| We spent more time out of Tucson than in it,
though we did get a fine meal (still at some odd
jetlagged time) at a vegetarian restaurant with
the most amazing tiled, stained-glassed-windowed
toilet I've ever seen. |
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We went down to the river to see the Last
Supper figures we'd read about. |
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The odd thing about the US is how so often
they'll talk about something from 1920 as being
"historic" and almost as it were turn a
blind eye to Anasazi and other ruins that are
thousands of years old. |
| A good example is Casa Grande: the roof
protecting the main ruin is now listed as a
historic building itself (dating from before
WWII). |
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| San Xavier del Bac (below) was
full of choirboys miming to a prerecorded tape
for local TV. It was less odd than I expected to
go back outside and see sunshine and cactii
pointing at the sky. |
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San Xavier was our second stop that morning.
The previous day we'd gone to the Pima Air And
Space Museum and booked tickets on the AMARC tour
that afternoon and on the 9am tour at the Titan
II Missile Museum. |
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| Georgia O'Keefe lived to 99 and the SW USA is
full of retirees aiming for 109 at least. Most of
them seem to be out running museums, impressively
sound in wind and limb and given to asking us
whether we spoke English as our first language. |
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Moral: Don't tell people you come from the
United Kingdom - if you don't know what it means
it sounds too much like Monaco or Leichtenstein. |
| The "do you speak English" lady was
the one settling us in for the inevitable
pre-tour video at the Titan museum. The tour
guide - who used to work there - was fortunately
a bit younger. John got to Turn The Key. Designed
and built in 3 years, he said. |
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We were (of course) dead impressed. Next down
after San Xavier was the ruined mission at
Tucacamori (pix above & below). The ancient
custodian there seemed to think (ha ha) it was
cold (ha ha). |
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We did our Xmas shopping (well some of it) at
Tubac; after peering uncertainly round some
pottery shops (cool stuff but how to get it back,
eh?) we ventured into a trading post with a chap
out front tending his model railway and making
luminaries. |
| Now I wish I'd taken a piccie of the railway,
but you can't be having a holiday stuck
permanently behind a camera, so here's another
bit of Tubac. |
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