59th Stop - Tucson, AZ

Blog Post #70 - Written May 25, 2026

Stay: October 16-19, 2025

With the trailer fixed, we were on our way to Southern Arizona.  The original plan had been to go up into Sedona and then into Southern Utah, but we had had enough of mountain roads and mechanics, so we decided that maybe going south would prove better for our health, sanity, and wallets.  Plus, we had even more friends in Tucson!

We started our exploration at Tumamoc Hill, a hot steep hike through the Saguaros. Just starting the hike, Q spotted a small rattler sleeping under a low sitting cactus.  That kid has Eagle Eye vision! It was nearly impossible to see.  It was fun to see the crowd that gathered around us, curious to see what we had found.  

We stopped part way up to get a snack and enjoy the view.  And to rest, since it was an entirely uphill hike. And we had plenty more incline to go.  So we started a few games.  Who could find the tallest cactus, the smallest cactus, the one with the most arms, and ones with the fewest arms.  I think our running total off arms got up into the 30s or 40s. Kind of crazy!

When we made it to the next stop, we found that the local college had a research station up on the middle of this hill. After a fun swinging stop at a partially locked gate (Gary was fascinated by the ingenious design that allows someone with one of six different keys to open/lock it), and a quick water refill, we were back up to the top of the hill.  We found a few more lizards, spotted a road runner, and kept our eye out for any other desert creatures.  One of the coolest things that we saw was a dead cactus.  It is incredible to see that they are mostly hollow.  I wouldn't recognize that these were cactus skeletons if someone had shown me them out of context.

We enjoyed the view from the top of the hill, even D, our super trooper.  Downhill was much faster, but we continued our silly games, including the weirdest looking cactus.

We decided to celebrate our hiking success at La Estrella Bakery, a recommendation from my old roommate who lives in Tucson. It was so good! The conchas were delicioso! The kids made a new friend out in the plaza and they spent at least 30 minutes feeding/chasing pigeons around the courtyard.  They were pretty cute.

The next day, we explored the Flandrau Science Center.  It was on the UoA campus.  Not a very big science center, but they had a fun touch tank area. 

Afterwards, we stopped at the San Xavier del Bac Mission.  This is the oldest European building in Arizona. And it is stunning.  The local tribes still use this church, and during the week, they sell Indian Fry Bread under the cactus tube canopies. We even got to sneak a peak at the current Padre who runs the church.  I had to chuckle a bit to see him in his monk robes and sneakers.

We visited our friends from Ohio, the Davis Family, that evening.  Their neighborhood was having a HUGE Boo Bash Halloween party.  So we enjoyed some homemade pizza, a pool party, then a fun candy bash. The kids loved playing booth games, riding the train, and jumping in the bounce houses.  

We had a few people tell us about the Javelinas, wild pig relatives how scour the southwest.  And as we were driving home, we saw some run into a parking lot, so we flipped a U-turn and followed them.  There were a couple of adults and a momma and baby! They are kinda cute.

The next day, we went to church with the Avilas. Sara was my old roommate and her husband Sam was our friend in our apartment complex at BYU.  Their kids are pretty close in age to ours, so everyone had a buddy to play with.  We went back to their house and caught up on life.  

Sam's family is from New Mexico and love to make homemade New Mexican Enchiladas (from scratch).  So Sam and Gary spent the afternoon deseeding, boiling, blending, and sieving some New Mexican Hatch Chile Peppers into the red sauce.  It is a very intense and messy process.  But it sure tasted good!

At last our time in Tuscon was over.  It was so much fun to visit friends.  Thanks everyone for a good time!