The temp is hot, scenery is beautiful

July 1, 2006

I've been here for almost a month now, and what a place!

First, after a couple days in a hotel I found an apartment on the southwest side of town. Got moved in, not that that was too difficult - I don't have any furniture, just camping gear. Two camp tables, two camp chairs, a couple frying pans and one small pot. A few cooking utensils and plastic forks, knives and spoons, and paper cups, bowls and plates. Heheh, at least doing the dishes is easy work. But, no bed or bedroom furniture, or anything else. Well, I do have two computers and my instruments.

I've been to a couple of the local night spots to listen to some bands. While listening to Hollywood Knights (a hot local Tejano band) I was chatting with a guy at the bar. He mentioned his son plays in another band very similar to the one playing. We talked for a while and then he noticed that one of the members of the other band was there as well, so he pointed him out to me.

I went over to him and introduced myself. His name is Joey Villa. The band he plays for (and the other guys son) is Latin Society. Turns out they need a tenor sax player who will actually show up for rehearsals and gigs. Then next weekend I went to listen to Latin Society play at a private gig, met the guys in the band and talked to them about my playing with them. They think it will be great, so do I! They're a very good Tejano band! Last weekend they played at another gig, a benefit with 3 other bands, and man, they can play! I'm really looking forward to playing with Latin Society.

I've been all over the Tucson area, checking out the sites, generally site seeing. Drove out Ajo Way to 3 points, then south towards Sasabe, then took the turn-off to go to Arivaca. That route takes you through the Buenes Aires National Wildlife Refuge. This is not desert like the Tucson area, but high elevation grasslands. The highway goes on to Arivaca, a very small town (village?) next to the Cienega Arivaca. Cienaga is wetlands. A great place to stop and take a walk - lots of mule deer and other wildlife to see here. Then it was off to continue to the freeway and back to Tucson. A very nice day trip, indeed.

Another day of driving found me at the eastern Sajuaro National Park, up the Catalina Highway quite a ways (found some good camping places), and found a park in town, over on the east side, that has 3 large ponds, two were dry. The one though is fed from a spring. The story-boards at the park say something like there were two springs originally, one hot spring one cold spring. Then they were blasted with dynamite to create one spring, with a large flow of water. That was way back in the 1800's if I remember correctly. Anyway, now the one spring is something 97 degrees, just a warm spring. I can't remember the name of the park, and can't find it on the Parks web site, and can't find it on the Tucson map. If you know what it is email me on my contact page.

Today I went for a walk and found another urban lake. Not far away either, just down the road a mile or so. I hadn't seen previously becuase of it's location. I found it by hiking to the top of a hill in the John F. Kennedy Park, which gives a great view of Tucson, and the lake I hadn't previously seen. I walked down to it and found out it is stocked with trout, catfish, bass and sunfish (I think that was the fourth one). Turns out it is practically behind the library, which I've been to many times, before getting cable in my apartment. It can't be seen from the library though, so I didn't know it was there.

Well, one more week and I'll be flying back to Seattle to get my wife and our stuff and driving back to Tucson. Then we start the New Home Building Project. Stay tuned for more updates, especially when the project is under way, it will all be shared right here.