Local Tucson Stuff


Restaurants

Cafe Bama's

Our neighborhood favorite though it appears to be out of business at this point. You could catch us there having breadsticks and pizza about once a week. We never tried their non-pizza dishes but they look and smell good, so give it a whirl.

Oregano's

Our overall favorite pizza place in Tucson if the weather allows sitting outside. The wait can be long for dinner but they bring pizzas out for you to snack on and serve drinks as well. The outside seating area is great, they play jazz, and everything on the menu is darn good.

Magpies Pizza

This is a local Tucson favorite and falls in third place for us. We went here once or twice a year but a lot of folks we know frequent it more often. The one on our side of town didn't have a nice seating area or bathrooms or we'd be there more often.


Entertainment

Laughs Comedy Club

Standard fare comedy club. The food is edible, open-mic can be fun to listen to, but more importantly if you give them your business card you'll get free passes if you buy a couple of drinks.


Outdoors

If you like the outdoors, you've come to the right place. The variety is amazing and it's all within a short drive.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

If you haven't been, go. If you only have time to visit one place in Tucson, this is a great choice. You'll see live plant and animal exhibits of pretty much everything that lives in the desert. The free flight raptor and rattle snake talks are awesome.

Saguaro National Park

This is a really great National Park with lots of hiking from easy to strenuous, elevation from 3000 ft to 9000 ft. The visitor center is small but a day walking around and learning is a real treat.

Chiricahua National Monument

This is a cool National Monument, A couple hours drive and is part of one of the sky islands where the Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Desert, Southern Rocky Mountains, and Northern Sierra Madres all meet. of the Sonoran Desert. Lots of balancing rocks and neat formations, and a shuttle that will take you to the top of the mountain so you can leisurely hike your way back to the visitor center. Unless you're hardcore it's tough to get more than a day of entertainment... but I'm hardcore. Visit the old house on the property and read about the history there, it's a neat 1-2 hour diversion.

Fort Bowie National Historical Site

This was a focal point for military operations until Geronimo surrendured here in 1886. It's a nice hike for a cool day, well worth the trip if you're already in the area.

Tumacacori National Historical Park

Interesting self-guided tour if you're already in the area. These are ruins of 3 ancient Spanish colonial missions.


Other Attractions in AZ

Within 2 hours of Tucson there's a lot to see. Within 6 hours there's more than I'll probably ever see.

Tombstone

The town made famous by the movie. Very touristy, kind of cheesy, and I can't spend more than a day there. But if you like western movies or history it's a must-see. Make sure you visit Boot Hill and the OK Corral.

Bisbee

Bisbee is a very quaint old mining town. Walk around and enjoy the shopping, lots of local stores and restaurants. Eat good food but don't forget to do the mine tour. It's really interesting and is given by people who grew up working in mines.

Tubac

Tubac is a neat little town on I19 South of Tucson. The state park is somewhat interesting and has the first printing press in AZ. Next door is the small town of Tubac which is good for a day of walking and shopping in local stores. Lots of handcarafts. Go during the winter, you'll be outside most of the day.

Sedona

If you don't know what Sedona, AZ is then it's time to get your face out of your phone and go check it out (in person, not on that phone). This is Red Rock area. Scenic with lots of nice hiking, driving, and great areas to visit in the region.

Mogillon Rim

One of my first, and most amazing, experiences in Arizona (before we lived there) was a drive along the Mogillon Rim. It's the SW edge of the Colorado Plateau and features a 2,000 ft drop down into the lower elevations below it. The views are striking and worth the time it takes to get there.

Grand Canyon National Park

The second most visited National Park in the US and you already know about it.

Casa Grande National Monument

Ancestral Sonoran Desert People's faming community where you can see irrigation canals and a well preserved big house as they call it.

Montezuma's Castle National Monument

Well preserved cliff dwellings with nearby Montezuma's Well National Monument.

Tuzigoot National Monument

An acient pueblo with some fairly well preserved structures and artifacts in the museum.

  • Toured the Titan Missile Museum, a decommissioned ICBM silo near Tucson, AZ. Denise got to turn the key that would have launched the missile.
  • Camped many time and hiked many peaks around the Coronado National Forest. Very nice diversity with elevations from 3000 ft to over 9000 ft.
  • Had a picnic lunch and did the hike at Cochise Stronghold. Definitely recommended. Fairly easy hiking but very pretty.
  • Visited Coronado National Memorial. Some very nice hiking, didn't go into the cave, maybe next time.
  • Spent a few days around the Safford Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest. Did some nice hiking, the dog found a nice dead animal to rub her head in. Denise had to wash her a few times to clean her up.
  • Went to the Quartzsite RV Show, the world's largest. Had fun, were the youngest people by far in the whole place.
  • Hiked to Roger's Canyon cliff dwellings/ruins. Very nice, well preserved ruins. Got back to the truck not only in rain but it hail. What a long day.
  • Hiked almost to Mt Wrightson (9453 ft), ran out of time. Really nice hike but we need to leave earlier in the morning next time.
  • Trekked around the Wilcox Playa a bit. I wasn't too impressed but the dog had a lot of fun. To be honest I found it because it was windy and I saw a huge cloud of dust 15 miles away. I had to drive down and see what it was. Sort of neat I suppose.
  • My mom and I visited Kitt Peak in March, 2005. Really impressive stuff, very pretty walking.
  • Denise and I visited Jerome, a funky and cool town on the side of a hill. Nice views and we even had a little snow while we were there!