Visiting Tucson

As many of you know, I went to graduate school at the University of Arizona and spent 7 wonderful years living in Tucson! I encourage you to spend a few extra days in the Southwest if you can; Arizona is a magnificent place to visit! - Stacey

http://www.tucsonattractions.com/.

http://www.visittucson.org/

http://www.tucsonaz.gov/visitor.html

Here are some of my recommendations:

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (http://www.desertmuseum.org/) is a wonderful zoo and museum, and the drive there through the desert is really spectacular!
Mount Lemmon is another nice location- you can drive to the top and feel the temperature drop 20 degrees (Farenheit, of course!). There are a lot of nice places to stop and walk around, and you should not miss the pie at the Mt. Lemmon Cafe, which is near the ski area- it looks like a Swiss Chalet and the pie is fantastic (http://wc.arizona.edu/papers/92/154/01_2_m.html). Ride the ski lift even higher for a fantastic view of the mountain.
If you are into the Old West movies, Old Tucson studios (http://www.oldtucson.com/) is where many of these movies were filmed! You can see a real cowboy shootout and have a drink in the saloon.
Sabino Canyon- another beautiful place to walk around and see the desert landscape (http://www.sabinocanyon.com).
San Xavier del Bac Mission (http://www.sanxaviermission.org/) is a beautiful Jesuit mission from the 1700's with amazing architecture and ornate decoration.
If you are into planes, the Pima Air Museum is a great choice (http://www.pimaair.org/) there is an interesting "plane graveyard" with all kinds of old planes and parts to poke around.
Get out of the heat and take a one-hour guided tour of Colossal Cave (http://www.colossalcave.com/). You will learn about the Cave's history, legends, and geology, and see beautiful cave formations.
Get more Old West experience in Tombstone Arizona, "The Town Too Tough to Die" (http://www.cityoftombstone.com/). You can visit the O.K. Corral (http://www.ok-corral.com), the scene of some famous gunfights!
Fourth Avenue (http://www.fourthavenue.org/) is a historic shopping district with more than 100 shops and restaurants.

If you have some time before or after the conference,

The Grand Canyon (http://www.nps.gov/grca/) is about a 5 hour drive, but definitely worth seeing if you've never been there. It is truly awe inspiring! Prepare for much colder weather there up North!
Sedona (http://www.visitsedona.com/) is about 3-1/2 hours from Tucson but worth the trip for the serenity and the breathtaking scenery.

Other recommendations, courtesy of the Westward Look

Kartchner Caverns (http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/kartchner.html)
Kitt Peak National Observatory (http://www.noao.edu/kpno/)
Tohono Chul Park (http://www.tohonochulpark.org/)
Titan Missile Mus eum (http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/)
Arizona Historical Society (http://www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/)
Flandrau Planetarium (http://www.flandrau.org/)
Tucson Childrens Museum (http://www.tucsonchildrensmuseum.org/)
Tucson Museum of Art (http://www.tucsonarts.com/)
Arizona State Museum (http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/)
Reid Park Zoo (http://www.tucsonzoo.org/)
Center for Creative Photography (http://dizzy.library.arizona.edu/branches/ccp/ccphome.html)
International Wildlife Museum (http://www.dotucson.com/doin.asp?qry=408)
DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun (http://degrazia.org/)
Fort Lowell Museum (http://www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/)
Saguaro National Park (http://www.nps.gov/sagu/)
Biosphere 2 (http://www.b2science.org/)
Tucson Botanical Gardens (http://www.tucsonbotanical.org/)
Catalina State Park (http://www.azstateparks.com/Parks/parkhtml/catalina.html)
Picacho Peak (http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/picacho.html)
Tucson Downtown Alliance (http://www.downtowntucson.org/). Downtown Tucson offers an exciting mix of shopping, galleries, and dining

A very nice Tucson restaurant list with reviews, prices, and descriptions can be found at http://ursa.as.arizona.edu/~rad/restaurants.html, courtesy of a University of Arizona professor.