Permanent floral bouquet ~

These cheerful metal flowers and colorful snake climb one of the interior courtyard walls at Tucson Medical Center and provide a permanent floral bouquet for patients and visitors. www.tmcaz.org

Metal landmark ~

This stately metal saguaro sculpture welcomes patients and visitors to Tucson Medical Center's Emergency Room entrance. The health and wellness campus is currently undergoing massive renovation and improvement. www.tmcaz.com

Not your typical hospital ~

I accompanied a friend to Tucson Medical Center over the weekend and I got to see firsthand some of the changes that are in the works. Their remodeling and expansion job is massive. Here's a view of one of the entrances on the Grant Rd side of the building ~ welcoming and cheerful, yes? http://www.tmcaz.com/

The ultimate lazy Sunday ~

The Desert Museum's bobcat is definitely enjoying a nap on a nice cool rock ledge. If you want to learn more about these beautiful cats and hear bobcat sounds, click here.

Grown up tree house ~ scroll down!

I think this rustic viewing platform at the Desert Museum is just fantastic ~ you can see all the way to California (well, OK, that's exaggerating!). I wound my way down below it to give you the ground level view of the structure - so interesting, don't you think? www.desertmuseum.org

A wee bird ~

Here is the beautiful Elf Owl in residence at the Desert Museum. This is the region's smallest owl ~ just 5 inches high. One fun fact is that they play dead when they are threatened. To learn more about this interesting bird, click here.

Saguaro skeleton ~

This is a great view of the mighty ribs that support a saguaro cactus. When the dried out cactus is left standing like this it can still serve as a wildlife habitat for birds. The ribs can also be harvested for furniture and decorative household items. The Sonoran Desert is the only place on earth that these magnificent plants grow as a native species. http://www.desertmuseum.org/

Also big ~ but little

As a contrast to yesterday's post of the big, big bear here is a big, big prairie dog! I thought this chubby little fellow kind of looks like a Weeble! For a recent news story about the baby prairie dogs, click here.
www.desertmuseum.org

A big, big girl ~

When I saw this black bear I thought to myself, "Now that's a BIG bear!" and then I learned from the newspaper archives that, yes, she is considered by the experts to be a big bear - 350 pounds. To read about this popular Desert Museum resident, click here. If you would like to watch a few seconds of her eating lettuce, click here. http://www.desertmuseum.org/

Is it really Monday already?

Maybe even bighorn sheep have a bad day now and then...

The Desert Museum is home to 3 Bighorn Sheep. Watch this 30-second video from the museum to see the 3 sheep in their habitat.
www.desertmuseum.org

Beauty around every corner ~

Getting a chance to visit the Desert Museum is always a treat and after attending a meeting there I was very happy to get to stroll the grounds and unwind. Not only is the Museum a world-class animal habitat and educational destination, it is also simply beautiful. At every turn the staff has positioned something interesting or beautiful (or both) for visitors to enjoy.
www.desertmuseum.org

When Arizona was just a Territory ~

The charming Cushing Street Bar & Restaurant is housed in a series of adobe buildings that date from the 1860's. This Barrio restaurant has a lot of character. Lovely patio, good food.... if you haven't been there, do check it out. For more info on this Tucson gem, click here.

Green garden ~ no green thumb required

Yes, we can all give up the necessity to water our gardens if we planted these metal aloe & prickly pears! And they would look great all year round ~

Tucson's public maze/labryinth ~

Udall Park is definitely a Tucson treasure! The park has a long list of health and fitness amenities (pool, tennis, track) as well as an outdoor amphitheatre, and picnic areas galore. A dog park, too! This powerful Mark Rossi sculpture, "Tohono O'odham Woman" stands within a spiritual maze/labrinyth at the entrance to the park's main building. For more information on this sculpture, click here. http://udallpark.com/

Tucson's big boot ~

This 17' tall boot was formerly the landmark sculpture that denoted a famous old Tucson restaurant, The Tack Room. It began as the restaurant for a dude ranch and eventually was recognized as Tucson's first five-star restaurant. Sadly for resident gourmets and tourists alike, The Tack Room closed in 2003. The property is now a gated residential community.

One of Tucson's treasures ~

Definitely one of the most beautiful parks in the area, Sabino Canyon offers hiking trails (and you can bring your dog - on leash), spectacular waterfalls, and even a tram if you don't want to walk up to the top.
http://www.sabinocanyon.com/

Make that an Extra Large coffee to go ~

Happy day for all you donut lovers out there! A new Dunkin' Donuts has opened at Broadway and Harrison. And they open at 4:00 a.m. every day!

Tucson's old & new ~ side by side

This photo captures the wonderful new and old contrasts in Tucson's downtown. On the right is the new Unisource Energy/TEP building that is making news for all of the green technology that the design has incorporated. The twin towers adjacent to it are St Augustine's Cathedral which dates from the late 1800's.

Pink & fanciful ~ quite a place!

This is absolutely one of the most joyful buildings in Tucson. It is the YWCA Frances McClelland Leadership Center. The building maintains a playful spirit and the color - well you just have to see it to believe how it glows. They have so many important and life-changing programs here ~ they truly make a difference.
www.ywcatucson.org

Saguaro street light ~

Here's the companion light to yesterday's sun lamp. Every block of Tucson's historic Barrio district reveals some wonderful element of style and imagination. Isn't the metalwork on this gate fantastic?

Tucson's fun sun lamp ~

Whenever I walk around in Tucson's historic Barrio district I always find delightful surprises. Here is a metal sun lamp (or maybe it's a big sunflower lightpost) and fantastic metalwork gate that features desert flora. Fun! For more Barrio images click on the Barrio link below the posting.

Fierce Chinese lion ~ miniature size

After I walked around the City of Tucson Resource Campus and admired the huge human head sculpture and the abstract animal head sculpture (see previous 2 posts), I spotted this little seafoam green lion nestled in the grass. Very weird! Someone's personal shrine? Seems very odd to have this small piece tucked away in the weeds. Dunno.

Goat head? What do you think?

Adjacent to the huge sculpture head that was posted yesterday, here is a powerful, abstract animal skull ~ also decorating the courtyard of the City of Tucson Resource Campus on Commerce Loop (just off of Bonita west of I-10). I didn't see any artist attribution on either piece and I reviewed all of TucsonPimaArtsCouncil's photos of outdoor sculpture and still am empty handed. Anyone work out there and can provide more info?

Tucson's exotic head (large brain) ~

FIRST THING: My apologies for no posting on Sunday. It is the first time in 3 years that I missed a day. My cable connection was knocked out and I had no Internet from Friday through Sunday. COX repair came on Sunday & will come again on Monday to finish and hopefully I will have a secure connection again up and running. Thanks for your patience!

This HUGE sculpture head is one of the public art pieces in the courtyard of the City of Tucson Resource Campus - just west of I-10 off of Bonita. ASU's school of social work is there as well as many City of Tucson offices and other community resources. I'm trying to find out about the sculpture but haven't turned up much yet. Anyone know more? Thanks ~
http://ssw.asu.edu/tucson/history

Old & new ~ startling contrast

Here's an interesting contrast of the mighty saguaro. On the left is a live, healthy specimen in Saguaro National Park. Just a few feet away is a leaning, dessicated "skeleton" of a dead saguaro. The ribs from these dried up plants are used for furniture, among other things.

A Tucson landmark restaurant ~

Since 1939 El Minuto has been serving up Sonoran-style Mexican food at its Main Avenue location ~ in the Barrio district and a stone's throw from the Convention Center.
http://www.elminutocafe.com/

Los Tucsonenses ~

This powerful bronze sculpture of a Mexican mother and child stands on ground that was razed to build, among other things, the Tucson Convention Center. Plaques surrounding the sculpture quote former residents of the (now, lost) Barrio and record their sadness. "Los Tucsonenses" - the Mexicans living in the Barrio - were displaced and this sculpture is intended to honor them. It is entitled, "Fighting sprawl and City Hall."

View from the ground ~

Here's the view of "A" Mountain that is more familiar to most of us ~ from downtown. This was taken looking west near the Tucson Convention Center.

Shall we dance?

These waltzing saguaros enjoy the view south from Sentinel Peak Park - otherwise known as "A" Mountain.

View at the top ~

At first glance you may not recognize this lava flow of red, white, and blue rock ~ it's the "A" on "A" Mountain! You can drive up to Sentinel Peak Park and get a pretty awesome view of the city and stand at the bottom of the big "A".