Farewell Tucson

Tucson "snowmen"

I’m sorry to see our 2+ weeks in Tucson are coming to an end.  We enjoyed both Christmas and New Year’s Eve with friends, we watched the sun rise over the mountains on New Year’s Day, we shopped, we hung out, we toured and we ate.  Both RV parks were nice in very different ways.  The KOA was huge with amenities like citrus for the picking between the sites, a big laundry and swimming pools.  It was a bit out of town.  Our second week was spent in small (23 sites), urban RV park.  Sentinel Peak is new and basically is a big parking lot with RV hook ups in the oldest part of Tucson called Barrio Hollywood.  The neighborhood is a bit scruffy but the park is a mile from the new light rail line that runs through town (more about that later), and adjacent to a bike/walking trail.  The people running it are extremely friendly and the owner explained his rationale for locating the park where he did.  He’s an RVer and found that most RV parks were way out of the cities making it inconvenient to dine or attend cultural events in the city.  So he decided to build a park within the city, close to mass transportation and cultural activities.  There are fewer amenities; no shower house, small pool, small laundry, but all the necessities are here and the location is outstanding.

Cacti wearing sacks to protect them from frost

Tucson is about the size of Milwaukee and I can’t help but compare the two cities.  The western terminus of Tucson’s new light rail system is in an area that a few years ago was probably considered undesirable.  The housing stock is older and the freeway passes nearby.  There are large, open areas waiting for development, some buildings housing social services and convenience stores selling everything from beer and razors to tires.  But, with the light rail has come new, upscale housing, both medium rise apartments and very upscale single family housing.  There is marketplace housed in a historic building.  The light rail (SunLynk by name) travels east from there past the convention center, through the downtown corridor, then through an area comparable to Milwaukee’s east side and ends in the heart of the University.  For $4 we got an all-day pass and rode the rail its length and back and could see the development all along it.  The downtown is bustling with restaurant, shops and theaters.  The 4^th Ave. corridor has more restaurants and funky, alternative shops (including a very cool, independent bookstore) and the University area is looking very prosperous.  It’s clear that investment is being made in the infrastructure of the city.

Repurposed building at the terminus of the SunLynk

What’s the lesson?  I’m not an urban planner, but as a citizen I embrace easy, convenient mass transit to areas with fun stuff to see and do.  What opportunities did Milwaukee lose out on when the light rail was killed?  What could Kenosha do with the trolleys?  What if they ran from Parkside to Carthage to downtown to the Metra and the out to the former Chrysler land?  And what if there was a fun, little RV park on the Chrysler land?  Food for thought.

Vulture sculpture

On a lighter note - other fun Tucson stuff – a great little urban zoo where they are obviously spending money to constantly improve the habitats for the animals including a huge African elephant area.  A neat little botanic park.  Nearby historic missions.  The Sonora Desert Museum – one of the great zoos in the country.  Antigone Bookstore – keeping Tucson feisty for over 40 years.  Yes, I think we could live here.

Rhino at Reid Park Zoo

National Historic Site - abandoned mission

Next stop - Las Vegas!