Blogs from Tucson, Arizona, United States, North America - page 12

20th Aug ’12 Hollywood to Palm Springs Today we had to collect the hire car and all we knew was it was to be picked up at LAX airport. So we got the metro to Union Station and the Flyaway bus to the airport, luckily the driver knew that we should get off at terminal one for the car rental places. After leaping onto a hertz bus and being told we needed to get off and go downstairs, we finally found the right place and the right Hertz bus. Soon we had our car and began negotiating our way out of LA. Luckily Howard had sussed the route out last night and using his written instructions we managed it really well, which was a big relief. So we had the air con blasting and were on ... read more

Hello All We spent last night in a campground in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The sunset and sunrise photos are from our location atop a hill overlooking the city. As you might expect, it is hotter than hot here and expected to get even hotter over the next few days. Still, it is better than the snow we experience back home. The majority of the photos were shot (thank you Eileen) from the window of the RV. I think they are wonderful as they capture the essence of the landscape. Speaking of which, the ride from SanAntonio to ElPaso was desolate enough, but from Las Cruces to Tuscon, the landscape, though possessing its own unique qualities, is at best barren and desolate. And, driving through it for several hours, only serves to make it increasingly so. ... read more

Yes Mum, you are reading the title correctly. Your baby, the youngest has once again permanently disfigured her body, with black Indian ink. This time you also can't blame Claire, as she dislikes it! Tucson is known for two things tattoos and food. Arizona is known for guns, guns and more guns...a guy walking down the street was packing (I have been delightfully informed that packing means carrying a gun) 7 different guns ranging in size from a tiny pistol to a sawn off shotgun. When I queried why he was carrying such a weapon, it's for protection apparently. He explained to me how the ammunition he was carrying was meant for total destruction, because as he correctly informed me dead people can't sue. ... Wonderful. He spoke with such a blasé attitude about the whole ... read more

Hello again! Sorry I haven't been able to write sooner--with 3 different journals to keep up in addition to other classwork and my schedule, there's a lot to balance! I'm still able to find some down time, though, and have managed to get plenty of sleep, so it's definitely a healthier routine than when I'm at school! I can't believe I've been here almost 2 weeks now--in part I've gotten used to a lot here and feel like I've been here a long time, and yet I look back and the time has gone so quickly! I had my first full week of classes and eveything last week, so I'm getting settled into a routine now. I finally started work at Ochoa elementary school last Friday, after spending much of my allotted field study time earlier ... read more

On the road again!!! Ok, we made it across Texas State. As they say, “Everything is big in Texas”, even the State. We drove across desolate New Mexico, it seemed endless and we watched the gas gage closely!! Finally, civilization again! We made it without any car trouble… Tucson is hot and dry. The temperature was mid to high 90s and we LOVED it. Yes it’s hot, but early mornings are great, and late afternoon into the evening is awesome. The next day, we traveled 40 minutes southeast of Tucson to visit “Kartchner Caverns”. We had a tour of a living cave. What an awesome experience. This cavern was discovered in the 1970s by 2 guys, Gary and Randy, who loved to explore caves. What’s amazing is when you are outside looking at the mountain, it ... read more