Travelin' Man

July 14-20, 2014

Return to Tucson

By W. Christopher Barrier

Before there was brave, courageous and bold Wyatt Earp or Tombstone Territory’s Whistled Up Memory, there was on the small screen a low budget bob-tailed television series whose principal protagonist was “Tucson Smith.”

As a kid, I had to struggle to not pronounce a hard “c” in the middle of his name. And it would be decades before I realized that the theme music the credits rolled as “Galloping Comedians” was in fact a very lively but genuinely classical overture.

So, my first trips to the real Tucson, Arizona (to see daughter and grandson, and which I think I have discussed before in this space) were again full of mixed impressions – just not the same ones experienced on Mr. Smith’s sound stages.

Fully booked ...

There are usually two routes by air available from Little Rock to Tucson and back – long and longer. No trip that starts with an alarm clock is completely satisfying for me.

Tucson itself has a metropolitan area that exceeds greater Little Rock, but doesn’t feel like it because all of the glass towers and convention hotels are to the north, where Phoenix dwarfs both Little Rock and Tucson. Both Arizona towns are dry, brown and subject to floods in the rainy season.

Ship ahoy ...

Tucson’s floods are no mere knee-wetters. The city has prepared for the phenomenon by installing wide concrete swales and underpasses in vulnerable areas. If you and yours ignore the warning signs and get flooded out, the city will haul you out – for a steep fee.

Just for the experience, I once flew to Phoenix and drove on to Tucson. The return of which put me through Phoenix during rush hour – truly horrendous choice.

Just a different look ...

On the other hand, Tucson has vivid mountains rising out of the flat, flat desert, evergreens, gorgeous bougainvillea and towering saguaro cacti and cedar trees. Some of those mountains, from the city, look as if they have no foothills at all, just an abrupt collision with the mountains (an illusion obviously). The Zoo is topnotch and the Children’s Museum of Tucson, while more entertaining than educational, does a good job with that.

Tucson, of course, has a huge Hispanic population, but unless they are hiding in the University of Arizona’s locker rooms, almost no black people. What diversity there is is that between the local population and the wealthy Hispanics who come up from prosperous Sonora in Mexico to shop comprehensively, from Cost Co to Lord & Taylor. South Arizona adds a little political diversity by sending Democrats to Congress.

My adobe hacienda ...

Traditional Tucson houses are low and brick, which helps deal with the heat. They also use roof-mounted fixtures described as evaporation coolers, which I understand can be used instead of air conditioning for much of the year. I also understand that both uses put a strain on the aquifer.

Tucsonians cope. The occasional residential vegetation is weeds. Lawns and beds are separated by rocks or brick. “Beds” typically are a darker shade of large, smooth green gravel than the “lawns”.

Speaking of Congress, if you don’t have a resident daughter to feed you vegan tacos and tuck you in, central Tucson offers the Hotel Congress, a charming throwback to an earlier era (two stories but no elevators). You can almost hear the boots clomping up and down the stairs.

Hear that whistle blow!!

You can hear a real working train station, a block or so away, but within the neighborhood’s growing funky vibe.

A couple of miles away is the lovingly maintained Arizona Inn, basically bungalows, with winding pathways, and a luxurious pool (a hit with the grand-boy, of course), with luscious grass and antique furniture.

If you are wedded to wooden lap-sided houses and grass lawns, Tucson isn’t for you. Otherwise, Tucson looks to be a very pleasant place to visit or live in (most of the year). And we have not really begun to experience the arts district.