Blogs from Tucson, Arizona, United States, North America - page 7

Did man really land on the moon? Who really assassinated JFK? Is the overabundance of border patrol really necessary? Random questions you may think? During our ride from Yuma to Tucson along routes 8, 85 and 86, I put a considerable amount of energy into trying to sort out the answer to the last question mostly, and the issues surrounding the complexities of border control and patrol in this area. I wondered: Why is it we routinely passed white border control pickup trucks, decaled with identifiable green markings smothered with an overabundance of radio antennae, every four to five minutes with alarmingly precise regularity? Why have we passed through two dog-sniffing inspection stations east bound in a stretch of less than 50 miles on the same highway? Why were we detoured around two westbound border checks ... read more

Heading to California for the next week. I flew in from Atlanta to Tucson last night. As an update, I am still working at Children's Healthcare in Atlanta. I fly there every other week and work from 'home' the week I am not there. 'Home' is wherever I am with Ken. We have stayed in Tucson since Thanksgiving so we are feeling very anxious to get back out there! Ken has been getting some needed chores done at the house and we have been enjoying the glorious winter in the desert. As usual my flight is late out of Atlanta. It's been a horrible winter in Atlanta and as I head to the airport it is 37 degrees and raining. The most miserable kind of weather. I try to prepare my attitude as I approach the ... read more

A significant part of today was spent on Interstate 10. While the road was not that interesting the events were. We started off from Tucson under partly cloudy skies - high bolt gray clouds that provide for interesting light and fortunately no chance of rain. As you can see from the picture my R&R - for mates Rob and Rik were raring to go at 8am this morning and my organized travel bag was ready to be stuffed into the trusty BMW pannier. The big plan starting out was to stop for lunch in Deming NM. Nothing unusual there, excerpt that it was to be the best Indian food in the southwest and served from a truck stop no less. You need something to look forward to when you have a long ride ahead. It was ... read more

We left Anaheim on Halloween and after traveling on Interstate 8 through Palm Springs, the Sand Dunes and Salton Sea we picked up I-10, east of Phoenix and passed our first familiar land marks, Saguaro National Park and Picacho Peak. November 1st we headed to our old stomping grounds from the late '80s in the foothills and attended the All Saints Day service and healing mass at St. Thomas the Apostle, our previous parish. Friday night we visited our dear friends of 25 years and Pat and Charlie picked up their guitars and played like we haven't been gone. Charlie was instrumental in Pat playing and singing church music. Sunday night Charlie and Martha's daughters planned an excursion to downtown Tucson to attend the Dia de los Muertos parade. Jim and Connie drove their RV and ... read more

We took a really nice self-guided walking tour of Tucson today. Yesterday high winds blew in a cold front from California, so this morning it was quite chilly and cloudy. Therefore, the vivid colors of the architecture are somewhat muted in our pictures. The Spanish Colonial Revival style Pima County Courthouse with its bright cerulean mosaic dome is the centerpiece of the government buildings. In the 1770’s the Spanish built a walled fortress (presidio), marking the northwest edge of the Spanish frontier in Arizona. Parts of the 10 feet high adobe walls, as well as some adobe houses, still remain. Recent excavations under the wall uncovered remains of Hohokam Indians, circa 800 A. D. This provides evidence that Tucson is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in America. The St. Augustine Cathedral was begun in ... read more

This past Saturday Mickie and I took a day trip from Phoenix to Tucson to visit St. Augustine Cathedral and the San Xavier Mission. It was an easy drive and a beautiful day for a road trip. Mickie’s sister joined us for this excursion and we hit the road right after lunch for the hour and a half or so drive to Tucson. We found St. Augustine easily enough off of Church St. in downtown Tucson. The church itself has a beautiful exterior with the traditional bell towers and ornate façade. There was a wedding scheduled for that afternoon, but we were early enough to sneak in for a peak before the ceremony got started. We enjoyed the entrance hall with its beautiful walls covered with drawings of the people that have done so much good ... read more