Tucson Arizona advise

[oekoek]

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Hello everybody,

In November this year my wife and i will be traveling the Tucson area in Arizona, we already booked lodges in Tombstone and Pinal County. Now, i suppose some of you will be familiar with the place and I was wondering if you could share some tips and tricks. Anything will be welcome, nice hikes (not to steep), good restaurants for vegetarian food, what sort of clothing will be appropriate (considering the climate there in November), interesting museums and of course sites of photographic interest. I would be much obliged for your help. And oh, I almost forgot the most important thing, i will bring my ME(220),a M9M, a 24/2.8ASP, 35/2 IV and 50/2 IV 🙂.

Many regards,

Timo

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[gotium]

On 7/16/2023 at 5:54 AM, oekoek said:

Hello everybody,

In November this year my wife and i will be traveling the Tucson area in Arizona, we already booked lodges in Tombstone and Pinal County. Now, i suppose some of you will be familiar with the place and I was wondering if you could share some tips and tricks. Anything will be welcome, nice hikes (not to steep), good restaurants for vegetarian food, what sort of clothing will be appropriate (considering the climate there in November), interesting museums and of course sites of photographic interest. I would be much obliged for your help. And oh, I almost forgot the most important thing, i will bring my ME(220),a M9M, a 24/2.8ASP, 35/2 IV and 50/2 IV 🙂.

Many regards,

Timo

Spent a few beautiful years in Tucson. Gorgeous place. Sabino Canyon of course, Ventana Canyon, Pima Canyon for hiking and the Desert Museum (go in the morning). Further afield Kartchner Caverns (although I never made it there). Sunsets from anywhere are beautiful and you'll have great views of the stars at night because there are no streetlights. Tohono Chuul and the Botanical Garden are both lovely. The views over the city from the restaurants at Encantada shopping center are beautiful at night. Zemams for veggie food. And definitely Presta Coffee, both locations (run by a friend). Maybe the mission San Xavier del Bac and Tubac for a day trip (the mission is an active church). 

The center for photographic arts at U of A was co-founded by Ansel Adams and has a lot of his work. 

It will be chilly in November. The monsoons are amazing, but you won't be there for those. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by gotium

[Chuck Albertson]

The Pima Air and Space Museum (near the airport) is worth a visit if you like aircraft - it has a rare example of the B-36, a heavy bomber from the early Cold War. The museum used to offer tours of the adjacent "boneyard" of military aircraft that are stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, but I understand those tours have been scrapped. Another Cold War tour is the Titan Missile Museum south of the city, which preserves one of the ICBM missile silos that ringed Tucson in the 1960's. https://titanmissilemuseum.org/

A trip up Mt. Lemmon is usually worth it. During the Ice Age (until about 50 years ago), it had an actual ski run during the winter. A friend of mine who attended law school at the UofA remembers driving up there on summer night when the air conditioning in his apartment failed, and sleeping on one of the picnic tables.

[Guest]

The hike to Fort Bowie is also worth it. Interesting historically as well as beautiful desert scenery. If you want to go further afield the Gila Wilderness across the border in NM is fabulous, especially the Trail Of the Mountain Spirits (and the Gila Cliff Dwellings).