Cindy

Will be in Tucson for a week in July,looking for day
trip locations and info on possible Mexico visit.
Any suggestions and advise on preparation will be
apprieciated.Traveling with an 8 year old.So far
looking into the biosphere,old Tucson,Sabino canyon,
St. Xavia Mission,Bisbee,Nogales.Looking for sights,
some hiking,crafts,good place to view the sunset,and
some mexican food.Is a day trip to the grand canyon
too much?,if so any suggestions on overnite accomodations.Also where is a good location to cross
into Mexico and what do we need to have? Thanks

Dayle

Can recommend Old Tucson, but would not recommend going across the border just to cross the border. Most border towns are not very nice.

Helayne

Was in Tucson a few weeks ago. It'll be very hot in July! We went to the Desert Museum very early in the am. Your 8 year old will enjoy seeing the animals. But try to finish before 10 am or else it's too hot to walk around and enjoy it. Sabino Canyon was wonderful. There are watering holes to cool off. You can hike or take the shuttle (again depending on the heat). Otherwise, I don't know if Old Tucson will interest an 8 year old. Go up to Sedona and spend one night, it's a 3 hr. drive from Tucson. I think the Grand Canyon (another 1 hr or 1 1/2 hr. drive from Sedona) is too long for one day and you wouldn't do it justice. We went to Nogales for a few hours to shop and experience Mexico. It's crowded and narrow sidewalks. Wouldn't spend more time there. The Mission you can visit on the way south. Have fun!

J Stewart

The Arizona Inn on Campbell Ave. is nice

Polly

Be sure to drive through the Saguaro National Forest...covered with "Charlie Brown" cacti...we visited the Western portion and enjoyed the drive and our stop at the visitor's center. If you are into Ansel Adams photography, be aware that the university there (sorry Arizona folk...can't remember whether it's Arizona State or U of Arizona) has a center with a wonderful cache of his original works. Call ahead and see what days they are available as they have limited viewing hours in the summer. You might consider a daytrip to Toombstone just east of Tucson...very easy drive and quite interesting if you are enjoy western heritage type activities. And take plenty of water!

Elysia Leake

It will be HOT. My best advice for dealing with it is of course, do indoor, air conditioned things during the hottest part of the day, bring lots of water, and get a couple of medium sized spray bottles to spritz yourselves with. This kept us cool while driving in the heat one August down there! Tucson is a great place to visit. We went there in April and wished we had more time. Sabino Canyon is highly recommended. Our kids, ages 4 and 7 enjoyed it alot too. Take the shuttle bus up and walk down as far as you wish. The scenery at the AZ Sonora Nat'l Monument is not to be missed, really spectacular. My kids enjoyed hiking around with us there. And the AZ Sonora Desert Museum is beautiful too. There are several great outdoor miniature golf courses that would probably be fun for your child, with pyramids, monkeys, fish, etc. We stopped at Old Tucson and also highly recommend it. The town is fun to see especially if you are a western movie fan, the gunfights and stunt shows were well done and entertaining for all of us, there are a few rides (train, old cars) that the kids enjoyed, the actors mingled with the tourists and were funny and friendly,and surprisingly the food was great and inexpensive, some of the best barbecue that we had on the trip! I don't usually go in for this kind of stuff myself and thought we would spend just a couple of hours, but Old Tucson was a very pleasant and worthwile way to spend a whole day. Once you get in, everything except food is free.
Another attraction that I wish we had had time to visit is Mt. Lemmon, a park I can't remember the name of North of Tucson that is known for it's birds and wildflowers (something Peak?), and Bisbee. Maybe next time . . .

Elysia

Oh, almost forgot -- the food. Try La Barrista (I think that was the name) it was fantastic. We went back several times.

gary

Tombstone hasn't changed much from the OK corral days. Why they don't ever film westerns here is a mystery locals wonder about. Not many tourists either. A good side trip if you are interested in this aspect of the West.

sally burke

My husband and I went to Tucson last April and loved it. It was hot then, summer will be extremely hot. Buy a cheap styrofoam cooler immediately and throw it away on your last day there! You will need lots of Gatoraid and water to keep you going. Your 8 yr old might love the airplane graveyards at the air force base there. It is really something to see. My favorite thing to do in the area was to see Tombstone. The "old Tombstone" is just as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday left it. We had a lot of fun there - even walking around Boot Hill was a kick after hearing about it for many years. Western shops were fun and the saloons were quite campy for quick refreshments. A number of restaurants were very good as well. Don't forget to go the the newspaper office - it is great!

I was dying to do some shopping for some bargains in Mexico but I will never go to Nogales again! It was awful a real rip off and a little scary - no place for a young child in my opinion. The mission is wonderful and also stop in the town of Tubac for some ice cream and fun "artsy" southwestern shops.

The Chiricahua national monument area was great with great walking trails and unusual rock formations. It was forested and much cooler than most areas there. A nice respite. This is also the area of Cochise's last stand. It is very interesting too.

We loved the area so much we are planning to work real hard for 5 more years then winter in Tucson and summer in New England where our family & friends are.

I don't recommend trying to do Sedona and the Grand Canyon area unless you have a couple of weeks. Phoenix and south are the desert part of the state and north of Phoenix, Sedona/Flagstaff and beyond are red rocks and forests with the canyon topping it all off. It is too big a state to try to cover quickly. We based ourselves in Sedona a few years ago and enjoyed all there is to enjoy there as well. That's a whole new e-mail. I think an 8 yr old would enjoy the desert area better - save northern Ariz. for a few years from now!