In early June this year my job took me to Phoenix to work a conference. It was my first time ever in Arizona and coincided with a milestone birthday for me, so I decided to extend my trip to be a workcation, which involved renting a car and driving down to Tombstone with a two night stay in Tucson in between.
Tucson was a little under a two-hour drive from Phoenix, and the ride was beautiful! As someone who has lived in an east coast metro area my entire life and not ventured west much, I was in awe of the landscapes and cactuses! Tucson lies in the midst of Saguaro National Park, so you’ll see no shortage of the state’s symbolic Saguaro cactuses. Don’t ask me how many cactus pictures I took on this trip.
I loved Tucson. Its downtown area is compact with easy access to some incredible desert scenery in the surrounding areas, and it has a fun artsy and eclectic vibe in a lot of its bars and businesses.
Stay
Being a paranormal enthusiast and always looking for haunted places to check out or stay at, I had considered staying at the Hotel Congress, a historic hotel that is perhaps best known as the location where notorious Depression-era gangster John Dillinger was taken into custody. The hotel today also houses a music venue, bar, and restaurant. I ultimately decided against staying there because reviews said that the hotel gets very loud with the live music, and instead just stopped by to hang out at the old historic bar while I was in town.
I ended up staying in The Downtown Clifton, which I can’t recommend enough for budget travelers. It’s an affordable, woman-owned boutique hotel with plenty of free onsite parking that was just south of the main downtown area – close enough to walk downtown but just far enough outside of downtown that it was nice and quiet. My cute room overlooked the surrounding barrio, and the hotel had a great little courtyard bar.
See and Do
St. Augustine Cathedral
Just a few blocks up from the Downtown Clifton on Stone Avenue sits St. Augustine Cathedral, one of the most iconic buildings of Tucson. The parish dates back to 1776 with the founding of a chapel for the Royal Presidio. The cathedral was completed in 1868 with the Mexican baroque facade finalized in 1928. To the present day it has served as the mother church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson.
Tucson Visitor Center and Dillinger Courtroom
My first stop once I was checked into my hotel and wandered downtown was the Tucson Visitor Center, where I got some great recommendations on things to do during my stay. They also have some free exhibits on the history and geography of the area.
The visitor center is housed in the Pima County Historic Courthouse, where you can also for free see the courtroom in which John Dillinger and his gang were arraigned after their capture at the Hotel Congress.
Ride the tram
On one of my afternoons in Tucson, I found myself with a bit of extra time, but not enough time to tour a museum or anything. And my feet were tired. So upon one of the recommendations from the Visitor Center, I decided to hop on the free Sun Link tram that runs through Tucson’s downtown. The loop goes into the Mercado shopping district to the west of downtown and cuts across town via Congress Street, going up the eclectic 4th Avenue Business District full of shops and restaurants, and ending at the University of Arizona. The entire route one-way takes about 30 minutes, and since it is free and runs frequently, it makes it easy to hop on and off for sightseeing. Better than walking around in the 100 degree heat!
Saguaro National Park and/or Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
When I arrived in Tucson I had every intention of going out to Saguaro National Park, but in chatting with the friendly and helpful staff at the Tucson Visitor Center, I landed on a different plan. While I’m relatively in shape, I’m not an experienced hiker, and temperatures in Arizona in early June were around 100 degrees. For anyone not used to the desert heat, dehydration can sneak up on you very fast. They say as soon as you start feeling thirsty you’re already far dehydrated. That alone gave me hesitation about hiking Saguaro by myself, but what sealed the deal was the folks at the visitor center telling me that the rattlesnakes would be out as well!
I still wanted to experience natural desert habitat, so they recommended that I check out the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which sits just at the edge of Saguaro National Park without entering the park. It has its own little light hiking path where you can experience desert wildlife, but with plenty of access to hydration and other guests around. The museum itself is part natural history museum, botanical gardens, and zoo. Much better to encounter rattlesnakes and tarantulas behind glass! I can’t recommend the museum enough if you are looking to get a little taste of the desert, it was a highlight of my trip.
The drive out to the museum was scenic as well and there were lots of cutoffs along the side of the road where I could pull off and enjoy the scenery.
San Xavier del Bac Mission
On the south end of Tucson is the San Xavier del Bac Mission, a National Historic Landmark that was founded in 1692 as a Catholic mission, with the current church being constructed in 1797. It’s the oldest intact European construction in Arizona and is decorated with frescos on the interior. It’s free to visit and remains an active Catholic church.
Sunset at the scenic overlook
On my way out to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum I found a beautiful overlook spot at the Gates Pass Trailhead, and decided to go back later that evening for sunset. There were lots of others who came out there for the sunset but it was very quiet, except for a group of Native Americans who were singing on the top of one of the hills, with their singing reverberating beautifully throughout the valley. It was so peaceful and one of those moments I just wished I could capture and keep forever. I must say that while I’m a beach girl to my core, desert sunsets do rival my beach sunsets.
Eat
When I landed in Phoenix and picked up my rental car to drive to Tucson on my first day, it was around lunchtime so I stopped at Macayo’s on the outskirts of Phoenix to have a chimichanga, as I had read that Macayo’s was the home of the original chimichanga. Imagine my surprise and confusion when I arrive in Tucson and discover another restaurant called El Charro that also claims to be the creator of the original chimichanga! Being from Philly where we often fight about cheesesteaks, I guess some debates are better left untouched and we may never know who actually created the original chimichanga, and have to just be thankful that someone somewhere dropped a burrito into a deep fryer. I went to El Charro, known as the nation’s oldest Mexican restaurant continuously operated by the same family, for dinner that night and wasn’t feeling having two chimichangas in a day (although maybe I should have to decide whose was better!) I’m usually a burrito, tacos, or enchilada fan when I eat Mexican food, but decided to try something different at El Charro and landed on their tamale trio, which was absolutely delicious.
On my second night in Tucson I stopped into Barrio Brewing for dinner and a few beers. I had a Sonoran hotdog, a local specialty that you can find at restaurants throughout the Tucson area. The hotdog is wrapped in bacon, grilled, and topped with pinto beans, grilled onions, diced tomato, a dab of mustard and chipotle mayo. I had the Sonoran dog with a side of jalapeno poppers that were on the happy hour menu that day. Yum!
In the adobe-filled Barrio Viejo neighborhood across the street from my hotel, I found my morning caffeine fix in a cute coffee shop called Exo Roast Co., co-located with Bar Crisol. I enjoyed coffee and a pastry in their quiet courtyard. A must try if you can handle spicy is their chiltepin (chile pepper) cold brew!
Tucson was a stopover for me on my way from Phoenix to Tombstone and I didn’t know what to expect from it, but it ended up being a fun little city to stay in! I would go back in a heartbeat.
C to Shining C 