Tucson Arizona
In March of 2022 my partner Loren and I stayed in Tucson Arizona. Loren had a work conference and asked if I wanted to tag along since the conference was over a weekend. We decided to make the trip a long weekend and I took Friday and Monday off. We decided to rent a car which I recommend for Tucson since destinations were pretty spread out and trying to Uber or Taxi between each of them would be expensive after more than a day. We stayed at the Tuxon Hotel which is a relatively short drive from the airport and close to Sentinel Peak Park, AKA “A Mountain”. The hotel is more of a motel and looked like it had been recently renovated. I’m not really sure the cost was appropriate for what felt to me like a motel that was just few steps above a clean Motel 6 but it has a pool, a bar and the rooms were clean.
Two things that I love are hiking and photography, so we decided to take advantage of both with the temperature being in the seventies. The two trails that we decided to hike in were Tanque Verde Falls and the Finger Rock Trail. Tanque Verde Falls is slightly confusing when you arrive because there are multiple trail heads near the parking area, and one comes out above the falls and the other below. We were looking for a short loop hike but accidentally took the lower trail which is neither. There were some really great views in the canyon with excellent rock formations, cactus and other wildlife in the area. This trail is on the medium to hard level of difficulty as you must climb over a lot of boulders to reach the falls and toward the end you must make a difficult climb over a fifteen-foot cliff with water below. I would not recommend for anyone traveling with children or pets as they won’t make it and you won’t be able to carry them safely. Make sure you bring a lot of water with you as the heat can be intense in AZ almost any time of the year. The finger rock trail was much more casual and nice views of the terrain and the city. If interested, you can continue hiking for several hours into the Santa Catalina Natural Area, but we didn’t have time for that on this trip. At the end of the trail there are great views of a nature rock spire that looks similar to a hand with one finger pointing up.
After a long hike we always like to go get a drink and some good food for a job well done and to relax. Three places that we really enjoyed were Five Points Marketing & Restaurant, Wild Garlic Grill and BOCA Tacos Y Taquila. All really good food and service at reasonable prices. Five Points would be good for breakfast or lunch, BOCA good for lunch or dinner and Wild Garlic good for a date night.
For a nice afternoon activity try driving to “A Mountain” which has great views of the city and well-maintained trails around the peak. The lookout points would be a great place to do photography or a picnic but be aware that the park closes at sundown and the police will close the parking lot.
Overall, I think Tucson was easy to get around, very scenic and a great get away destination for a long weekend for anyone looking to escape the cold in the winter months. We look forward to visiting again.