Tucson, the Old Pueblo
Tucson was founded in August 1775 when Spanish soldiers established the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson. I found Tucson in the 1980s when I first came here for an academic conference. I’ve been coming back ever since and often to the Westward Look Resort in the Catalina foothills. But since the resort is pricey, we often come off-season. Sort of like cheapskate night at the movies.
People ask, who would come to Tucson in August? Well, people from Imperial Valley, where it’s about 10 degrees cozier. I just don’t suffer LA traffic anymore. Tucson has the attractions of a big city without a lot of the hassle.
My biggest problem here is that the swimming pool is too hot. This is the type of problem I live for. However, you kinda get the feeling you are the lobster in the pot. But don’t get me wrong, this place is wonderful. Until Friday night I practically had the pool to myself. And it has been quiet.
When I was driving in to the property, I thought I saw a fat dog crossing the densely landscaped, two-lane road, and then I realized it was a javelina, a wild pig. Immediately after the javelina passed and went into the bushes, I saw an animal crossing sign with a drawing of a javelina. Spot on. This is the Wild West where you can get a delicious Italian meal at Vivace Restaurant.
One of the attractions of Tucson is that the Catalina Mountains support wildlife in the midst of urban development. On the entry road to Westward Look, I eventually saw lizards, maybe a chipmunk or squirrel, and a rabbit exercise the animal crossing license. One night years ago, we saw a tarantula migration on this road. Once and a while a coyote, the furry kind, will pass through. And the place is covered by giant saguaros, totem pole and barrel cactus, and prickly pear cactus.
The weather forecast for the evening I arrived was only a 30 percent chance of rain. But I hit the jackpot. If you’ve been to Tucson or southern Arizona in August, you’re familiar with the summer monsoons. I was hoping to hit one, or, more accurately, to be hit by one. The cumulus clouds slowly darkened, and turned into a threatening sky. Streaks of lightning were visible in the east and south so I went outside and attempted to snap a photo of a bolt. It was futile. If I waited to click the shutter once I saw lightning, I was seconds late. So I figured if I just randomly clicked the camera, I’d eventually catch a lightning picture. Not! It was frustrating. The lightning increased as did the wind so I went back inside my room and watched the show from the balcony.
There was rain, and the lighting grew more intense. So, I was leaning over the edge of the balcony craning my neck to get a better view when I realized I had a tight grip on an iron railing. Oops! By the end of the evening, the National Weather Service had issued three hazardous weather warnings by phone, radio and TV. One was for the intense lightning, another for flooding and a third for the possibility of damaging hail. Tucson got the first two, and on the second night there was a damaging wind warning. Now, this is interesting weather. In the Valley, we expect to know the weather, and all of its sameness, at least four weeks in advance.
When our friend, Mary, heard I was going to Tucson, she assumed, correctly, that it had something to do with cactus. Indeed. The Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society held its monthly meeting last week, and I was there. The society president, Dick Wiedhopf, always seems pleasantly surprised when I show up. The token Californian.
Finally, the great Tucson mystery is not some unnamed cactus, but how does this city support a Walgreens on every corner? Are there that many people with headaches? Richard Ryan lives in El Centro and welcomes your comments at rryan@ sdsu.edu