Apr 20 & 21 Tubac and canyons in Tucson, along with beautiful trees,cactus

    Wednesday we drove about 40 minutes south of Tucson to a small town called Tubac.  Most people think Arizona's history began in Tombstone, but Tubac went in and out of Spanish control and through Apache raids for many years.  The Presidio (fort) there succombed to raids over and over and eventually survived.  This little town is actually the home of AZ's first school and newspaper, along with the first currency.
    Today it is basically an artist's haven with lots of galleries and shops with local and Mexican artwork.  I really liked some of the Mexican tin art and plan to get some things for our yard this summer.  We didn't have much time to spend there, so will go back and continue our exploration of all the wares!  Tom left my sister and I to shop while he visited the Presidio, old school, etc.

    Thursday we were shown some neat areas right in town by friends Dick and Sue Duxbury.  First stop was Sabino Canyon.  A tram goes up the canyon past 9 stopping areas.  You can get off and hike whenever you want.  The canyon is very steep and has experienced fires, rock slides and other forces of nature, but the road has been rebuilt.  This is a Federal monument.

    Next we drove just a little ways to Vendana Canyon.  We were only allowed to travel to the top because they know friends who live there and were able to go through security.  There are some less expensive homes down below, in addition to a hotel.  Up the hillside are multi-million dollar homes with multi-million dollar views.  The contractors give a prospective buyer a range of between $400,000 - 800,000 to prepare a lot to build on!  Guess if you have to know more exactly, you can't afford it.  No dynamite is allowed.

This Saguaro stands in front of a hotel - it is probably about 200 years old and weighs thousands of pounds

    We ate lunch on the patio of the hotel and looked up at the houses we had just driven by.

    This is a Palo Verde tree - the State tree of Arizona.  They are everywhere and this one is in the lot next to ours in the campground.  We are fortunate to be here this week as many cacti are starting to bloom, and often the flowers only last a week or so.