Emily and Linda’s Travel Blog

Today is a travel day so not much time for blogging.  I want to come back and do a post on our trip to the Sonora Desert Museum which was fabulous and worth some time.  But today’s big headline was this 

The snow started last night

Sorry again for the earlier blank post.  I usually blog first thing in the morning and I seem to be unable to recall that hitting enter in the title line, sends the post.  

Anyway, We started our Sunday split up in two groups.  Julie, Chris, and Marg went off to the Tucson Museum of Art while LInda and I went to check out the Museum of Contemporary Art.  The group that went to the first museum reported that it had a small, but good permanent collection including some Cassat paintings, a Rodin sculpture and a few other impressionists as well as a collection of indigenous art.  

At the MOCA, Linda and I spent most of our time at the Cecilia Vicuña exhibit: Sonoran Quipu.  Described as “a map, a diagram, a braid, a knot world - composed of plant and industrial materials that are held together by relationships.  The artwork is made from offerings collected by individuals and organizations across Tucson, gathered over six months from kitchens, gutters, artists’ studios, gardens and streets.  The invitation was to bring fragments that held beauty or significance, but were not necessarily useful, having been shed by a plant, broken by a child, or left in an alley.  These scraps were alchemized by the artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña who transformed the museum into a living studio to realize the installation with help from a small and powerful team of makers.”

A quipu is a is an ancient Andean communications technology that uses knots to record information.  It was banned by the Spanish colonizers.  Vicuña also refers to “precarios” (installations - but also in Spanish it means precarious) and “basuritas” (little bits of trash) to describe her sculptures hanging from and engaging with quipus.  

Linda and I were very moved by it and by her videos which include her singing of songs in an indigenous language - unclear to me whether her own Andean language or one of Sonoran origin.   One device in particular struck me - the use of her basuritas on a beach that are then overtaken by the tide, leaving bits of the original sculpture surrounded by a foamy, but gentle wave swirling around them and creating shifting patterns.

It’s a challenging installation to photograph because of the garage-like gallery it’s hung in with a dark grid wall on one side and a very bright wall of windows on the other.  But here are a few items to give you an idea:

This one was hard to capture, but I tried with a brief video.  The two pink anchors are halves of a child’s pail.  The plant laid across them is shedding pieces on the floor - disappearing slowly as we view it. 

Next item on our agenda was to meet up at the pottery studio again and glaze our now fired pots:

Hopefully they’ll have their second firing before Marg and Chris leave Tucson.  Our creations were clearly those of beginners, but we did learn a lot about the process and have a new insight into how one has to let go of expectation in making pottery because, as several of the potters reminded us, you never know for sure what will happen in the next step.  

After glazing, we hopped on the tram and grabbed a quick lunch on 4th Avenue, an area with lots of restaurants (though Tucson is a UNESCO designated “City of Gastronomy” so restaurants are actually everywhere),  Then back on the tram to our final destination for the day - the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium for a show about the Planets.  It’s a beautiful planetarium with reclining seats so you can see the “sky” projected above you.  Obviously pretty dark in there so no photos, but afterwards Chris tried out the “Human Sundial” - it worked!

We also got to witness one of the delivery robots from the Student Union dropping off one of the planetarium staff member’s lunch and heading off on its next mission:

Friday I had some work to do grading assignments and I was the designated chef for dinner with Maxine and Carol that evening so Chris, Margaret, Julie, and Linda went off to the Tucson Rodeo.  I tried to interview them about the experience, but, while they all agreed they were glad they went, they didn’t have a lot to say about it.  They sat in the  bleachers section so it was very hot in the sun (even though the temperature that day was in the low 60s).  They commented that it was one of the more diverse crowds they’d seen in Tucson so far which surprised them.  The contradiction between admiration for the athleticism of the cowboys and cowgirls and the suffering of the animals was hard for them to reconcile.  They were glad to have gone, but also ready to leave after a couple of hours.  

They did come back with some pictures:

Friday night was dinner for 7 when Max and Carol joined us.  Carol told some fascinating stories of her recent work as a poll-watcher in Ukraine and Bosnia.  Of the poll-watching in Ukraine, during the election of President Zelensky, she said that a number of people thanked her for being there because they believed that their presence alone was a deterrent to election fraud.  

She and Max had been out to the Tohono O’odham reservation that day and had reflections to share about that day too.  Tohono O’odham means people of the desert. Their reservation is about the size of Connecticut, including land in 3 counties in AZ and extending into the Mexican state of Sonora.   Carol also spoke about issues the Mexican tribal members have in trying to stay connected with a huge wall between them now.  The fact that it has historically been a relatively easy place to cross the border also means that they are subject to a Border Patrol presence and surveillance that is not welcome.  There remains a lot of poverty on the reservation though the tribal leaders are trying to improve conditions using money from the casino on their land to create a health center, a community college, and several recreation centers, all of which provide jobs as well as supportive services.  

Saturday was a laid back day.  Julie, Chris, and I went off to check out the local YMCA pool and gym - lovely facility and only 3 minutes away.  The charge for a day pass was only $10 (in contrast to the usual $20-30 back home) and for the pool use only $3.  

That night we tried again to see the Milky Way.  Our local sources thought that perhaps it would be dark enough in the Western Saguaro National Park.  It was indeed dark and the stars were lovely, but the moon was also by then a waxing crescent.  We could perhaps imagine that we saw a suggestion of the Milky Way flowing from Orion, but we couldn’t be sure.  We did see a bit more of the Orion nebula though which is rarely visible from our usual spots at home and Jupiter and Venus were very clear.  

Thursday we met up with our friend Maxine and her college roommate Carol, who lives in Tucson.  Carol had suggested that we meet for brunch at Tohono Chul (the name means desert corner) and then explore the grounds and galleries there.   The site was formerly the home of Richard and Jean Wilson.  They deeded it to a non-profit foundation in order to “keep something natural in the middle of all the (surrounding) development so that people could come easily for a few hours and get out of the traffic and learn something at the same time” 

We had a really tasty and interesting brunch in the bistrot located in the former Wilson home.  I’m sorry I didn’t take any pictures of the food or the space, which was lovely with indoor, courtyard, and verandah seating.  Again we were too wrapped up in conversation for pictures.  

After brunch, we strolled around the grounds which feature many of the local plants and cacti as well as sculpture and other installations. 

Carol, on the left in the picture below, generously guided us along, explaining the history, naming the plants and answering our questions.  The depth of her knowledge was impressive and much appreciated. 

Here’s a panoramic view of one section of the walk

There is also an outdoor concert space and a couple of small art galleries back by the main house. Here are a few pieces that caught my fancy:

[In order: 1)Tumbleweed, Sandario Road, Tucon by Kate Breakey 2&3) Shrines to Botanical Relics #10 and #23 by Barbara Rogers 3) Tumbleweed, Avra Road, Tucson by Breakey

Wednesday Chris’ sister Julie joined us after making it safely through the crazy windy and rainy weather (Arizona got snow on the mountains, but only rain and high winds here in the valley).. She was game for a bit of adventure so we went over to the Saguaro National Park which is very close to where we’re staying.  It’s a magical place with miles of the majestic saguaros and other cacti and desert plants.  

These giants can live to be 150 years old and don’t sprout their first side arms at about 75-100 years old.  They have a small taproot, but t sends out roots in every direction absorbing what water is available.  The cactus itself can expand and store the water and then contract as it’s used.  We didn’t see any of the birds who make their homes inside the Saguaros, but here’s a picture of one I cribbed from the National Geographic:

And some pictures of our walk around the area near the Visitor Center

Monday we had a day of “going about our business” separately.  I had some teaching obligations, Linda, Chris, and Margaret went off on a hike in the Saguaro National Park - marked as “Easy”, but the consensus was that it was actually more challenging than advertised.  

That evening Linda and I had dinner with our old friend Jill who’s been living in Tucson for some years Sadly, We were so involved in conversation that I forgot to take pictures so there’s not much to show.  We ate at a place called Seis Kitchen that served really good Mexican food and had Tequila and Margarita flights.  

Tuesday, we had a special morning, gifted to Margaret for her birthday (by our friend, Maxine) - a class at the Romero House Potters in the Presidio Historic District of Tucson.  We were very much beginners, but welcomed by the lovely teachers, members of the staff and other potters. Our teacher, Janet, talked us through the process of making “pinch pots”, slab pottery, and coil pots.  

Margaret even took a turn at throwing a pot on the wheel (they told us it was probably too advanced for a first lesson, but she was courageous and tried anyway) 

The results were less than stellar, but we had a really good time.  Lots of fun and we really appreciated  the supportiveness and friendliness of the Romero House community of potters.  

Sunday’s main event was a concert at the nearby St. Mark’s Church.  We had noticed in passing that the Univ. of Arizona Choir was going to be performing there and the program looked interesting so we decided to check it out.  

Described as “a compelling program on themes of war and peace,” it included pop music, a selection from Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, American Civil War Songs, Spirituals, and some music written by the doctoral students at UA.  Intertwined with the music was personal testimony of war refugees from Afghanistan and Syria living in the Tucson area.   

I’m not sure what I expected, but I have rarely been so moved by a performance.  I cried through the whole performance (and I saw many wiping their eyes too).  

They began with this 1969 video by Edwin Starr 

As it played, the choir marched in while dancers did a sort of Kendo dance with sticks. The lyrics begin with “War, Huh, Good God y’all.  What is it good for? Absolutely nothing”

Next came an old Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam song - Peace Train 

This was followed by selections from Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.  I couldn’t find a recording of the UA choir doing it, but if you have a moment, click on the link below and go to minute 4:30 for the movement they sang.  You wont be sorry. I’ve rarely heard a more eloquent expression of the longing for Peace when war is mounting around us.  [The text is taken from the 23rd Psalm - “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures….” And Psalm 2 “Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing?…. The last bit is from Psalm 133 “ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together in unity!”  The soprano who sang the solo had a pure, true voice that was heartbreaking.  

 (minute 4:30)

I’m going to end with the text of the Afghani song they performed after an Afgahani woman told her story of facing war and escaping to the US.  According to the program, this is a song that all Afghanis know and that brings them to tears. 

Sarzamine Man (Dari lyrics by Dawood Sarkhosh)

And one last footnote - a link to a video I found while looking for something else.  It’s another recent rendition of Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ Peace Train 

Saturday we were planning an evening outing so we spent the early part of the day relaxing and enjoying the house and its views of the mountains and sky. 

After our visit to the Visitor Center and the Etherton, we hopped on the downtown Sunlink tram.  Tucson, like some other cities has made the tram free - keeping the number of cars down and allowing UA students free transport to and from the school.  We were happy to hop on and take it to Fourth Avenue, a district known for quirky shops, galleries and restaurants.  It reminded me of the East Village in the old days , but with a Western twist.  

Our goal was Boca Tacos, where Top Chef contestant Maria Mazon says she’s blending Sonoran and Arizonan cuisine.  The outside dining area was pleasant (helped by overhead heaters on a chilly day). 

The bathroom offers a crash course on essential Spanish vocabulary and cuisine:

Friday we headed into downtown Tucson and stopped at the Visitor Center there to get some info and meet the super helpful guide, Ann, that Chris and Marg had met earlier in the week.  She gave us some good tips, especially to check out the Etherton Photography Gallery which Linda really enjoyed .  For those of you who know Linda’s work, you’ll see why she was taken with Ellen McMahonn’s photos especially:

The Visitor Center is located in the Pima County Courthouse, built in 1868 

It’s famous as a the place where John Dillinger, “Public Enemy No. 1” was held after being arrested in Tucson.  You can also tour the courtroom where he and his gang were arraigned in 1834

Outside is a reminder of more recent history - a monument to the 6 people killed on January 8, 2011 during an attempt to assassinate Congresswoman Gabby Giffords at a local shopping mall. The monument with its sweeping lines and reflecting pools is a peaceful place, but reminds us of our persistent unwillingness to end gun violence. The video had some trouble loading to this site, but if you click on the link you should be able to see it.  

There’s also a smaller monument outside the Safeway where the shootings occurred: