Danielle and Amy in Tucson

Arriving in Tucson on Saturday, February 17, Danielle and Amy Basting spent nearly a week visiting us here in Tucson. Amy has been in Arizona in the past with her family, but for Danielle, Amy's nine year old daughter, this was a first Arizona visit. We had five full days to get acquainted and enjoy Tucson.

Of course the pool was an obvious attraction especially for an eager nine year old from the midwest. Fortunately we had nice AZ winter weather, that is, sunny with temps in the high sixties and seventies. We took the manditory tour of Tucson on our first day, Sunday, visiting "A" Mountain aka Sentinel Peak, the UofA campus, and the San Xavier Indian Mission. At "A" mountain we watched a hang glider prepare to soar off into the cactus covered landscape while we dined with a picnic lunch. The view of Tucson from the mountain is extraordinary. Our day ended with dinner at Tucson's popular Mexican restaurant, La Fuente, complete with mariachi music.

On Monday we traveled up into the Catalina mountains to Mount Lemmon. This thirty mile winding road affords many distant views of Tucson, while traveling into an area of tall pines and snow cover. We dined at the ski lodge not far from the ski area. A dip in the pool ended the day.

Kartchner Caverns beckoned us on Tuesday. About 70 miles southeast of Tucson. Kartchner is a state park with a living cave, one of a kind in the U.S. Afterwards, we stopped in Tombstone for a bit to eat and immerse ourselves into the culture of Wyatt Earp's 1880's life.

Wedneday, we visited the charming 1700's Mexican community of Tubac that now features a hundred shops and galleries and is located an hour south of Tucson.

Two major events occurred during this week in Tucson. One was La Fiesta de la Vacqueros, also called the Tucson Rodeo week, featuring a major rodeo series and the largest non-motorized parade in the country.