Today (Sunday) is our last full day before we head to Phoenix. Nothing too much on the agenda for today. Mostly relaxing by the pool although we did go to an early movie. Thanks to Movie Pass it was our 4th movie during our Tucson stay.
Friday's main activity was the 4th Avenue Street Fair. Although it is a large and fairly diverse town in many ways much of the activities seem to revolve around the University of Arizona. Any good college town is going to have a street which is the center of activity. In Tucson this is Historic Fourth Avenue. It's not right adjacent to the University but it is easily within walking distance and it's lined with eclectic shops, restaurants, clubs and of course these days you have to throw in a tattoo parlor or two just for fun. This weekend was the Annual Historic Fourth Avenue Street Fair. In addition to all the aforementioned amusements the avenue was closed for about eight blocks. Artists, vendors and entertainment ran from one end to the other. It's a three day festival running Friday through Sunday. We went early on Friday before many of the estimated 500,000 who attend this event annually showed up. We had a very nice casual stroll up one side and back down the other. We enjoyed a little seafood at one of the booths which was kind of a strange choice being that Arizona isn't really known for their fresh seafood. However, the fish and chips were actually pretty tasty. Small or large, it's always fun to spend a little time at events like these while we're traveling. It gives you a real feel for the area and the people.
http://www.fourthavenue.org/
http://www.fourthavenue.org/street-fair/
Saturday was a big day. We started with breakfast at a place called Bisbee Breakfast Club, They have several locations in the Tucson area. It looked interesting when we passed it and the reviews on Trip Advisor (which we use frequently) looked good so we gave it a try. Check it out if you're ever in Tucson, I think you'll be glad you did.
http://bisbeebreakfastclub.com/
To work off breakfast our first stop of the day was Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. This area on the east side of Tucson is operated by the US Forest Service. It's full of trails but also features something unique. Cars are not allowed on the canyon road that was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corp. between 1933 and 1942. So there is a shuttle that will take you 3.8 miles into the canyon and provides some nice narration along the way. Once you reach the top you can ride the shuttle back down, take off on one of the trails or simply walk back down along the paved road. We opted for the walk down the road (all down hill) but near the bottom did add a couple of more miles by taking off on one of the trails. The scenery along the way was great. Multiple types of cactus including many of the Saguaro cactus as well as a mountain stream running down from the snow covered top of Mount Lemmon.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coronado/recarea/?recid=80532
After finishing up in Sabino Canyon we headed up to the source of that mountain stream, Mount Lemmon. To reach the summit it's a 24 mile drive up the Sky Island Scenic Byway. The drive which takes less than an hour starts at about 3,000 feet elevation and climbs to close to 9,000 feet. Along the way there are a number of transitions. It starts in a desert area surrounded by cactus, passes through a section that is fairly barren except for some small trees and bushes before ending in a pine forest. There is also a significant temperature change along the way. It was 77 degrees when we left Sabino Canyon. When we made it to the top it was 47 degrees, and while the roads were clear, snow covered the mountain side. There is actually a ski area here that bills itself as the "Southern Most Ski Area in the United States" One other surprise was finding a small village with some really spiffy looking homes like you'd find in any Colorado ski resort area. We had on our 77 degree clothes not our 47 degree clothes so we didn't hang around too long but the drive both up and back down were fantastic.
https://www.myscenicdrives.com/drives/arizona/sky-island-scenic-byway
http://www.skithelemmon.com/
http://mtlemmon.com/summerhaven/
Our overall impressions of Tucson have been very good. It's really spread out (there's plenty of room in the desert) so it never feels congested. There is plenty to keep you busy for several days right in town. It also sounds like there are plenty of other interesting things within an hours drive. Nice people, stuff to keep you entertained, good food and plenty of sunshine...............what else could you ask for?
Friday's main activity was the 4th Avenue Street Fair. Although it is a large and fairly diverse town in many ways much of the activities seem to revolve around the University of Arizona. Any good college town is going to have a street which is the center of activity. In Tucson this is Historic Fourth Avenue. It's not right adjacent to the University but it is easily within walking distance and it's lined with eclectic shops, restaurants, clubs and of course these days you have to throw in a tattoo parlor or two just for fun. This weekend was the Annual Historic Fourth Avenue Street Fair. In addition to all the aforementioned amusements the avenue was closed for about eight blocks. Artists, vendors and entertainment ran from one end to the other. It's a three day festival running Friday through Sunday. We went early on Friday before many of the estimated 500,000 who attend this event annually showed up. We had a very nice casual stroll up one side and back down the other. We enjoyed a little seafood at one of the booths which was kind of a strange choice being that Arizona isn't really known for their fresh seafood. However, the fish and chips were actually pretty tasty. Small or large, it's always fun to spend a little time at events like these while we're traveling. It gives you a real feel for the area and the people.
http://www.fourthavenue.org/
http://www.fourthavenue.org/street-fair/
Saturday was a big day. We started with breakfast at a place called Bisbee Breakfast Club, They have several locations in the Tucson area. It looked interesting when we passed it and the reviews on Trip Advisor (which we use frequently) looked good so we gave it a try. Check it out if you're ever in Tucson, I think you'll be glad you did.
http://bisbeebreakfastclub.com/
To work off breakfast our first stop of the day was Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. This area on the east side of Tucson is operated by the US Forest Service. It's full of trails but also features something unique. Cars are not allowed on the canyon road that was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corp. between 1933 and 1942. So there is a shuttle that will take you 3.8 miles into the canyon and provides some nice narration along the way. Once you reach the top you can ride the shuttle back down, take off on one of the trails or simply walk back down along the paved road. We opted for the walk down the road (all down hill) but near the bottom did add a couple of more miles by taking off on one of the trails. The scenery along the way was great. Multiple types of cactus including many of the Saguaro cactus as well as a mountain stream running down from the snow covered top of Mount Lemmon.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coronado/recarea/?recid=80532
After finishing up in Sabino Canyon we headed up to the source of that mountain stream, Mount Lemmon. To reach the summit it's a 24 mile drive up the Sky Island Scenic Byway. The drive which takes less than an hour starts at about 3,000 feet elevation and climbs to close to 9,000 feet. Along the way there are a number of transitions. It starts in a desert area surrounded by cactus, passes through a section that is fairly barren except for some small trees and bushes before ending in a pine forest. There is also a significant temperature change along the way. It was 77 degrees when we left Sabino Canyon. When we made it to the top it was 47 degrees, and while the roads were clear, snow covered the mountain side. There is actually a ski area here that bills itself as the "Southern Most Ski Area in the United States" One other surprise was finding a small village with some really spiffy looking homes like you'd find in any Colorado ski resort area. We had on our 77 degree clothes not our 47 degree clothes so we didn't hang around too long but the drive both up and back down were fantastic.
https://www.myscenicdrives.com/drives/arizona/sky-island-scenic-byway
http://www.skithelemmon.com/
http://mtlemmon.com/summerhaven/
Our overall impressions of Tucson have been very good. It's really spread out (there's plenty of room in the desert) so it never feels congested. There is plenty to keep you busy for several days right in town. It also sounds like there are plenty of other interesting things within an hours drive. Nice people, stuff to keep you entertained, good food and plenty of sunshine...............what else could you ask for?
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| Sabino Canyon |
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| Anderson Dam in Sabino Canyon |
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| Stream from Mount Lemmon that runs through the canyon |
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| Sky Island Scenic Byway up to the summit of Mount Lemmon |
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| Along the byway drive (Windy Point) |
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| Sky Island Scenic Byway |
