My family and I made a hasty trip through Arizona in 1979, but this 2003 trip was the first thorough exploration of the southern part of the state. Little did I know at that time that there would be many future visits, or that I would even be living here some day. Many highlights of the area have been covered in fairly recent travelogues, so I'll skip over them for now.
Several weeks in the Tucson area allowed plenty of opportunity to get familiar with everything and check out places that would never be seen in a quick visit. One of the more interesting days was spent at Biosphere 2, an earth science research facility located in Oracle, a small town north of Tucson. Its mission is to serve as a center for research, outreach, teaching, and learning about Earth, its living systems, and its place in the universe. Originally built to be a closed system, it was built between 1987 and 1991. It remains the largest closed system ever created.
The eight people chosen to live inside for a couple years were given comfortable living quarters and all the facilities needed to carry on an active lifestyle. Growing areas were expected to not only provide food for the crew, but produce enough oxygen to sustain human life.
It turned out that there was insufficient oxygen, so an artificial "lung" had to be constructed. This was a large dome-shaped structure with a rubber diaphragm operated by massive pumps.
The first mission lasted for two years. Originally thought to be a design that might enable space colonization, it was later learned that the occupants had found it necessary to sneak out for certain foods unavailable inside. Also, group dynamics became an issue with the team splitting into two factions. The second mission was more successful, including the fact that outside oxygen was not needed and all food was internally produced. The original management company went under and Columbia University took charge. Later, the University of Arizona assumed management and still uses the facility for research, although no totally enclosed missions have been made since.
Another high point in the Tucson area is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum, art gallery and botanical garden, all in one place. The museum is home to more than 230 animal species and 1,200 varieties of plants. It is open every day through the year, and hosts nearly 400,000 visitors annually, including visitors from abroad.
Some animals that may be seen there include the chuckwalla (a large harmless lizard that lives in the desert), the bobcat, the javelina (another desert creature from the peccary family and is similar to a pig), and the coyote. The museum also houses many birds, large and small.
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| Chuckwalla |
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| Chuckwalla |
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| Bobcat |
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| Javelina |
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| Coyote |
Many of the plants at the museum are varieties of cactus, many of which produce beautiful blooms.
Given the very hot summers in Tucson, a favorite place for locals to visit is Mount Lemmon, the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains (9159 feet). The Catalina Highway is quite scenic and leads to a small village called Summerhaven, as well as a ski resort. On our visit, we enjoyed a delicious slice of pie on the deck of a popular cafe there. Unfortunately, about a month after our time there, a forest fire burned atop Mt. Lemmon for a month, destroying much of Summerhaven. In 2014, I took the "back road" to Mt. Lemmon, the original route to the top and still unpaved. Along this road, there was still lots of evidence of the 2003 fire.
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