We had a little change this week and took a break from Mesa and headed South to Tucson to visit friends, Linda and Harry, and take in the sights. It takes a special kind of person to host out of town visitors and provide amazing entertainment. So our hats are off to you.
- Tour around Tucson: we got the 50 cent tour of Tucson. Featured were the barrios that have been undergoing revitalization. My favorite part – the colors! Second favorite part – the small intimate settings. Everything is on a much smaller scale than we are used to today. Third favorite part – that they cared enough to make it happen.
- The Desert Museum: majorly windy but still amazing. Loved seeing desert animals in natural settings ( I even have a photo on Flickr of a Javelina), loved to reinforce my knowledge of desert plants and learn about new ones, great walk around the grounds, and lots of information on the geological evolution of the Sonoran Desert. Check it out! www.desertmuseum.org
- The Medicine Man Gallery: The MM Gallery was very friendly and open to non-buying visitors. They had a combination of vintage cowboy art and contemporary. Vintage primarily included a large collection of work by Maynard Dixon, Indian hand woven rugs, jewelry and pottery. In the contemporary works, what blew my socks off was the sculpture. I couldn’t photograph any of it, but artists included Shirley Thomson-Smith, Deborah Copenhaver-Fellows, Star Liana York, and painter Josh Elliott. Check it out! http://www.medicinemangallery.com/
- Lunch at the Arizona Inn (above): this is a beautiful oasis in a busy city. The Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1930 by Arizona Congresswoman Isabella Greenway. The Inn is still owned and maintained by members of the family. Originally surrounded by desert, there was even a rodeo across the ‘street’. Isabella was as colorful as the amenities. She had two husbands both of which were members of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. To add to the mystic of the inn, past guests have included presidents and movie stars. But it doesn’t stop there. Isabella also started a cabinet-making shop, “The Arizona Hut” and hired returning WWI veterans to run and work in it. Check it out! www.arizonainn.com
- University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography: next on our ‘must do’ list in Tucson was a visit to UA’s photography galleries where we saw 40 works by Ansel Adams along with other contemporaries of his (Edward Weston, Diane Arbus, Alfred Stieglitz, etc.). Ansel Adams holds a special place in my heart since I based several of my photography lessons that I taught at the McLean County Art Center on his work. Can’t beat his dynamic landscapes of Yosemite. Check it out! www.creativephotography.org
Back in Mesa we went on a hike to Tonto National Monument! I’ll save this for another posting. I took way too many photos and have to have time to go through them. But first I have to say thank you again to Linda and Harry. It was fun to share time with you and see Linda’s ‘castle in the mountains’ and Harry’s artwork (loved the balancing circus mice and mountain lions).
Winter of my Life 