Tucson: this jewel of Arizona's Sonoran Desert has been shaped by Hispanic and Indian cultures, an arresting natural environment and a night sky par excellence

Travel America, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Susan Bayer Ward

MANY DRAMATIC AND VIVID influences have shaped the city of Tucson to make it the unusual charmer it is. Set at an elevation of 2,400 feet upon the Sonoran Desert floor and surrounded by an astounding five mountain ranges, Arizona's second largest city neither looks nor acts like the staid metropolis some 900,000 souls usually engender.

Spanish, Mexican, and American Indian cultural influences are everywhere; a veritable pantheon of bird, animal, and plant life abounds; a fine university rubs shoulders with excellent restaurants and shops; and the city is cosmopolitan yet chummy. Wide-open spaces, a rarity for such a populated area, can still be found.

The cradle of Tucson's past lies in the downtown area, where the El Presidio Historic District--on the National Register of Historic Places--is a prime place to begin your exploration of the Old Pueblo, the city's cherished nickname. Use your feet here and enjoy a self-guided walking tour of adobe homes such as La Casa Cordova, which dates to 1848. Its courtyard and interior rooms illuminate life here in the late 1800s.

The contemporary Tucson Museum of Art blends nicely into the district and contains an enviable collection of art from the Americas. Pick up your self-guide brochure here or join a docent-led tour of the El Presidio area.

Don't miss the block-long Old Town Artisans--a restored adobe marketplace dating back to the 1850s and today chockablock with authentic arts and crafts fashioned by more than 150 artisans from Indian, Mexican, and Latin American cultures.

You'll probably need some R & R after this, and it's an easy walk to famed (and justly so) El Charro Mexican restaurant, itself housed in an historic 1900-era stone structure. The same family has run it since 1922, the locals love it, and you may get lucky and see an Hispanic wedding party celebrating in the courtyard.

The attractive University of Arizona campus sprawls midtown. Dating to 1891, it now boasts a 35,000-strong student body and recognition as one of America's top research schools.

The campus grounds contain a plethora of institutions of interest to visitors: Arizona State Museum--an anthropologist's and archaeologist's delight with emphasis on the historic peoples of the Southwest; Arizona Historical Society Museum, where a replica of an old copper mine lures all comers; the University of Arizona Museum of Art, displaying works by such luminaries as Rembrandt, Daumier, Matisse, and Picasso; and the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, full of applicable science exhibits and where night-viewing through a 16-inch telescope lets stargazers drink their fill in a town where the evening sky is sacrosanct (see sidebar box on page 19).

Driving scenic Gates Pass Road west out of town, visitors reach a gaggle of intriguing sites. The splendid Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is really a collection of free-roaming wildlife habitats--home to the bird, animal, and plant denizens of the Sonoran Desert. Visitors come cheek by jowl with desert dwellers such as javelina, bighorn sheep, Gila monsters, mountain lions, black bears, and cheeky prairie dogs. Birds abound--the walk-through hummingbird aviary is a treat--and botanical gardens of cacti and other desert plants are often as fascinating as the wildlife.

Saguaro National Park West lies down the road (its eastern segment is across town). The park's walking trails and loop drives allow ample views of the singular "armed" saguaro cacti, which can grow to over 50 feet tall and are found only in the Sonoran Desert. There are some easily-seen petroglyphs in the park and ranger-led nature walks. The Red Hills Visitor Center supplies brochures, maps, and advice.

The West of yesteryear comes to life at Old Tucson Studios, created in 1939 as a set for the movie Arizona and still going strong. Over 250 movies have been made here, and you may well get to watch a film in progress during your visit. There's a raft of other fun things to see and do, including daily gunfights in which stuntmen nimbly tumble from rooftops during a shootout and "die" right at your feet.

The Kitt Peak National Observatory lies to the southwest (that night-sky theme again). A winding, 12-mile road leads you up to the peak's 6,900-foot summit, where white-domed buildings tickle clouds' bellies and house the world's largest collection of optical telescopes; several can be visited by the public. There are free guided tours as well as evening stargazing programs that allow astronomy buffs (and anyone else fascinated by the dome of heaven) to clap eyes on stars and galaxies far, far away.

North of town, one attraction salutes Tucson's prime asset--nature. Tohono Chul Park provides a feast of desert plants culled from the Southwest and northern Mexico. Nature trails meander throughout the 48-acre site, and a host of desert wildlife moves on and off property at will. An appealing courtyard tea room provides a respite from the sun as well as some tasty light meals.

If you want to cool off from the desert heat--as locals do, especially in summer head northwest of town and drive the 25-mile Mt. Lemmon Highway. Moving from cacti to conifers (the summit is at 9,157 feet) and offering spectacular views from turnouts and overlooks, this two-lane road forces you to slow down and embrace the fragrant aroma of aspen, fir, and pine.