Travel Adventures in Arizona and New Mexico, Part 3: Tucson

This is my third post about our adventures traveling through Arizona and New Mexico. I recommend reading the first and second posts before this one. Because I blog about educational travel, I was given media rates, complimentary admission tickets, discounts, and other benefits for some of the places we visited throughout the trip. Other attractions we toured are free to everyone, and we paid full price for the rest. This has no bearing on my reviews. Everything that I share is something I whole-heartedly recommend.

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Tucson, Arizona 

After our incredible visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, it's hard to imagine anything could be as awesome. But I'm happy to report that we absolutely loved our visit to our next destination: Saguaro National Park. Specifically, Saguaro West. 

Saguaro National Park is made up of two distinct districts, 30 miles apart, separated by the city of Tucson. The Tucson Mountain District (West) features dense saguaro forests and flatter terrain. The Rincon Mountain District (East) is more rugged, is at a higher elevation, and offers more backcountry options. One $25 pass gives you admission to both districts for seven days. The Visitor Center for Saguaro West is only 2.5 miles from Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, so it was the perfect place for us to go next. 

We watched the park film and enjoyed the exhibits at the Red Hills Visitor Center, then set off to explore the park. We did the Bajada Loop Drive and took several short hikes. We carried lots of water and put my UV-protecting umbrella (affiliate link) to good use. 

 

  

  

Saguaro National Park is absolutely stunning. I've never seen anything like it. We enjoyed every minute.  

It was such a delight to come across cacti in bloom.

We spent about three hours at Saguaro West. We could have easily spent more time there if: A) it were a cooler day; and B) we hadn't just spent five hours (most of it outdoors) at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. That said, I feel like we got a good overview of the park and experienced the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert. 

Since we had driven to Saguaro from the south, we drove back toward downtown Tucson via the north. It wasn't quite as beautiful, but it allowed us to see something new. It's amazing how quickly the landscape changes from one biome to the next. 

We went to the Fourth Avenue District, where we enjoyed the vibrant city and abundant public art. The University of Arizona is nearby and we saw many college students strolling with friends, popping into shops, or grabbing a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants and cafes in the area. Our destination? BOCA. 

BOCA is owned by Chef Maria Mazon. Back in September 2024, we were in the studio audience at Tournament of Champions VI when she competed against Chef Antonia Lofaso, the #1 seed who would go on to win the entire tournament. We weren't familiar with Maria Mazon before watching the competition, but were impressed with her skills and interested in trying her food. We decided that if we were ever in Tucson, we'd visit her restaurant. Since then, we've seen her compete in other Food Network competitions, so it was especially exciting to visit Boca. 

BOCA is a casual restaurant, the kind of local place where everyone knows your name. It was apparent that almost everyone else there was a regular. We ordered chips and salsa, three tacos (Vampiro, Asada, and Al Pastor), and a Boca Ball to split. 

The chips came with six unique salsas. 

The food was excellent. We both enjoyed the Vampiro taco the most. The waitress talked us into dessert nachos, which sounded delicious. They were, but they were also really rich, and it ended up being too much food for us to finish. 

Towards the end of the meal, we were delighted to see Chef Maria and asked to take a photo with her. She was as nice as could be. 

After a very full day, we returned to our home away from home, the Leo Kent. We had another packed day ahead. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. 

Travel Adventures in Arizona and New Mexico, Part 2: Tucson

This is my second post about our travel adventures in Arizona and New Mexico. You can see the first post here. Because I blog about educational travel, I received media rates, complimentary admission tickets, discounts, and other benefits for some of the places we visited throughout the trip. Some attractions we toured are free to everyone and we paid full price for the rest. This has no bearing on my reviews. Everything I share is something that I whole-heartedly recommend.

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Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum 

Because we visit so many places each day during our travels, I rarely dedicate an entire post to one location. But once in a while, a place is so fabulous and I have so much to share that it deserves a stand-alone feature. Such is the case with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The ASDM bills itself as a "fusion experience" - a zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum, and aquarium, all in one. Even that description fails to cover everything at this incredible place. 

 

The first thing we did when we arrived was take a docent tour. Our guide introduced us to the many plants and animals of the Sonoran desert as we strolled along the Desert Loop Trail. 

The desert is beautiful. 

It was so interesting to learn how the species have adapted for the desert environment. 

  

The picture on the left is a cristate (crested) saguaro. Biologists disagree about why some saguaros grow this way. Consider yourself lucky when you see one - cristate saguaros are rare. On the right, a saguaro skeleton. 

  

There are wolves, bears, deer, coyotes, and many more species on display at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. 

I was most interested in javelina, as I knew the least about them. They look like pigs, but they're only distantly related. 

I'm obsessed with prairie dogs. 

As interesting as it was to learn about animals in enclosures, I enjoyed the wildlife just as much. We saw a lot of birds, reptiles, and small mammals going about their business.  

I absolutely loved how many art installations there are at ASDM.   

  

  

  

It was 92°F the day we visited, so we did most of the outdoor exhibits early in the morning. In addition to wearing sunscreen, I carried my new UV-protection umbrella (affiliate link). It served a double purpose of protecting my skin and providing some much-needed shade. We both carried water bottles; there are numerous bottle-fillers throughout the ASDM, including along the trails. There are also shade structures where docents present information.    

If you get too hot, head to one of the many air-conditioned indoor spaces. We weren't traveling with children, but we still loved the 'Hidden in the Midden' Packrat Playhouse. This enormous play space features a huge climbing structure and tons of activities that will keep kids entertained. Everything is sized as if you are a pack rat and it is filled with interesting objects that a pack rat might bring home. See what treasures you can spot!

There's a second kids' place space called Spadefoot Splash. The highlight is streamside play, but there are a lot of other actvities that are great for kids. It's part of the Riparian Corridor. 

This is the Earth Sciences Center and Cave.

*Gasp!* Could it be? Yes!! 

I've lost track of how many moon rocks I've seen, but I can add one more to the total. 

Ooh, a meteorite!

Please touch? You don't have to ask me (or Steve) twice! We both loved how much hands-on stuff there is at ASDM. 

Ever wanted to touch rattlesnake rattles? Go ahead!

I loved all the phosphorescent minerals. So pretty. 

Surely this is everything at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, right? Nope. Not even close. There's an aquarium...

... two aviaries... 

... an art gallery... 

... an Education building...

... and five distinct botanical gardens featuring local flora. 

  

More art. Go ahead and touch!

  

There's a theater, a coffee bar, a cafe, and a restaurant as well. We ate at Ocotillo Cafe, which uses locally sourced ingredients for their regional southwest cuisine. This is the Sonoran Whipped Feta Dip...

... and this is the Short Rib Barbacoa. Both dishes were outstanding and it was just the right amount of food for the two of us to share. 

I still haven't mentioned everything there is at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We spent five hours there and only left when we did because we had other places we had to be. Definitely arrive early, be prepared, and plan to spend all day. It is an incredible place. We agreed that if we were local to Tucson, we'd definitely become members. I'd love to go during each of the seasons to see how things change. I can see us taking natural history or art classes, or just visiting with art supplies and sketching. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a treasure. 

Tomorrow I'll tell you where we went next.