This past weekend, we were lucky enough to catch world-class divers competing in Tucson. If you are anywhere near the University of Arizona Hillenbrand Aquatic Center from July 23 - 31, you will see some of the best youth divers in the entire United States in the 2010 USA Diving Junior & Age Group National Championships. Over these days, about 600 youth competitors will perform their best to go for the gold. For some, this is one of many events they will compete in this year. For others, this is the first time they are competing on a national scale and it is awe inspiring to be in Tucson.

Competitive diving is vastly different than the diving most of us did in our youth. For me especially, I always challenged myself to see how crazy or wild I could dive as I jumped off our community pool board. Diving, at a competitive level, draws the best athletes. To dive, one needs many skills like gymnastics, acrobatics, grace and poise. Unlike some other competitive sports, divers need to master many skills, to be great at one.

USA Diving is the national governing body for Diving in the USA. It is an Olympic sport and is competed at the Summer Olympic Games every four years. To be a great diver, one needs a great facility. Most of them are located on University campuses. The Univerisity of Arizona Hillenbrand Aquatic Center has one of the best outdoor diving venues in the world.

You might ask, what makes it great? Well it was designed to exceed international standards in all ways. Diving can be broken down into to two disciplines, springboard and platform. Springboard is the one that you and I are most familiar from our childhood. Platform is the one that looks the hardest and is always in any Olympic games highlight reel. It has been made famous by divers like Greg Louganis and Tucson's own Michele Mitchell. Both have competed in several Olympic games and are a continued inspiration to the sport.

If you happened to miss the national championships, don't worry, Tucson will be hosting the 18th FINA Junior World Championships from September 1-6. Not only will you be able to see the best divers from the USA, but over 25 countries will be sending their best divers. In the diving world, all eyes will be on Tucson as we host one of the most prestigious aquatics events.

An incredible amount planning goes into these events. There are countless hours performed by either staff or volunteers to ensure that these events are the best they can be for us a community and country. I have said many times in sports that if you build it they will come. That is such a true statement and these diving events are proof of that statement. But these events wouldn't be what they are without the people that run them. To host a flawless event is a huge undertaking and for that the organizers deserve a gold medal.

This week's prize is a one night stay for two at Tubac, one round of golf for 2 & $25 gift card to a Tubac Resort Restaurant.

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Very rarely do Joanne and I have a chance to escape and spend time as a couple. Don't get me wrong, we love our family but sometimes a mom and dad need to get away. Recently we were able to spend some time at the Desert Diamond Casino & Hotel in the Tohono O'odam Nation located south of Tucson. Our weekend started on Friday, and we made the most of our time until Sunday afternoon.

The Tohono O'odam Nation has two casino properties, both with unique gaming and entertainment opportunities. Our weekend plan consisted of one thing, enjoying our time together. Whether it was trying our luck at the casino or enjoying the many food options, we were determined to make the most out of it. The main activity for the weekend was to watch entertainer and comedian Bill Engval at the Diamond Center. With all these things to do, maybe we would have time to sleep in. Believe it or not, it is one of the most relaxing activities when you vacation sans children.

Friday night was a whirlwind with doing some last minute packing and making sure my mom had instructions while she watched our boys. It amazed me how the closer we drove to the casino, the less stressed we felt from our busy work week. As it was dusk when we drove to the casino, we could see the welcoming neon lights as we approached. The hotel is located on the south side of the complex and has a beautiful stone entry. Since we had dinner reservations at the Steakhouse, we quickly checked in and strolled to the Steakhouse. The staff at the Steakhouse was friendly and courteous. We were shown to a secluded booth that matched the evening ambience of the restaurant. The service was impeccable, and our cuisine of either crab legs or filet mignon was a delicious delight.

Having passed on dessert, we strolled out and walked over to the Monsoon Night Club. It just happened that a funky, high-energy band was playing live that night. The nightclub was pretty packed, but we made our way to the dance floor and danced. Afterwards, we left the night club to try some slot machines. We were both amazed at the amount of action and people. We found a couple of fun slots and enjoyed our time. Much later and not realizing the time, we headed back to our room.

If you have never stayed at the Desert Diamond Casino, the rooms are pretty amazing. Ours was spacious and overlooked the inviting pool. We were treated to a nightcap of champagne on ice and a tray of chocolate covered strawberries. What a great way to end our week! After sleeping in, we decided to explore the area until the show Saturday night. We enjoyed a great Sonoran lunch at El Merendero on 12th Ave. We then decided to spend some time in Tubac, south of Tucson on I-19. After some light shopping we headed back to enjoy our evening entertainment.

The Diamond Center is located at the Tohono O'odam's second casino on Pima Mine Road, fifteen minutes from the casino hotel. We dined at the on-site Agave Restaurant before the show. The menu had many savory options, and the service was exemplary. From the restaurant, we walked to the Diamond Center to enjoy our show. Bill Enval once lived in Winslow, AZ as child. His simple yet funny humor had everyone laughing for an hour and a half. The show was worth every minute.

We had one last night at the hotel, and it was heaven. We managed to sleep in again and then enjoyed the property's on-site breakfast buffet. As we checked out and drove away, Joanne and I retold our favorite parts of the weekend. We loved our escape and the staff at Desert Diamond made the stay memorable. If you need a bright-light getaway, a desert gem called the Desert Diamond Casino and Hotel is not far away.

This week's prize is a Summer party in the Javelina Cantina for up to 15 people! Includes one hour of complementary appetizers, plus a $50 Texas Roadhouse gift certificate. 

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I couldn't help naming this blog article after one of the marquee interactive attractions at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM). We have two boys that epitomize that very definition of the word. Our experience at the ASDM was one of wonder, excitement and exploration.

The ASDM is located on Tucson's western perimeter where it still feels like the Old West. Even before we arrived at the ASDM, we drove through Saguaro filled foothills and passed through a local favorite site seeing spot, Gates Pass, located in Saguaro National Park West. The ASDM's main entrance really sets the tone on what you can expect with signed plants displays and statues of desert animals acting as greeters. I highly recommend going to the ASDM website www.desertmuseum.org to plan out your visit. There are many very cool interactive sessions to learn about as well as information about hours, rates, and directions. One key item to know is that most of the ASDM is outdoors and has about two (2) miles of walking paths covering 21 acres. If you are there during the day, we recommend sunscreen and comfortable close toed walking shoes to ensure that you see as much as you want to enjoy.

Now getting back to Live and On the Loose, as we entered the grounds, we were looking to experience a snapshot of the Sonoran Desert. Some of the live animal demonstrations, offered by knowledgeable volunteer docents, were of interest and well as some of the live animal habitats. My family, not having grown up in a desert environment, noticed that most plants had a different, unique look. We had cautioned our boys that it might look pretty but most desert plants developed defense mechanisms to protect them from foragers.

Along the path, we encountered a Common Barn Owl being displayed "on the glove" by a docent. We were amazed at the close up beauty of the owl and how easy it rested on the docent's glove. The boys pulled out one of their desert museum guide charts that we picked up at the ASDM to see the animals that the owl preys upon in the desert.

We walked through most of the habitats and saw all the types of birds, mammals, insects and reptiles that are in our Tucson environment. The natural setting of the ASDM allowed us to see how the desert lives every day. Thoroughly tired from walking, the boys were rewarded by large scooped ice cream cones from the Ice Cream Shop as we were ready to exit. It was a great way to cool off as we remembered all the fun and new things we had just experienced. We look forward to our next visit to see more of the ASDM.

This week's prize is a one night stay at Omni, including Breakfast for two, and Desert Museum tickets for two. Winner contacted on July 21.

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Colossal Cave Mountain Park is nestled in the southeastern hills of the Tucson Metro area. Having lived in Tucson while I was attending the University of Arizona, I had been to the cave before, but this experience was completely different as I was able to see it through the eyes of our boys.

As we turned onto the paved road to enter the Park, the desert mountain hills greeted us as we drove up to the entrance booth. Since Colossal Cave Mountain Park is owned by Pima County and occupies over 2,000 acres of foothills, our nominal daily park use fee goes towards maintaining the park for current and future generations.

Our history lesson started as we walked from the raised parking lot down stone lined paths towards the entrance to the cave. The paths and trails were completed by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC), which was one of many federal programs started under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1930s. Young men from all over the country worked on many conservation projects like Colossal Cave.

One of the improvements the CCC made to the cave was the wide; easy to navigate entrance we were going to use to start our underground exploration. We met our tour guide, Ms. Jen, and she ran through the tour rules with an easy smile and friendly voice. Our tour would take about 45-50 minutes and descend as well as ascend almost 70 feet of stone walkways installed by the CCC. Ms. Jen told us exactly how many steps we would be taking, but you'll just have to go experience it for yourself to see how many we took during our trek.

As we started walking down, we were informed that the cave is technically not a dry cave but rather a dormant cave. Depending on the amount of rain the region receives, Colossal Cave could see some activity but the conditions that created the cave could not be recreated. Nevertheless, the cave is teeming with many varieties of insects and bats. As we descended, we noticed that the cave was a lot cooler than topside. One of the interesting facts about the cave is that the temperate and amount of humidity remain constant.

Continuing on, Ms. Jen pointed out unique geological gems such as stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations, some named after the shapes they resemble. The path was well lit, but small crevices and holes were dark or had deep shadows from the installed lights. At the bottom of the tour, we encountered the "living room" and heard tales of how the early explorers would use the area as a base camp as they explored the accessible areas of the cave. At the conclusion of Ms. Jen's explanation, Zane said out loud, "That looks like a coy-yote" sure enough, as we all turned to what he was pointing at, we saw the shape of a coyote head howling. Ms. Jen said that she had never seen that formation before, and Zane was so proud that he made his discovery. We started our climb back up amazed at not only the natural beauty, but of the history of the cave, ranging from native American storage area, to outlaw hideout to its final version as a historical natural wonder.

Our fun didn't stop when we left the cave tour as we traveled down to La Posta Quemada Ranch to partake in a horse drawn hayride and try our hand at sluicing for minerals and gems. The ranch house is an adobe brick house that had shaded patios. It was perfect for our lunch that we ate from the grill located next to the ranch house. After lunch, we walked to the stables and were greeted by two cowboy ranch hands that were going to drive our hayride wagon. We were treated to a quick tour of the ranch grounds then returned to the ranch house to try sluicing. This involves taking dirt and running it under a trough of water to see what minerals or rocks might be located in the dirt. We received our sluice dirt from the ranch gift shop and started looking for riches. We didn't find gold, but we walked away with an assortment of semi precious gems and unique rock types found in the area. On our drive out of the park, we thought about our adventure both below and above ground. The history is amazing and like most jewels, they are priceless.

This week's prize is a Tucson Newspapers Dining Card and a $25 Gift Card at Zona 78. Winner contacted on July 14. 

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