonans come alive during Monsoon season. (see related article click here)

Here are just some of the places we would spend all our time if we didn't have to work. Many have their own websites, or you can call directly for hours and details.

First, take some time to learn about the desert. Start at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, (520) 883-2702 a world class outdoor museum that will teach you all about our desert home. With that background, head to Sabino Canyon, (520) 749-2861 the lush desert canyon in the Catalina Mountains, where the U.S. Forest Service runs a tram with good guided information along the way.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Then just head out for a hike. Tucson Mountain Park has trails; Saguaro National Park East (520) 733-5158 or 5153 has great trails and a 9 mile loop road that really takes you into the heart of the desert. Tohono Chul Park (520) 575-8468 is beautiful - a lush desert environment preserved right in the middle of the burgeoning northwest part of our city. Catalina State Park (520) 628-5798 has trails and picnic areas and dramatic views of the Pusch Ridge section of the Catalina Mountains. And Catalina Highway wends through the Coronado National Forest, allowing you to pull off and wander wherever your eye stops, eventually ending at Mt. Lemmon, Restaurant 576-1586, Ski Valley 576-1321 where Ponderosa pines greet you at 9,000 feet.

		Mt. Lemmon
		Saguaro National Park East

Museums are great in Tucson, although there aren't enough of them. The Tucson Museum of Art (520) 624-2333 is high class - great exhibits and a wonderful gift shop. If you haven't been to TMA in a long time, you won't recognize it. It's no longer the place where we used to set the kids on the floor with pads and markers, telling them to find something that caught their eye, and to just draw. TMA's environment is now more "uptown" than "down home," which is what an art museum should be.

If you're looking for a place to just sit and take it all in, the University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography (520) 621-7968 always has amazing exhibits, and it's free. Otherwise, the Tucson Botanical Gardens (520) 326-9255 is a wonderful sanctuary.

A Gallery and Museum and Desert Experience, all in one. That's the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun. (520) 299-9191 You don't have to be a fan of DeGrazia's work (we are not) to appreciate this place. The history of the artist, his works hanging in an elaborately creative setting; a beautifully painted chapel for worshiping the Virgen de Guadalupe; great specimens of cacti interspersed with sculptures and metal flowers - this is a delightful place to spend an hour or so. The story of Ted DeGrazia, artist, sought by the IRS when they determined his paintings were so valuable that he should pay thousands of dollars in taxes on them - the story where he burns all his paintings and asks the IRS "Ok, now what are they worth?" - that alone is worth the visit to the former studio of this oh-so-Tucson artist.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun

Kids love Old Tucson, (520) 883-0100 the movie set that has been used for westerns for years. Old Tucson suffered a horrible fire in 1995, but they have rebuilt and are doing well. The night of their Grand Reopening, Hildy spent an hour riding the merry-go-round, which makes it one of her favorite places now! The kids love the rides, and the gunfights are fun.

Old Tucson

As for side trips, there are two we would recommend - Southeast Arizona and Southern Arizona.

Southeast Arizona is a 3-day side trip worth taking. Hildy dreams of taking weeks, traveling through slowly, and writing about it.

• Tombstone 1-888-457-3929 is really Tombstone - The Town Too Tough To Die. Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp and the real OK Corral. It is neat to see real history in a place so infamously famous.

• The Chiricahua Mountains and, specifically, Chiricahua National Monument, (520) 824-3560 have some of the neatest rock formations you will see anywhere. Great hiking, but also just great looking and seeing. Bryce Canyon gets all the PR, but the canyon of spires in the Chiricahuas are equally amazing.

Chiricahua National Monument

• Willcox (520) 384-2272 / (800) 200-2272is apple and pumpkin country during the fall, with harvest festivals and great produce of all kinds at huge u-pick farms. Tucked among the orchards and fields is an ostrich farm (with ostrich meat for sale) with a great petting zoo, where you can hold rabbits and puppies, and even watch baby ostriches hatch from their shells. In the winter, Willcox is home of the Sandhill Crane Festival, when the cranes come through on their annual migration. Watching hundreds of these big beautiful birds gathering at dawn is a sight you can't explain.

Willcox

• Benson (520) 586-2842 is the home of the Singing Wind Bookstore, (520) 586-2425 located on a working ranch along a two-lane road about a mile or so outside town. Singing Wind has an eclectic mix of books about just about everything - Hildy has even purchased a book about Japanese quilts there. All in a few side rooms off the main ranch house!

• Benson is also the home of Kartchner Caverns, (520) 586-CAVE (2283) a living cave whose main room is the size of a football field. No feeling claustrophobic here (take it from one who is!). This is one of the most spiritual, awe-inspiring places on the planet. You will learn more about caves than you thought could possibly be interesting (it is - very). And you will leave caring about the preservation of this treasure as if it were a living creature, because in many ways, it is. Tickets for reservations must be purchased well in advance of your visit.

Kartchner Caverns

• Bisbee is an old copper mining town turned artist's colony. Winding hilly streets, old Victorian houses, and great antiques and crafts. The old Copper Queen Mine gives tours that take you down into the mine shaft, just like the miners do. In days of old, when Bisbee was the capital of Arizona, Teddy Roosevelt stayed at the Copper Queen Hotel, which has since been refurbished and is still a treat. Great Bed and Breakfasts for lodging as well.

Bisbee

• Ramsey Canyon (520) 378-2785 is a Nature Conservancy Preserve that is among our favorite places in the whole world. The perennially flowing creek is home for abundant wildlife, but Ramsey Canyon is best known for its multiple species of hummingbirds, especially in the spring. Reservations are needed for hiking, as they don't want lots of folks in at once, disturbing the habitat. Ramsey Canyon is a spiritual place - quiet and dense and alive. We have seen bands of coati mundi here (sort of a southwestern raccoon), a wonderful treat.

	Ramsey Canyon
	Sonoita Highway

• The Sonoita Highway is an official state-appointed scenic highway for good reason. Winding through hills and ranch lands, the Sonoita Highway shows how a quiet grace can take your breath away. If you have the opportunity to take this road to get to anywhere, take it.

Having arrived in Sonoita, Karen's Wine Country Café 520 455-5282 has food so good, it has been featured in Travel Magazines, Food Magazines - even the New York Times! (Reservations recommended, even for lunch).

• Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve (520) 394-2400 is just a few miles south of Karen's Café, in the oh-so-adorable town of Patagonia. This is another Nature Conservancy Preserve, home to 130 year old cottonwood trees and one of the most beautifully green riparian areas you will see anywhere - yup, right here in desert country!

	Sonoita
	Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve

Then there is Southern Arizona - due south between Tucson and the Mexican border. You can do this trip in a day, but take two if you want to linger.

• Start at the Mission San Xavier, (520) 294-2624 the "White Dove of the Desert", on the Tohono O'odham reservation just minutes from downtown Tucson. The Mission was built in the 1790's and is currently under restoration but still very accessible. Work on the murals of the main chapel has already brought the richness of those original colors back to life. Please note that San Xavier is not just a tourist stop, but a living and breathing church, where many come to pray. Please be respectful of that fact when you visit.

Mission San Xavier

In the parking lot of the mission are stalls where you can buy Indian Fry Bread, a treat even for those of us who live here, but a special treat if Fry Bread isn't common in your neck of the woods. Have it with powdered sugar, or try a Fry Bread Taco, with beans and cheese and vegies, or with chili. Bring your appetite and lots of napkins!!!

• Tubac (520) 398-2704 is an old site archaeologically, along the Santa Cruz River, which itself has a rich history going back hundreds of years. Tubac has become a thriving artisans' community, and their annual festival in February is one of the best arts fairs we know. Tortuga Books (520) 398-2807 is an eclectic independent bookstore, almost worth the drive from Tucson just for books. Crafts and art of all kinds are here - you could truly spend the whole day in Tubac, anytime of the year.

• Just a bit further south from Tubac is the Tumacacori Mission. (520) 398-2341 The area was initially settled for mission work by Father Eusebio Kino, the Jesuit priest who is credited with Christianizing this whole region in the late 1600's. The adobe structure that is now on the site was built in the early 1800's. Tumacacori doesn't have the artistic detail of San Xavier, but it is so rich in history it is worth the trip. The Mission is maintained by the National Parks Service, so there are good interpretive materials to guide you.

Tumacacori Mission

• Nogales, Sonora. Going into Mexico is a treat - great shopping, great fun, great food and lots of tequila. Eat at La Roca for elegance and great food - or eat anywhere else for just down-home Mexican food in a down-home atmosphere. You have to experience a border town at least once in your life, and Nogales is safe and friendly and a delightful day. Bring identification and check with officials when you arrive in Tucson for specifics about crossing the border at Nogales (For instance, just how much booze can you really bring back duty-free?)

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The Tucson area could keep you busy for months, and you'd never see the same thing twice! Please let us know of your own favorites, so we can enjoy them, too!