Tu(cs)on

Over spring break, the Bean (Nick) and I took a quick little trip to my birthplace, Tucson, Arizona, to visit good ole’ grandma and grandpa.  Although it was a brief two night, one day trip, we got to see a part of Arizona I’m not as familiar with. 

Right off the plane, we headed to a delicious little pizza joint.  It was there Tucson welcomed us with a high-speed police chase right across the street from where we were eating.  Nothing like a bank robbery and the SWAT team to start your day off right!

We then headed to my grandma and grandpa’s perfect little abode to do all the things that define our typical Tucson trips.

First we said hello to this guy (also proudly standing in the first picture):  

A saguaro cactus that has been around just as long as my grandpa! Over 200 years old (cheap shot, I know), it is just a matter of time before he topples over onto the street in front of my grandparent’s house—the cactus, not my grandpa.

Then, some more shots were fired around Tucson!

One thing I love about my grandparents’ house (besides them… awww) is how different the landscape is from our flat, barren Texas scenery.  There is no grass anywhere, really… just rocks, and cacti! 

 

  

Then, we went on a lovely evening stroll while the sun was setting. Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, beats an Arizona sunset…

So, that is the usual beauty I get to see when I go to Tucson, but this time, we decided to embark on a little Connolly adventure up to Mount Lemon, located at the peak of the Catalina Mountains.

The cacti are everywhere as you start up the mountain, but the landscape very quickly changes into a little something that looks like this:

(I’m not too sure as to what these folk were doing, but I can tell you that they had on super hero capes, chicken hats, and an assortment of masks.)

And the view looks a little something like this:

There was a dreadful fire in 2003 that destroyed 85,000 acres of the beautiful mountain, and the recovery is still an obvious work in progress.

 

Nevertheless, the mountain still managed to be breathtaking and we were able to put another successful Connolly adventure under our belts.