This is my tribute to Tucson, Arizona.

Tucson, located in the southern part of the state of Arizona, is believed to be the oldest contiuously inhabited city in the whole U.S. "The Old Pueblo", as it is lovingly nicknamed, has a special place in my heart. During the seven years I resided in this fair town, I graduated high school, started college, made many friends, fell in love, learned to drive, grew up, grew long hair, and grew to miss this little town when I moved back home to Texas.

Join me then on this little virtual tour of Tucson, Arizona, and enjoy some of the sites around this quiet desert community.

Tucson is surrounded on all sides by a majestic array of mountain ranges. They dominate the skyline wherever you are. The desert climate of Arizona is, as you can see, very green, but very dry. The landscape is considered harsh and beautiful by the natives, and it provides the backdrop for Arizona's famous sunsets. Click on the sunset picture to get a better view.

Tucson is also famous for its weather. Mild and dry in the winter. Hot and dry in the spring, fall, and most of the summer. During the month of August, however, raging stormclouds do battle with the desert sun in a yearly torrential rainfall called "Monsoon".

Tucson comes from a Pima indian word which means "spring at the foot of the black hill". This same hill is today decorated with the insignia of the University of Arizona, and is called "A" Mountain.

Crisscrossing around town and throughout the state are long, broad ditches called "rivers". To the right here is a picture of the Rillito "river". Several man-made ditches, called "washes", are considerably smaller, but just as dry. Rumor has it that heavy Monsoon rains will occasionally cause these "rivers" and "washes" to become wet for a time. This is probably just a local urband legend.

Because of the brutal climate, the landscaping of choice for businesses and private homes is something called the "rock garden". When an assortment of different colored rocks and dirt are arranged creatively, they can be quite nice looking. The rock garden is also easy to maintain; the rocks grow naturally and require very little watering. To the right here, is a selection of "grass" and "trees". In such lush beauty as this, it is a rare sight in Tucson. However, the beauty comes at a price, as year round watering to maintain this unnatural fauna wastes (in my opinion) tons of water every year.

Although a great distance from Tucson, the Chiricahua national park is quite a site to behold. Miles of strange pillars are all that's left of a great deposit of volcanic ash that's been weathered down.

Well, that concludes the first part of this Tucson tour. If you'd like to see some of the man-made sights around Tucson, click Here.

If you find anything in here you have questions or comments about, feel free to leave me email right here. 

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