Tucson

This trip was originally scheduled for last February and was cancelled when Justin was admitted to the hospital. I’m sure that Tucson would have been lovely that time of year. Now, normally, in the good old days, Tucson would be starting to cool off by October but not this year. Record after record is being broken with high temps over the last few days topping out at 105-107 F.  The scary thing is that locals are bracing themselves for spiraling higher temperatures in the years ahead. 

Other than the heat, I have only one other serious complaint: the local brewery scene. After spending 2-3 weeks in Colorado, it isn’t as good in Tucson. I’ve done my due diligence on the internet to find the thriving brewing scene and have come up short.  I’ve had some good beers from Barrio  Brewing Company and Pueblo Brewing Company but nothing great.  And I’ve had some mediocre-tasting beer elsewhere.

The weird thing is that some of the breweries have only one or two of their own beers and then rely upon a bunch of other guest beers. I don’t believe in complaining, as there are other tasty cold beverages . We have enjoyed great margaritas and excellent Mexican food over the past several days.

The weekend was again spent touring neighborhoods and open houses. Unlike Grand Junction, we both like the housing market here and can afford a nice place with mountain views here— if Tucson becomes the winner among the cities we are looking at. There is also good hiking/walking here, along with ample pickleball opportunities. 

The big question is can we handle the heat?  The answer is we have some honest doubts. In the early morning we take Callie on a three mile walk in an abandoned Oro Valley golf course turned into a nature preserve. It’s generally in the high 70’s when we walk and pleasant enough. The rest of the day until the sun starts to set is just incredibly hot. It’s not bad while sitting in the shade but pretty miserable under full sun.

Yesterday, we beat the heat by driving to the top of Mount Lemmon. We hiked the available short trails at the summit and followed a forest road to the lookout tower and then part of the way down the mountain.

Later, we drove down further and hiked the Mint Springs Trail, but that became overgrown at lower elevations. As a northern woodsman, I’m not comfortable being unable to see my feet in what appeared to be “snakey” country so we cut that hike short. The temps were very comfortable above 9000 feet with temps around 60 starting out and finishing in the low 80’s at Summerhaven.

But it’s a long drive to the top of Mount Lemmon—about 90 minutes from our Airbnb. So we obviously can’t seek natural air conditioning every day.

Today, we drove out to Saguaro National Park-West and did a couple of shorter hikes. It got pretty warm even before ten a.m. 

Before we headed home, we drove south to Green Valley, a smaller town on our radar. I liked the vibe there. It wasn’t Julia’s favorite; she felt it was too isolated from Tucson. The search goes on.  We are here until Sunday morning. No break from the heat is expected until after we leave.

Addendum: On our sunset walk tonight through the abandoned golf course, Callie caused a bobcat to leave its bush two feet off the trail and retreat a short distance away. It wasn’t very afraid. As soon as we moved on, it returned to its bush.