Our trip officially started at the irrepressible Salton Sea in Southern, CA. We finally saw it up close and Bombay Beach more than lived up to the hype I had seen captured by other photographers.
Think dystopian theme park meets freewheeling high-art installations meets Woodstock gone bad.
No doubt our milestone destination this trip was Tucson but we certainly struck a little gold along the way. It was our second visit to the city in thirteen months and were determined to dig a little deeper this time around. Carol's smart planning and even smarter travel routes guided us through an eclectic list of venues including art museums, exoctic eateries and a few
unexpected finds. Keep in mind however, we're not 'manic sightseers' and right on que we switched to
'full-mosey' mode once we pulled into town. After the better part of three and half days we were more than satisfied with our overall haul.
A memorable highlight was the incredible art and story of Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia (1909 – 1982) at the awe-inspiring
Degrazia Gallery in the Sun. Hand built by the artist and his workers, the compound is a living legacy to his art and includes the original house, studio, large gallery, small chapel and numerous desert gardens.
And who knew there was a Sand Hill Crane migration destination somewhat nearby. A major one. White Water Draw near Cochise was a place Carol found in route and better yet, we could do an overnighter there and boondock next to these prehistoric aerialists. Some of the bonus-bingo stops through Arizona included another look at the vintage and charming mining epicenter of Bisbee and the
frozen-in-the-fifties street of what's left of the neighboring town Lowell. The small and unexpected high-art town of Tubac was a treat as well.
Finally, a few more words about Tucson. It's a wonderful mix of old and new with a robust art presence, a university scene and plenty of yummy southwestern cuisine.
What's not to like? Particularly impressive is the rennovation occuring within and around 'old Tucson'. The pure restoration meshes and compliments the contemporary architecture within the Civic Center it surrounds. And the city seemingly gets by fine with just one freeway (located at the northwest end town). It's suppplemented by well placed and effecient expressways and for a good sized town of 530,706, the place feels much smaller. From an outsider's view, perhaps a prime example of master planning gone right!
