I visited
Tucson, my old stomping grounds (University of Arizona graduate and longtime
resident), two times; once at the end of the year and the second time in the new year. In
November, Professor David Rubi and I took a group of Paradise Valley Community College
students to the Tucson area for Mexican food and culture. In early January, I went to Tucson by invitation
of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
to visit the Warren Aquarium.
 |
| At Presidio of Tucson |
Our first
stop in Tucson was the downtown area and the Presidio of Tucson. They were filming while we were there so
there are a few photos of a lady dressed as a Presidio resident would be
dressed in the 18th century.
 |
| Mural at La Pilita |
We had lunch
at El Minuto in Tucson's Barrio
Historico neighborhood. Just south
of El Minuto is the shrine to a murdered sinner, El
Tiradito. And next to that is a
little museum of early Tucson history called La Pilita. On the south wall, there is a beautiful mural. These
three stops, right next to each other, are musts if you want a flavor for early
Tucson history.
 |
| San Xavier Del Bac, The White Dove of the Desert |
We also
visited Tumacacori Mission
south of Tucson and on the way back to town, we stopped at San Xavier del Bac, the White Dove
of the Desert, still an active Catholic
church. A huge part of the story is the
painstaking restoration
work that went on that saved this history church.
 |
| Fish Friend from the Warden Aquarium |
A month
later, we re-visited Tucson, this time to go to the new Warden Aquarium, part of the
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum located west of Tucson in the Tucson Mountains and
attend a University of Arizona basketball game. Cats won in overtime 92 to 83, whew!
 |
| Senior Kevin Parrom #3 Shoots and Scores! |
You can view
a slideshow of all of my photos from the late 2012 visits below.
Happy
Shooting,
Jim
Patterson
