Travel Adventures in Arizona and New Mexico, Part 7: Tucson to Phoenix

This is my seventh post about our adventures traveling through Arizona and New Mexico. I recommend starting with the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth posts. Because I blog about educational travel, I received media passes, discounts, and other benefits for several of the places we visited throughout the trip. Some of the attractions we toured are free to everyone; we paid full price for the rest. What I paid or didn't pay has no bearing on my reviews. Everything that I share is something I recommend without hesitation.

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Travel Adventures from Tucson to Phoenix

 

On Monday, April 13 we said a reluctant goodbye to Tucson and drove an hour north. Can you guess where we were headed? 

If you guessed Biosphere 2, you're right!

I've been wanting to visit Biosphere 2 since I first heard about it when I was in college. My dad went and told me all about it, so it was great to finally make it there myself, all these years later. In case you're not familiar with it, Biosphere 2 is the largest closed ecological system ever built, designed to better understand how our planet (the original biosphere) operates as a closed system. It is a 3.14 acre laboratory containing five different ecosystems. From 1991-1993, eight people lived and worked inside Biosphere 2. A different group of people spent six months inside in 1994. Both groups encountered unexpected problems, which is part of scientific exploration. Now the space serves as a research facility. Current studies involve coral, clams, coffee and cacao plants, among many others. 

This is the airlock where the Biospherians entered Biosphere 2. 

This was their kitchen. The eight people took turns cooking meals using the food they harvested. Their diet was almost entirely vegetarian and very low in calories and fat. They ate a lot of sweet potatoes. 

Meals were served communally in this dining area. The stairs lead to a library. 

Each Biospherian had their own small apartment, with a sitting room downstairs and a bedroom upstairs. They were able to decorate how they wished. 

Admission to Biosphere 2 includes an excellent self-guided audio tour. 

I loved learning about this fascinating facility as we walked through the five original biomes: a rainforest, an ocean, a mangrove wetlands, savannah grassland, and a fog desert. The desert area became more of a chaparral area over time, due to condensation.

It was all so interesting. 

 This is the ocean. 

We saw scientists at work during our tour. A docent told us that it currently rains on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but that they are headed into a scheduled drought for several new studies.

Am I concentrating on the material in the audio tour, trying to remember details, knowing I'd be writing about it now? Am I contemplating what it would be like to spend two years trapped with 7 other people, doing physical labor around the clock while living on a very limited diet and having tourists stare at me and tap on the glass? Or am I just watching a bird? I did all of those and more during the visit to Biosphere 2. 

There are several guided experiences you can add to enhance your visit. We did the Lung Tour. This behind-the-scenes experience helped us better understand the technology that runs the facility. 

Our guide told us to watch our heads at least a dozen times. At 5'2", I was smug, easily walking through every space where he said to duck, while the rest of the group was crouching. Until we got here. They weren't kidding about Low Access. 

The highlight of the Lung Tour is watching the "lungs" that regulated the air pressure inside the main glass enclosure. Since the temperatures in the sealed environment varied significantly, the shell would either explode or implode with changes in air pressure if not for the two lungs that account for the changes. They are enormous and it was really cool to experience them moving. 

We both loved our time at Biosphere 2. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't. It is such an interesting place with a fascinating history. 

From Biosphere 2, we drove about an hour northwest to our next destination, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. 

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument preserves the 'Great House' of ancestral Sonoran Desert people. It was built around 1350 by a society that built hundreds of miles of irrigation canals and was in use until around 1450. The visitor center has a lot of information about the native people, as well as an excellent introductory film. 

This is the Casa Grande. It is one of the largest prehistoric buildings ever erected in North America, but its purpose is unknown. 

The Casa Grande ruins was a popular tourist destination from the 1860's to the 1880's, due to a nearby railroad line and stagecoach route. The building was damaged significantly, which led to conversations about the preservation of the Casa Grande.

In 1892, the Casa Grande Ruins became the first prehistoric and cultural reserve established in the United States.

The steel shelter roof was added in 1932 to help preserve the structure. 

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is a really interesting place and well-worth a stop. Another destination you shouldn't miss? North Mountain Park, in the town of Casa Grande. It's labeled on Google Maps with The Tallest Saguaro so you know there's no way I'd skip that. Don't be alarmed when the route takes you through a neighborhood then turns into a dirt road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. That's the right place. Pull up to a ramada and park. 

Head out on the Nature Trail. 

Or just walk directly toward the tallest saguaro you can see. It's easily visible. This may or may not be THE tallest living saguaro, but it is certainly one of them. (See Steve for scale.)

  

We enjoyed exploring this park. It's a beautiful place. 

Question for you: On a hot day, how far would you drive out of your way for the best frozen lemonade of your life? We had no problem adding 30 minutes to our drive in order to visit eegee's again! 

The lemon eegee is literally perfect, but I wanted to try another flavor. I had a sample of strawberry and it was just as delicious as the lemon. I was torn, but it turns out you can get two flavors in one cup. Steve stuck with lemon. I adored my strawberry-lemon combo.

We enjoyed our eegee's during the drive toward Phoenix. We checked into our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Phoenix North - Scottsdale. We had dinner at Thirsty Lion. Based in Scottsdale, Thirsty Lion has five locations in the Phoenix area, two locations each in Portland and Dallas, and one in Denver.  

We shared a duo of sliders and a giant pretzel that came with three incredible sauces: beer cheese, jalapeño jam & sweet mustard sauce. They were all fantastic, but the beer cheese was to die for. They could put it in a big bowl, serve it with a spoon, and I'd totally order that. 

Our first destination in the morning was a mile's drive from our hotel, and far less as the crow flies. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. 

Travel Adventures in Arizona and New Mexico, Part 6: Tucson

This is my sixth post about our adventures traveling through Arizona and New Mexico. I recommend starting with the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth posts. Because I blog about educational travel, I received media passes, discounts, and other benefits for some of the places we visited throughout the trip. Some of the attractions we toured are free to everyone, and we paid full price for the rest. What I paid or didn't pay has no bearing on my reviews. Everything that I share is something I recommend without hesitation.

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Travel Adventures in Tucson, Arizona

We started out bright and early on Sunday, April 12 to complete the Urban Adventure Quest we'd started the night before. The view from our hotel room indicated that we'd have the streets to ourselves, in contrast with the previous evening, when the streets were packed with folk musicians and their fans. 

And indeed, that was the case. 

It didn't take long to finish up the last of the questions and get our official time. It's so much easier to do an UAQ when there aren't any people around. 

See that turquoise line? That's the Turquoise Trail Walking Tour. The 2.5 mile loop highlights Tucson's architecture and historic sites. We didn't follow the whole trail, but we came across it several times during the Quest. 

We also came across portions of the Haiku Hike. Each spring, 20 winning haiku are are displayed on acrylic signs in planters downtown. Such a fun idea!

  

This is the sign outside SLUG: the Sustainability Laboratory and Outdoor Garden. There are so many fun things to discover in downtown Tucson. 

As nice as it would have been to spend all day exploring downtown, we were eager to check out the eastern portion of Saguaro National Park. We started at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center. 

There's a great introductory film, plus helpful exhibits about the Sonoran desert. 

There are doors on that cactus that open to reveal what's inside. So fun!

There's a lot of beautiful art as well. 

  

This cactus is the Centennial Saguaro. It was sprouted by seed in 1916, then transplanted at this location in 1966 to mark the 50th anniversary of the National Park Service. In 2016, both the Centennial Saguaro and the NPS turned 100 years old. 

After the Visitor Center, we headed out to do the Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive. We stopped at several trailheads to look around and do some hiking. 

The terrain is much different than at Saguaro West. 

Steve, pointing out Saguaro. And pointing at a saguaro. Saguaro is his 25th National Park and my 17th. 

    

We loved our time at both of the Saguaro National Park units. Together, they provide a wonderful way to experience the beauty and diversity of the Sonoran desert. 

Our next destination was the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. This museum is dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of miniatures. I love big stuff, but I love miniatures just as much. This is the entrance to the museum and a great hint about the whimsy inside. I'm blocking the handle of the standard-size door in the photo, but you can see the huge door and a miniature door. 

This museum exceeded my expectations tenfold! I expected dollhouses...

... and room boxes at the museum. There were plenty of each to admire. 

I did not expect full scenes inside things like a walnut shell...

... an egg...

... or a violin! 

The craftsmanship that goes into miniatures amazes me. How do the artists get the details just right at such a small scale?

Check out this sewing machine, with an adorable little sewing room built into it. Fabulous, right?

It's even more fabulous when you realize that's not a full-size sewing machine. Amazing!

Have you ever heard of Salavat Fidai? His work seems literally impossible, yet there it is, on display. 

  

Check this out. The photo makes it look like a full-size room, where you could sit down and play checkers and feel the heat from the stove. 

In reality, your finger would fit in a chair but that's about it. 

This was one of my favorites. Not only is it tiny, but that is a 4" x 6" functional loom! Annie Herzfeld, weaves her own rugs and they are spectacular. Watch this video to learn more. 

Each bird is smaller than your pinky nail. 

Around every corner, there's something unique and impressive. 

  

Very tiny dogs, playing even tinier poker. 

I appreciated this exhibit about the different scales used in miniatures. 

This is really cool. Each 'army man' is an actual person from Tucson. 

This is a model of the log cabin birthplace of author Laura Ingalls Wilder in Pepin, Wisconsin. We've seen the real thing in person and this looks just like it!

The Enchanted Realm exhibit space is really something. 

The temporary exhibit is all about the work of animator and special effects creator Ray Harryhausen. 

  

It was absolutely fascinating learning about his work and the Dynamation techniques he developed. 

I could go on and on about this incredible museum, but I think I've showed you enough for you to have put it on your must-visit list. You will not regret time spent at the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures!

We stayed until the minute the museum closed, then headed to nearby Trail Dust Town. Built in 1961, it's become a Tucson institution. 

  

  

It's free to hang out at Trail Dust Town. You pay extra for rides, gold panning, and the stunt show. There are shops and restaurants as well. We had dinner at Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse. It's famous for their mesquite-grilled cowboy steaks. That's it on the right. 

Pinnacle Peak is enormous. We were seated in a great spot, with a view of the mesquite grill. 

Did you notice the ceiling?

Don't wear a tie to Pinnacle Peak unless you want it cut off and hung on display! We were wearing t-shirts, which is right in line with the dress code. 

  

Steve and I ordered one Cowboy Meal to share and, as you can see, it was enormous. It came with a garden salad, baked potato, beans, bread, and cobbler. It was too much food for us, but we did our best! (I took the bread back to the hotel to have for breakfast the next morning.) They make their own root beer and it is fantastic. I highly recommend a visit to Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse for good food and a good time. 

We had one final night at the Leo Kent before we had to say goodbye to Tucson. We had a lot of fun destinations ahead of us, but we didn't want to leave Tucson. We absolutely loved our time there. We could have easily spent another week or two and still not seen everything there is to offer. I hope to return sometime.