Tucson, AZ

When I heard that the 20th Annual Waila Festival advertised on our local community radio station, 91.3 FM KXCI, I made a mental note to attend this year. I recalled fond memories when I attended years ago of Tohono O’odham music, food, and dance, so understandably, I was eager to relive the experience. This year, I decided to head out early and to drag my parents along. The festival was held at the Bear Down Field, just south of the University of Arizona Main library. Normally, I avoid navigating the parking garages or meters at the University because it can be such a hassle. This day, however, the parking garage adjacent to the field was free, as was the festival

A spectacular spring is melting into the bake-oven heat we Tucsonans deal with come every June and July. Within the last few years our coping options have expanded with the completion of the Brandi Fenton Memorial Park at the new conjunction of River and Alvernon Roads in the north central foothills.

Recently, my friend Marybeth was in town from Flagstaff and we attended a book reading by Stella Pope Duarte at Antigone Books on 4th Avenue. I was excited to hear this author speak after having heard her keynote address at the Cesar Chavez Conference in Phoenix in March. Since seating has been limited at the Antigone book readings I have attended in the past, I made a point of showing up a half-hour before the 7:00 p.m. reading. I parked in the big lot located at 7th Street and 5th Ave, as the parking lot directly adjacent to the purple-painted bookstore is cramped, usually packed, and really only suitable for compact cars. The reading was free and seating was set up towards the back of the bookstore.

One of the attractions of the Southwest in general and Tucson in particular is both the quantity and quality of the public art. It is difficult to travel around our city without being exposed to various works of art which are as much a part of the fabric of our community as are the streets, buses and even I-10.

The Saguaro National Monument is really one park divided into two distinct districts. The Rincon Mountain District, southeast of Tucson and the Tucson Mountain District on the northwest side of the city are about 30 miles apart. The Saguaro is the largest and slowest growing cacti in the U.S. and some of them I saw in the park were well over 30 feet tall.

One of the cool things about moving into a new house is that you have a great excuse to shop for new furniture, art and other stuff you just simply like. A neighbor suggested I go to Tucson’s Lost Barrio area. Glancing at my Miata, she also suggested I borrow her husband’s pickup truck. “You can’t tell what you will find that you can’t live without, or get home.” she said.

So off to Tucson in my borrowed F-150 pickup in search of the “Lost

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