Tucson Visitors Abound!

It was like a modified version of "Road Rules" with 6 strangers (well, actually we knew one) picked from Harvard Business School to travel across the country together in a large van ("Pimp My Ride" style with Nintendo and a cooler full of beverages). They were a welcome addition to our Tucson home for 2 nights. Scott's college friend, Ed, recently graduated from HBS and embarked on a road trip that originated in Boston and included great destinations across the country, including: Minneapolis, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Tucson, among other great spots. Now they've turned back east and are headed for Austin, New Orleans, and the "Deep South". Happy travels!

Tufts Ladies in Tucson

What a treat - two visitors the same weekend! Two college friends, Jessie and Margaret spent the weekend with us in Tucson. We took a shopping trip to Tubac and visited the "White Dove of the Desert", San Xavier Mission (pictured). Although we took them to many popular southwest attractions, the true introduction to the Southwest was a night on the town. We encountered many tarantulas while having drinks outdoors on Saturday night. As we all learned, it is common to see them this time of year and they are truley harmless. In fact, many people keep them as pets or pest control for home gardens in the Southwest. All in all, a great weekend with girlfriends!

July 4th Mountain Getaway

With July 4th being one of the hottest days in Tucson so far this summer, we decided to take a quick getaway to escape the heat.

Mt. Lemmon is a 45 minute drive from our house and the little town of Summerhaven sits at an elevation of 8,000 ft., guaranteeing a temperature drop of at least 20 degrees as we climbed up above the desert floor. The majority of Mt. Lemmon is part of Coronado National Forest, so there are plenty of hiking and biking trails, as well as picnic areas. The landscape quickly changed from desert plants to evergreens as we climbed the windy road to Summerhaven.

We were just in time for the 4th of July parade through town and afterwards we enjoyed a quiet picnic in the woods. Tucker enjoyed having so many sticks to choose from to nibble on!