23 THEPROVINCE.COM | TRAVEL | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016

MICHAEL McCARTHY

I’ve enjoyed trips to Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz., for many years. Recently I discovered Tuc-

son, Phoenix’s smaller sibling to the south near the Mexican border, and a real sweetie she proved to be.

Tucson averages only 11.8 inches (299.7 mm) of precipitation per year, but with high “evapotranspiration.” Translation? It’s very dry. There is virtually no humidity, especially in the winter. At 728 metres, Tucson is a “high desert,” warm in the day in winter but cold at night. With over 350 days of sunshine a year, Tucson may be the sunniest city in the Unit-ed States.

Where to stay? Sitting anywhere at the Hacienda del Sol, a lovely resort in the hills north of Tucson, you can see forever. From the (heated, out-door) swimming pool and patio, the view is to the west with amazing desert sunsets. To Canadians, winter weather in Tucson is warm enough to swim. Average air temperature (January-March) is 19-24 C. In the full sun, add 8 C. At night, Tucson has restrictive street lighting ordi-nances, making for dark skies with millions of dazzling stars.

You might want to start your day with a walking tour of the city cen-tre. Taste of Tucson leads you on a delectable and informative tour through the historic sights and local eateries of downtown. On this three-hour walking tour you get to snack on pre-selected tastings at

five restaurants, learn what inspires local chefs, ride the modern street-car and end up at the old Presidio. The historic Fox Tucson Theater has been renovated into an architectur-al marvel and regularly features big-name performers.

Back at Hacienda del Sol, the emphasis is on relaxation. Sit back, enjoy, bask, dine and indulge in a massage in the privacy of your room. The resort has a fascinat-ing history, beginning in 1929 as a “home-away-from-home” school

for the daughters of eastern Ameri-can society’s wealthy elite families, names such as Vanderbilt, Pillsbury, Maxwell, Westinghouse, and Camp-bell. After the Second World War it became a resort, and in 1995 a group of wealthy Tucson investors bought in. The Grill restaurant was opened, and today the Hacienda has evolved into one of Arizona’s finest dining venues. It’s included in the Nation-al Registry of Historic Places in Ari-zona. Try the grilled octopus from the nearby Sea of Cortez, Mexico.

Otherwise, Sabino Canyon tours just north of the Hacienda offers a narrated, educational, 45-minute, six-kilometre tour into the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The trams have nine stops along the tour with several restroom facil-ities and picnic grounds near Sabi-no Creek.

A variety of trails are available along the way for hikes that range from easy to challenging.

Mission Garden is a re-creation of the Spanish Colonial walled gar-

den that was part of Tucson’s his-toric San Agustin Mission. Locat-ed on its original site west of down-town Tucson, the garden features heirloom Sonoran Desert-adapted fruit orchards and vegetable gar-dens interpreting 4,000 years of agri-culture in Tucson.

Michael McCarthy is a freelance travel writer and owner of mccar-thy-travels.com. He was a guest of Tucson Tourism, which did not read or approve of this article before pub-lication.

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Tucson’s star-filled nighttime skies are dazzling, thanks partly to the city’s restrictive street-lighting ordinances. — HACIENDA DEL SOL FILES

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