Weekend in Tucson
All photographs Copyright © 1996 by Stephen Gunn. All rights reserved.
If you're curious, take a look at a
map of Tucson.
At noon on Thursday it was 61 degrees. In January. In Chicago. By sunrise
Friday morning the forecast said it would be 10 degrees with a wind chill
of 30 below. I was very glad I wouldn't be there: I had a flight at
7:30pm to Tucson.
I left work at 3:30 in order to miss the worst of the evening rush, but got
caught in it anyway: everyone was leaving work early in order to avoid the
freezing rain and snow which was forecast. Got home, wolfed some food down,
and decided to call and see if my 7:30 flight was delayed. Nope, it was
cancelled. They could get me on the 6:30 flight though. Could I make that?
Oh, and by the way, a great number of the rest of the flights were
being cancelled because of the weather getting worse.
Well, it was now 5:30. It would take 35 minutes to get to the airport, 10
minutes to park and catch the shuttle to the terminal, and 5 minutes to
walk the quarter mile or so to the gate. Sure I could make it.
So I raced through the freezing rain and sleet, and made it to the gate
a couple minutes before they closed the door to the plane...
They de-iced the plane, and it left the gate promptly at 6:30. After
an uneventful flight, my friend picked me up at the airport and we
headed back to his house. The desert gets cold at night. Somehow
I was able to deal with the 50 degree desert night. It was tough,
but I'd manage.
Housing is cheaper in Tucson. I couldn't afford a brand new four
bedroom, three bath house when I was fresh out of school, but
my friends could. A nice house. With high ceilings and
everything. Seeing as my friend is 6'7" I guess the high ceilings
were a requirement.
Click the pictures and they'll get big!
Next day I got up and took a look around. At 10am it was already
70 degrees, 5 degrees warmer than was forecast. The view out the
window was of saguaro and other desert plants. Where my friend
lived all the houses were landscaped with desert plants. Only
an idiot plants grass in the desert. I got this picture
of a flower on a bush in front of his house.
The plan for Friday was to have lunch with my uncle, who also
lives in Tucson, and then go on to Sabino Canyon in the Coronado
National Forest. After a nice lunch with my aunt, uncle, and my
cousin (who also has a homepage).
I headed off to Sabino Canyon with my friends.
While we were waiting for the shuttle bus into Sabino Canyon,
this roadrunner entertained us. Contrary to cartoons,
they don't go meep-meep. They do run pretty much in the manner
depicted in cartoons though.
The following is quoted from the visitor's guide to Sabino
Canyon: "Sabino Canyon is located at the extreme eastern border of the Sonoran
Desert. The climate of this desert, characterized by mild winters,
hot summers and bi-seasonal rainfall, is the result of geographic
location and unique weather patterns. The Sonoran Desert
is too far north to benefit from the tropical trade winds and lies
in the rain-shadow of the California Mountains which wring water
from the clouds before they arrive. About half of the 12 inches
of rain that Sabino Canyon receives comes in the winter months
of December, January, and February. These prolonged, gentle winter
rains move in from the Pacific Ocean. The summer storms of July,
August and September are of a different nature: they are localized,
intense thundershowers spawned by moist air moving up from the Gulf
of Mexico. For a desert, 12 inches of rain is a generous amount
of moisture, and it produces an abundance of plants and animals.
The source of Sabino Canyon lies in the fir forest 6,000 feet above
the desert. Like other similar mountain ranges, the Santa
Catalinas act as rain traps, forcing moist air to higher,
cooler elevation where the water vapor condenses and falls
as rain or snow. The water collects in rivulets and streams
and cascades down the canyons to the desert below. Sabino
Creek is unique in the Tucson basin, flowing from nine to
eleven months of the year. Along Sabino and Bear Creeks,
where water is abundant, a distinct flora has developed.
These relatively lush areas are referred to as riparian
communities." Unfortunately, 90% of the riparian communities
which once existed in the Sonoran desert have been destroyed
by man...
We took the tram to the far end of the canyon, then worked
our way back, first climbing the dry, desert hills, complete
with saguaro,
and then catching the tram back a ways and
climbing down into the stream bed. Which wasn't flowing,
but did have pools of water with fish in them and much more
greenery.
Some of the streambed was beautifully sculpted my many tens
of thousands of years of erosion.
It was late afternoon by this point, and the last tram out
of the valley took us out at 5:00. You don't want to miss
the last tram: It gets dark, and then it gets cold, and
it's a 2 1/2 mile hike back to the parking lot, 3 1/2 if
you're at the far end of the canyon. We got back to the
car, went out for dinner, then watched "Eat, Drink,
Man, Woman" which I highly recommend.
By the way, Tucson has a
homepage with
information about Sabino Canyon among other things.
Part II: Our trip to the Desert Museum.
Next day I got up and took a look around. At 10am it was already
70 degrees, 5 degrees warmer than was forecast. The view out the
window was of saguaro and other desert plants. Where my friend
lived all the houses were landscaped with desert plants. Only
an idiot plants grass in the desert. I got this picture
of a flower on a bush in front of his house.
The plan for Friday was to have lunch with my uncle, who also
lives in Tucson, and then go on to Sabino Canyon in the Coronado
National Forest. After a nice lunch with my aunt, uncle, and my
cousin (who also has a homepage).
I headed off to Sabino Canyon with my friends.
