What’s New In Tucson / May, 2006
Bisbee Festival Showcases Things with Wings –The 15th annual Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival, August 1-6, in Bisbee offers birders and nature lovers an educational and experiential treat. This all-ages festival has self-guided and guided tours, exhibits, and programs about Southern Arizona birds, bats, butterflies and much more. Included is a workshop presented by the former hummingbird-exhibit caretaker at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and a kids’ program by Carl Olson, the “Bug Man of U of A.” Registration is at the 1902 Copper Queen Hotel—one of the last remaining historical gems of Bisbee’s mining-boomtown heyday. For festival details, call 520-678-8237, or visit www.swwings.org. For more on the Copper Queen Hotel, call 520-432-2216 or log on to www.CopperQueen.com.
Get hitched at romantic Rex Ranch Resort & Spa – Located on the edge of the Santa Cruz River Valley called "the palm of God's hand” this beautiful and remote Southern Arizona guest ranch offers a serene and intimate setting perfect for that special day. With no televisions, telephones or traffic, the historic Rex Ranch specializes in peaceful getaways for bridal couples and their guests. Wedding packages are available for parties of up to 250, featuring 30 sleeping rooms, suites, and casitas. Lush natural grounds, many fountains, and bountiful rose and cactus gardens surround elegant adobe lodgings, the “Cantina Romantica” restaurant, and the “Cielo” health spa. Activities include horseback riding, bird watching, mountain biking, hiking, and swimming. For more information, visit www.RexRanch.com or phone 1-800-547-2696.
Throwing like a girl is a good thing – It’s a whole new ballgame at Tucson’s Hi Corbett Field. The Arizona Heat –Tucson’s professional women’s softball team – returns for a third season. With PAC-10 alumni dominating its roster, the team includes former University of Arizona champs. Together, these “girls of summer” play a hard-hitting 28-home game schedule, June through August. Season and individual game tickets are on sale now. For more information, call 520-296-9595. Hi Corbett Field is the spring training home of the (former World-Champion) Colorado Rockies.
Lose 30 degrees in 45 minutes – It’s an ideal time to get away to Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley—a mountain retreat 45 minutes from Tucson, over 6000 feet higher, and 30 degrees cooler. Visitors can hike, picnic, and enjoy mountain breezes among towering pines, firs, and aspens. All year the ski-lift ride that takes passengers to an elevation of 9,100 feet. Magnificent scenery, with many trails and overlooks, as well as the Iron Door Restaurant, with its famous chili and cornbread, make this a popular place to visit, during the summer months. Before planning your trip, call 520-749-8700.
Nude vacations at Tucson guest ranch – Guests at Tucson’s newest resort are encouraged to bring sunscreen – lots of sunscreen – when venturing outdoors. As a “clothing optional” property, the new Mira Vista Resort offers nudists a Southwestern-style vacation, with all the amenities. Dating back to the 1850s, the property is located on 30 acres northwest of Tucson, with 14 guest rooms, a restaurant, wellness center, pool and spa, tennis courts, and the façade of a 1880s Old West town. Known for years as La Tierra Linda Guest Ranch Resort, it most recently was home to the Coyote Moon Health Resort, which catered to gay and lesbian travelers. For more information, visit the resort’s website, www.miravistaresort.com.
From “yeehaw” to the spa – The historic Hacienda del Sol guest ranch now offers spa treatments including, hot-stone, therapeutic, and couples’ massages, as well as seaweed wraps, mud masks, and salt-glow treatments. This 32-acre hideaway at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains was once an all-girls’ boarding school and later a retreat for Hollywood royalty like Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. It exudes Old World, Old Tucson charm, with Southwest styling, historic character, mature desert gardens, and ridge-top setting. The superb Grill at Hacienda del Sol is part of the resort. For details, call 520-299-1501 or log on to www.haciendadelsol.com.
American Indian Treasures – Tucson doesn’t just boast about our Native American Heritage, we offer you the chance to take some home! There are many renowned galleries specializing in American Indian arts and crafts throughout the city. Bahti Indian Arts (520/577-0290) is owned and run by Mark Bahti, son of the man who literally wrote the book on American Indian art, Tom Bahti. Since 1952, his store has sold high-quality jewelry, pottery, rugs, art, and more. Mark Sublette’s Medicine Man Gallery (520-722-7798) specializes in the life work of famed western painter, Maynard Dixon as well as antique American Indian art, early Western paintings and contemporary works. For over 55 years, Kaibab and Desert House (520-795-6905) in central Tucson have been favorites for quality, American Indian and Southwestern items such as Navajo weavings, Hopi katsina dolls, beautiful Pueblo pottery, basketry, fetishes, and distinctive clothing.
Art that’s not just horsin’ around – Long recognized as one of America’s leading sculptors, Deborah Butterfield transforms pieces of scrap metal and found wood into majestic life-size and small-scale horse sculptures that explore the essence and spirit of the horse. Butterfield’s first major, traveling exhibition is on display at the Tucson Museum of Art through July 30, 2006. Organized by the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana, the exhibit features eleven major works, primarily drawn from the artist’s own collection, which are rarely seen in public. Tucson Museum of Art admission is free for everyone the first Sunday of the month. For regular admission prices and museum hours, visit www.tucsonarts.com, or call 520-624-2333.
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