October 29, 2023; Pickle Ball Redux, Highlands of Sabino Canyon

This morning Sandy and I met first Bev and later Jim at the pickle ball courts.  This time I got to play also.  I found that the game is very fun, and perfectly designed for us old people who are dealing with all sorts of skeletal problems but somehow, by the grace of God, can still move our arms.  There are, however, three areas in which the game can be improved. It is my hope that through this blog posting and my general propensity to rant that the powers that be in the world of pickle ball will address these issues.  Number 1: The scoring system needs be revised, after every volley the server announces the score, something like 4-2-2 or 5-6-1.  The obvious problem being is that there are only two players or teams but three scores.  So what is that third score all about?  Someone has got to fix that.  Number 2:  There is something called the kitchen and you are not supposed to go there.  As someone who spends a lot of my time in the kitchen at home, I would also like to spend a little time there when playing pickle ball.  But, no-o-o I can’t.  Several times while playing I snuck in there and was always chastised.  Lastly, the name.  Honestly, pickle ball?  What were they thinking.  The game needs a more “macho” name, like maybe “Refined Tennis”, or perhaps “Smash Ball”.  If it is imperative that food has to be in the nomenclature I’d at least go with something like “Meat Ball” or “Bourbon Ball”.  Well those are my thoughts.  I hope they are taken with the good intentions with which I have offered them.  In any case, with or without my suggested changes, I hope to play more “Pickle Ball” when we get back home.

After Pickle Ball, Bev and Jim took us back to Sabino Canyon where we took a shuttle bus well up in the canyon, gaining altitude along the way.  Once at the top we walked part of the way back down the canyon.  One thing about the desert mountains, everywhere you look, the sights are dramatic.

Following our walk, maybe about a mile downhill we headed over to Three Canyons, the Bar/Restaurant behind the condos, to enjoy a cold, refreshing drink.

Finally, later in the evening Sandy and I drove to the other side of Tucson to enjoy another one of their Sonoran Dogs.  The place we found was in the heart of a Mexican section of town and in sort of a stand-alone food court.  Also, there was a lot of excitement associated with the coming of Halloween. In Mexican culture, Dia de Muertes, November 1-2, is a day set aside to remember relatives and friends who have died and have come back to celebrate with us.  Young and old were here in a party atmosphere.  Everyone was having a good time including Sandy and me!  My Sonoran Dog came from Monster Dogs, which seemed appropriate for a Halloween Party hot dog shack.

October 28, 2023; College Football Saturday

 Sandy and I started the day again at the French Café.  I know there must be a bakery down here that would better reflect the heritage of the American Southwest, but Jeez Louise, between this French Café and the Mona’s Danish Bakery it is hard to go looking elsewhere.  I think that is one of the beauties of Tucson.  At a population of about a half a million people it is big enough to have most anything you want, but still, as big cities go it feels reasonably small and manageable.  We can understand why so many people come here to live.  I had the Monte Christa Kouign Amann, a sweet pastry with fruit and almond custard filling, and then an extra filling, (the Monte Christa part) ham and Swiss cheese.

Sandy met Bev up at the condominium association’s amenity center where she played her first ever match of pickle ball.  I believe that Sandy and I are the only baby boomers in the United States that had not played pickle ball.  Now it is just me.

But, today is another College Football Saturday.  More important than most, because today The Ohio State University plays the University of Wisconsin.  This is the one game of the year in which Sandy and I are not supporting the same team.  As with all football Saturdays we try to have a meal/snack that is in someway representative of the cuisine of the region that Ohio State’s opponent is coming from.  With Wisconsin, the food choice is easy, beer, cheese and brats, there you have it, Wisconsin on a plate!  We invited Jim and Bev over to partake with us (note we invited them over to their own house).  We enjoyed (some of us) Ohio State’s resounding victory over the Badgers.

October 27, 2023; Tucson

 After some very good pastries at a French Café we headed down to Tucson to see some of the sites of the city.  Tucson is so named as a derivation of a name associated with the Native Americans that occupied the area when the first European Explorers (Spaniards) arrived. Those people, the Tohono O’odham (Desert People) had a village and irrigated fields at Bac, about 7 miles upstream from their village of Stjucson (or Schook-shon), meaning “At The Foot of Black Hill or Mountain.  From there the pronunciation evolved through the Spanish and then English inhabitants of the valley to the current Tucson (Two-saw-n).

Tucson’s first European settlement was the establishment of a presidio, in 1775, one year before the United States' declaration of independence.  The fort was established by an Irishman, serving in the Spanish army, with the purpose of protecting his soldiers and the Apache clans that he had allied with against other powerful Apache clans.  These Apache wars continued for 111 years until Geronimo surrendered to the U.S troops.  He was the last Native American to formally surrender. 

The courthouse included a very nice historical museum.  Another treat was that one of the courtrooms has been restored to the way it was when the Dillinger Gang was captured at the Congress Hotel here in Tucson. Then they were arraigned in this restored courtroom.  There was a fun and informative audio presentation that recounted that little piece of fame for Tucson. 

part of original adobe wall of presidio

part of original wall of presidio

Behind the courthouse is a beautiful sculpture park.  It is part of their January 8th memorial honoring U.S. Representative Gabriel (Gabby) Giffords who was shot right outside of the courthouse.  Two interesting statues in the park, the “Leather Jacket Soldier” depicting a Spanish Soldier who would have first occupied the presidio.  A second sculpture commemorates the“Mormon Battalion” that passed through Tucson during the Mexican war on their way to California.  Good news!  The Iowan “Mormons” and the Spanish “Roman Catholics” got along well for the few days they were here.

Spanish Soldier

Mormon Batalion

Sandy and I then walked over to the Cathedral of St. Augustine.  This church is the seat of the Diocese of Tucson which is the fifth largest diocese in North America.  The church reflects a very large version of the typical southwestern mission churches that are found so often from Texas to Southern California.

At this point we were done with history and ready for refreshments.  We made our way to Telles Block, and area of Sonoran row houses that are now a collection of artisan shops that form an inner courtyard.  In that courtyard is a restaurant and, more importantly, a fine bar.  Sandy enjoyed another of her margaritas (this was her favorite since arriving in Arizona and I had a version of a whisky sour using some desert fruits to sour the drink.

Driving back to the Condo the scenery was beautiful.  Tall mountains surrounding a table flat valley.  

We finished the evening by plugging in the car and meeting up again with Bev and Jim, we enjoyed a good meal prepared by our hosts and lots of pleasant conversation late into the night.

 

 

October 26, 2023; Sonoran Desert, Saguaro National Park, O-H-I-O

 After a cup of coffee and some toast we met up with Jim and Bev and headed to Saguaro National Park.  Jim pointed out to us that we were driving towards and into the Tucson Mountains.  The drive was spectacular.  After crossing the first range we came across a large basin peppered with green saguaros and other cacti.  The mountains surrounding the basin were angular and severe.  The basin itself (this is where the visitor center is situated) is around 2,000 feet above sea level, but some of the surrounding mountains are in excess of 8,000 feet.  

We first went to the visitor center which had two remarkable features.  One was the building itself - it blended so perfectly into the landscape of this portion of the park.  It truly was beautiful architecture.  Second was the filmed presentation presented by the National Park Service.  The film itself was thought provoking (it primarily addressed the spirituality between the indigenous culture and the land) but the presentation's “home run” was that at the end of the film the curtains slowly pulled open and the screen rolled up into the ceiling and there before us was a ceiling to floor and wall to wall window, exposing the desert.  Very dramatic!

We walked a short path around the visitor center that weaved between the park's namesake cacti.  The park also has a significant petroglyph site.  We drove to within several hundred feet of them and then hiked the rest of the way.  I am always so moved when I see the handiwork of ancient man.  It is hard not to imagine the man crouched over the rock, chipping the patina off the rock, leaving his design on display.  Who knows what the significance of these designs were, but what IS certain, is that 2,000 years later we are still looking at his work and thinking about the man who did it and the life he was trying to live.

Hot and tired we drove back into Tucson and enjoyed a meal at a restaurant recommended by Bev’s fellow Sabino Canyon volunteers.

And, as any Ohio State Alum would do:

O

H

I

O

October 25, 2023; Sonoran Desert, Sabino Canyon

Sandy and I were up pretty early Sonoran Time, 6:00 AM; 9:00 Ohio time.  I think our bodies are somewhere in between today.  We drove down to Mona’s Danish Pastry Shop.  It was very Danish and very good.  I had a danish, of course, and Sandy a very artistic tart.  One of the things I love about cooking and eating is that it is the only creative outlet that I can think of that appeals to all of the human senses; sight, taste, smell, touch (mouth feel) and sound (the sizzle).  This little pastry shop, run by a family, still speaking with a strong Danish accent, was the perfect example of food as an art. 

We drove back to our digs and walked over to Bev and Jim’s new condominium.  Bev works as a volunteer naturist at the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area where she teaches the children of Tucson about the plants, animals and geology of the desert.  She is also developing an educational guided hike of the Sabino Canyon in which the hikers will learn more extensively about the king of Sonoran Cacti, the majestic saguaro. She was a volunteer today, so Jim drove us over to the recreation area, then the three of us hiked out to where Bev was teaching.  Along the way Jim demonstrated that he, too, knew a great deal about the desert. It was truly a learning experience for us to have him as our personal guide telling us about so much that we were seeing.  I my opinion, there are certainly prettier areas of the world.  There is no getting around the predominant brown colors that make up the scenery and the dry, barren ground seems harsh and unforgiving.  But, this said, there is something about the struggle of the plants and animals to find a way to survive in this environment that I found appealing.  And when looking at the big picture,  the dry soil with the cacti and scrub plants against a back drop of the Catalina Mountains, it is, indeed, a remarkable sight.

After Bev finished teaching her little urchins, we hiked back to the Sabino Canyon visitor center. Along the way, Bev and Jim pointed out many more secrets of the desert and made sure we had a chance to view a remarkable looking "Cristate Saguaro".

Following the hike, we headed off to a local watering hole where we enjoyed some adult beverages and a filling meal.  Late in the evening we found ourselves over at Bev and Jim’s getting caught up on one another’s lives and sharing remembrances of college days.