Arizona – Pure, Natural and Wonderful

My on-location radio Travel Shows in Southern Arizona are proving to be a stunning experience: gorgeous desert scenery and mountain landscapes combine with Western history, culture and some of the most characterful and friendly folk you are ever likely to meet!

Emblematic of the Sonoran Desert in which much of Cochise County and Tucson is situated, is the saguaro cactus as pictured here, which can grow to a height of over forty feet.

Arizona – Mountains and Hiking Everywhere!

The Santa Catalina Mountains frame Tucson’s northern boundary and are very accessible from the city. The first image is a view of these mountains from my hotel.

I hiked the Ventana Canyon Trail (2nd image) into the Santa Catalina Mountains at dawn yesterday: a beautiful hike through cactus-studded mountains and dry riverbeds to a breathtaking view over Tucson.

Another dawn hike at nearly 7,000 feet in the Chiricahua Mountains, where a forest of rock spires has been eroded from layers of ash deposited 27 million years ago in a cataclysmic explosion many times greater than Mount St Helens to form what is now the Chiricahua National Monument (3rd image)

Arizona – Flowers in the Desert

As I have been hiking through the desert scenery over the last few days I have been constantly amazed at the profusion of colourful flowers that dot even the most inhospitable of the Southern Arizona desert landscapes. Here are two images of these bright gems of the desert…

Arizona – Animals of the Desert

And it’s not just the desert flora that’s a wonder to behold: the animal life of the Sonoran Desert is magnificent too and the best place to get a sense of this is at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Saguaro National Park 20km west of Tucson. These images of a bobcat and bighorn sheep show the splendid natural setting of this must-see attraction.

Arizona – Very Wild, Very Western!

In 1881 the gunfight at the OK Corral took place in Tombstone Arizona and the lawless spirit of the Wild West has been celebrated I Southern Arizona ever since. In Tombstone itself (1st image) I was “lynched” by a vigilante gang of suitably attired locals and narrowly escaped a visit to Boot Hill Cemetery! Jay Gammons, one of my interviews for the radio show, has built a Western movie set at Gammons Gulch (2nd image) with over 7,500 artifacts of the West. And I met Bud Strom, Cowboy poet and another interviewee for my show, on his Single Star Ranch on the Mexican border.

Arizona – Accommodation Choices

One of the great discoveries I am making on this trip is the range of accommodations available to visitors to this part of the state. Here are some pictures of where I have enjoyed Arizonan hospitality so far on this trip.

Firstly, a casita at the Triangle T Guest Ranch in Dragoon (http://www.triangletguestranch.com/) where I enjoyed a succulent steak at their Mesquite Grill Restaurant. Secondly, the appropriately named Marie’s Engaging Bed & Breakfast in Tombstone (http://www.mariesb&b.com/) where the owner Terry Sullivan even dresses the part. And in Tucson, the overwhelming and award-winning luxurious Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa (http://www.westinlapalomaresort.com/) with its own golf course, spa, tennis, kids club, waterslides, gardens…and one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in!

Arizona – Thank You’s

My trip to this must-see part of Arizona was professionally arranged by three wonderfully warm representatives of Cochise County and Tucson CVB who have accompanied me on my travels in Southern Arizona and to whom I offer my sincere thanks. Here they are, from top to bottom: Luanne Mattson (on left), Jessica Fish and Kimberly Schmitz, who also was my guest on the radio shows.