This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account of a reader in our WeChat group, 懒人 33 的吃喝玩乐. Original link.

Trip to Tucson

For the long Veterans Day weekend, I booked a hotel in Tucson, AZ well in advance, mainly to use up this year’s Free Night. I had originally booked flights into Tucson, but later airfare to Phoenix dropped sharply. After checking Google Maps and seeing it was only about a two-hour drive, I changed the flights to Phoenix instead.

November in Arizona is a great time to visit: sunny, pleasant, and not too hot. Daytime highs were around 23–24°C, and evenings in the teens were also quite comfortable.

A few days before departure, I realized I still hadn’t rented a car. Lately my company’s rental car code hasn’t been nearly as good as before. It used to give huge discounts; now it barely helps. I booked it anyway.

The first day was basically all travel. The airport parking lot was absolutely packed on the morning of the long weekend, and we almost couldn’t find a spot. Delta’s lounge was already strictly enforcing the one-card-one-person policy, so we would have had to pay $39 for our kid to get in. We turned around and went to the farther-away The Club instead to grab a quick bite.

Some time ago, I used the address-change trick to get Delta status, and Delta upgraded the whole family to Comfort+, though unfortunately we weren’t seated together. We tried to switch seats after boarding but failed. My partner sat with our kid, and I sat alone by the window on the other side. Honestly, it felt worse than sitting in economy.

It was my first time in AZ, and I was struck by the endless open plains. I took a few photos from the plane.

At the Phoenix airport rental car center, we also had to take a shuttle. It took about 10 minutes to get from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4. This time, in the National Executive Area, we picked an Acura QX50 again. It was much newer than the one we picked in Hawaii last time; at least it had CarPlay.

We ordered takeout from Panda and tried a fake-China KFC-style meal. None of it was good. Avoid. After that, we hit the road for Tucson.

Before the trip, my partner asked what we were going to do there. I said, “Look at cacti,” and my partner thought I was joking. But no, we really were going to look at cacti.

The giant saguaro cactus is one of the symbols of the American West, and Tucson is home to and protects this enormous tree-like cactus. Saguaro National Park, also translated as Giant Cactus National Park, stretches from about 32 km east of Tucson to about 24 km west of the city, covering a total area of about 370 square kilometers. It has more than 25 different kinds of cacti, totaling over 1,000 plants, with the giant saguaro being the most numerous and densely distributed. The park is divided into two districts: the eastern Rincon Mountain District, which includes a scenic driving route called Cactus Forest Drive where you can see the most cacti in a short time, and the western Tucson Mountain District.

Qyer Travel Guide

By the time we got to Saguaro National Park, it was already after 4 pm. I don’t think we made it to the most popular area; we just drove around for a bit and got out to take photos with the saguaros. I’d seen saguaros before at Huntington Library, but not covering entire hillsides like this. Most of them were at least two or three people tall. It was still pretty stunning.

It was getting a little chilly by then, but still manageable without a jacket. Our kid was also fascinated by how tall the cacti were.

We passed by Old Tucson and found it closed, so we assumed we had missed the operating hours. Around dusk we arrived at Gates Pass Scenic Lookout, supposedly a prime sunset spot. The sunset turned the mountains a glowing red. It really was beautiful. We stayed until the sun had fully set, then headed to the hotel.

This time we booked the JW Marriott Tucson. A 50,000 Marriott Free Night certificate could be used here.

The hotel entrance was very grand, with a bit of that big-China-hotel feel to it.

The front desk was also great. After a bit of friendly chatting, they said the suites were gone but upgraded us to an Accessible room with a sofa bed. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any room photos this time. The downside was that the room faced the bar downstairs, and on the first night someone was singing there pretty late.

Even the bathroom amenities had a distinctive Southwestern style. Since it was an accessible room, the entry area was very large, and we could spread our suitcases out all over the floor.

On the way to the hotel, we noticed lots of cars street-parked. I casually asked the front desk why, and they said it was because the parking lot was pretty far away. Then, with a wave of the hand, they upgraded us to valet parking for free. Big plus. Valet was also very fast; the car was basically available right away whenever we needed it.

As usual, we did our disinfecting routine—spray, wipe, everything—then went downstairs for dinner. The hotel is a resort and fairly large, with several restaurants. We just sat down somewhere downstairs, only to realize it was a bar with mostly small plates. We ordered one cocktail and a few dishes, all of them huge portions. A corn tortilla dish, a taco, and a quesadilla—edible enough, but nothing special.

After dinner, we went back to the room, washed up, and went to bed, ambitiously planning to get up early the next morning to see more cacti.

The next morning, I snapped a few photos of the view outside the window. The hotel really was quite יפה—well, quite beautiful.

The Marriott Platinum breakfast benefit was continental, meaning only cold items and oatmeal, including smoked salmon. On the first day we grabbed a few hot items and ordered an omelet, and got charged $10. The omelet sauce had a bit of a kick and a Mexican flavor to it, which was pretty distinctive.

The night before, we did some last-minute research and figured that with our turtle pace and our kid’s limited stamina, doing just the west side of the national park for the day would be enough. We first went back to Old Tucson, and it was still closed. Since we couldn’t find the hours anywhere, my guess is that it operates seasonally. Tickets for dates after Thanksgiving were available on the official website.

We then continued on to the Arizona-Sonora Museum. This museum is great for families with kids: it combines an aquarium, zoo, playground, and botanical garden. Most of it is outdoors, and the whole route is about 2 miles. If you have the energy, there’s also an unpaved trail where you can see animals. There were also lots of educational exhibits throughout the park, and the staff were all very friendly to children.

Another plus is that the route is designed so you rarely have to backtrack. Everything is marked out in order on the map, which is very satisfying if you like organized layouts.

First stop: the aquarium.

There were also blooming cacti.

There was an exhibit table about cacti. Apparently, Saguaro grows very slowly during its first 10 years, and only starts growing quickly after that. The several-person-tall ones are already more than 100 years old.

Next we passed a cave. It was very dark inside and felt a bit like an adventure. The rocks were all smooth and rounded, but they weren’t slippery to walk on. In the middle, there was one spot that felt like a whole different season. It was our family’s favorite stop in the whole garden.

There was also a fun photo spot with bat ears.

After that it was mostly the zoo and botanical garden area. There was an indoor, air-conditioned playhouse. Based on the description, it seemed educational as well as entertaining, but we didn’t go in.

Along the way there was an exhibit area with a sandbox, and our kid sat there and played for quite a while. Around lunch break, all the staff at the exhibit left, probably to go eat lunch.

There were drinking fountains and restrooms everywhere in the park, which is especially important in a dry climate. The restrooms even had free sunscreen dispensers.

At this time of year, it starts getting a bit hot around 1:30 p.m., and then cools down again around 4:30 p.m.

We spotted a little deer.

Priced at $20,000.

At the gift shop in the park, we saw this drink again, but our kid picked ice cream instead.

There were also all kinds of cactus-themed souvenirs, all super cute.

We spent about two to three hours in the park, and then headed to the visitor center. Entry to this national park wasn’t charged at the entrance; payment was only collected at the visitor center, basically on the honor system. If you had an annual pass, you just had to show them your ID. The gift shop at the visitor center had lots of desert-themed items. I always think national park gift shops are so interesting.

We happened to catch a very short film at the visitor center. It was filmed in a mysterious, almost spiritual way, and after watching it I came away with an airy, otherworldly feeling. What stuck with me most was learning that saguaro fruit is edible. I wanted to buy some to try, but the related products didn’t look especially appetizing.

By the time we left the visitor center, it was already getting late. We had originally wanted to do a trail, but figured we probably didn’t have the time or energy, so instead we decided to drive the Bajada Loop Drive and stop for photos along the way.

The entire drive was a dirt road, pretty bumpy with lots of potholes, and dust was flying everywhere, so we couldn’t drive very fast. Whenever we saw a weird-looking cactus, we stopped to take pictures. Our kid was successfully rocked to sleep by the bumps.

With all the stopping and starting, we drove for a little over half an hour. There were quite a few trails along the way. We wanted to get back to the hotel to check out the slow river, so we didn’t stop for any trails. One of the better-known ones is Valley View Overlook Trail.

The hotel sits at a higher elevation, so by the time we got back a little after 4 p.m., it was already pretty cool. We went back to the room to change and headed downstairs just before 5. The hotel’s pool and slow river were both heated, and the water was very warm. They stayed open until 10 p.m. There was also a water slide that closed at 5 p.m. I rushed to ride it twice in the last few minutes before closing. There was no line at all, and it was pretty fun, though the moment I got out of the water I was freezing and shivering. Since you couldn’t really float through the slow river in a tube, we had to swim the whole way. Our kid was terrified of the slow river after being traumatized at a water park before, and kept clinging to the edge without moving. My spouse and I quickly took turns swimming one lap, then went to soak in the hot tub.

Apparently, Americans on vacation can spend the whole day soaking in a hot tub. At one point the bubbles stopped, and everyone in the hot tub voted on whether to turn them back on. In the end, more people voted yes, but no one wanted to go do it. Then my kid volunteered. The whole hot tub cheered for him, and when one person left, they even fist-bumped him again and said thank you. He was so proud.

We went back to the room to freshen up, and by dinner time we were too lazy to head back out. My travel buddy picked the Italian restaurant inside the hotel. On the way there, we crossed a pedestrian bridge, and the view was really nice.

When we got to the restaurant, we realized it was actually a fine dining place. But since we were already there, we sat down anyway. The chef’s complimentary bite was a cheese tomato dish, slightly sweet. My travel buddy and I both liked it, but the kid did not.

I ordered the peach sparrow. The glass had a little bird on it, which was just too cute. I also liked the drink itself—it was exactly the kind of flavor I enjoy, meaning not much alcohol taste at all.

For appetizers, we ordered calamari and okra. Both were pretty good.

The kid ordered pasta. It was the handmade kind, though it did not have much chew. The flavor was okay.

For mains, we ordered a veal dish and a squid ink pasta with scallops. Both were fairly average.

We skipped dessert because we were worried about gaining weight, then went back to wash up and sleep.

The last day was basically all travel too. Booking near PHX airport did save money, but the time spent on the road was definitely longer than we expected. Traffic in AZ did not feel great—there was congestion both coming and going. We even changed routes at one point, and filling up the car was not smooth either. In the end, we did not top off the tank, but the guy at National said it was fine and did not charge us extra.

The hotel’s wall art was all cacti. Loved it.

Gas prices were amazing! Unfortunately, no matter what we tried, we could not get our card to work at this gas station. In the end, my travel buddy went inside to prepay. The cashier asked how many gallons, and my travel buddy had no idea, so just named a number at random. It was not enough.

We finally rushed to the airport at the end. Even the Delta lounge had a line, but the clam chowder in the lounge was really good and not heavy at all.

This trip was 3 days total, and it felt like we spent almost 2 of those days just getting from place to place. Still, we did more or less everything we most wanted to do. Besides the cacti, if you like Westerns, Old Tucson and Tombstone are both well worth visiting too. Add in some strolling around town and relaxing at the hotel, and a full 3 days here probably would not feel boring at all.

My kid asked, “Mom, do you really like cacti that much?” I said yes. Then my kid asked why, and I said, “Because they’re cute :)”

About the Author

This article is reposted from the WeChat public account of one of our reader groups: Lazy 33’s Food, Drinks, and Fun. The articles there are all original and very well written. If you are interested, feel free to follow along.