Holy Street Traffic, Batman!

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Mid-week, first week and we arrived in Tucson late yesterday afternoon (7/31). We took a slight detour coming from Ajo when we looked up and discovered Kitt Peak Observatory. Large expanses of mountaintop covered with white and silver domes housing telescopes pointed at the sky. There was a twisty turvy 12 mile drive up there to 6,850 foot elevation - super cool that it's open to the public! We took a way long and way too wordy tour with an astronomer from the 1960's. Here's were I admit the guy was probably a genius and confess to having flunked Astronomy on the first go (truth be told, didn't do so well on round two either). We walked up to see the 2.5 meter telescope and learned lots of interesting facts about how it was built, how it is used (by multiple Universities that fund researchers), how for six weeks each summer the telescopes are closed due to the unpredictable weather and how the mirrors that are used are actually three feet thick!



While up there, we saw an entire flock of blue jays, always a sign of good things when we are traveling.



The detour added two hours to our commute into Tucson - aided no doubt to the road closure that had us stopped for 20 minutes. Finally, in the late afternoon, we arrived to Tucson. Quickly remembered how congested and crazed the roads are. Multi-lane thourough-fares with Mario Andrete driving! We checked in to the hotel and went to grab a bite. Jim said chicken wings, I found chicken wings all right!!



The place I discovered on Yelp is called Wings over Broadway. Tuesday night was wing night. We didn't partake in the wing night part, but did share an order of 12 wings - half spicy hot honey and half No Mercy. You can guess who ordered which!! We also ordered bacon cheese tots. The wings were perfectly cooked and the sauces were out of this world! Even the no mercy sauce had a terrific flavor, but boy were they spicy. My mouth is watering just typing this - remembering the red chile flakes, salty, vinegary little devils. The honey wings had a nice bite, but were much less hot. We had icy cold beers to wash them down and I won't rule out one more stop there this visit.



Our bellies full, we headed back to the hotel for what has turned out to be our daily ritual - a swim in the pool and soak in the hottub. This particular vacation feature has us spoiled rotten and no doubt plays a fundamental role in how relaxed we both feel. The hot Tucson sun dipped behind monsoon clouds providing a perfect cover below.



The next day, we woke excited and eager to get going. A very full day of nurseries and a National park in the high temperature of 106 by mid-morning! We found a great tiny, highly recommended joint for breakfast – Poco and Mom’s – specializing in New Mexican cuisine, this tiny hole in the wall had a fantastic breakfast burrito with an amazing green chile sauce. The wait staff were all really nice. What the place lacked in ambiance, it made up for in a yummy breakfast – fuel for the day ahead.





Our first stop was at B&B Cactus Farm. By this time, the sun was in full blaze mode. The nursery had every cactus and succulent imaginable! We had several really nice chats with the staff, all of who were so knowledgeable. We carefully selected our prize specimens for the new cactus garden going into the south side of our yard later this summer.





Packing the plants into the milk crates strapped into the back of the truck was no easy task. Jim worked his butt off! With industrial strength work gloves that we threw into the bag at the last moment before leaving home, he carefully arranged these beautiful but unforgiving critters strategically positioning to make the most out of the limited space we have for the trip. In all, we have four milk crates back there and at this, our second nursery stop, we are already half full.





Drenched in sweat, we decided to hit the Saguaro National Park, a place we discovered on our last trip to Tucson, but before we were both bit by the cactus and succulent bug. A vast forest of saguaro cactus for as far as the eye can see buttressing right up against the beginning of the urban sprawl that is Tucson. Here I stop to make one more note of the amazingly ill-conceived street/highway design, the astonishing traffic and the fact that it takes a minimum of 40 minutes to get anywhere no matter where you are! The nine-mile scenic loop was a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the traffic and we immediately slipped into the serenity of the desert landscape. We shot lots of photos and walked amongst the ancient saguaros, some of which are over 45 feet high with twisty arms and holes in their flesh where birds, owls and other critters reside. I really do love this place.





With enough energy to hit one more nursery, we headed out toward Oro Valley to a nursery called Bach’s. In my wildest imagination, I couldn’t have possibly dreamt of a place with more variety, more selection, more acres of all the plants we love so dearly. This place, all ten acres, was even better than the last and we spend about two hours combing through their extensive stock. We also searched through their petrified wood and came away with several pieces to decorate both pots and the yard. The staff here was also fantastic and treated us to icy cold bottles of water while we enjoyed the greenhouses.



At Bach’s, we picked up the much-coveted Department of Agriculture certificate that may be needed to get our plants back into the state of California. Even though we bought some in Palm Springs, we may run into trouble crossing over from Nevada into California in two weeks! Never even thought about it!!





This haul of plants took up the last remaining space in the back of the truck. Everything is precariously positioned and is nestled carefully between newspaper and other packing materials. Now all we have to do is get ‘em home!





After this stop, it was clear that we had run out of gas! We were both soaked with sweat and were exhausted. All we could think of was the pool awaiting us back at the hotel. We ran to the room, slipped on our suits, made a quick margarita and retired to the pool for a much-anticipated swim. It was a welcome relief from the sweltering heat and from the sun that had beat down on us all day long.





Our last night in Tucson was a lazy evening preparing for the long journey in the morning to Las Cruces, New Mexico – our next stop. We ordered dinner from Arizona Pizza Company – a house special combo with really fresh veggies and an antipasto salad. In Las Cruces, we will celebrate Jim’s 37^th birthday and then return to a place we visited a month before we got married (Santa Fe).



Arrived in Las Cruces at 3pm and went to explore. If this Blackberry Jalapeno margarita is any indication, we are in for a good time!

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