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Getting tired of the weather or your everyday routine? Perhaps, you simply need to recharge your batteries. Escape to Tucson! If you still equate Tucson with cowboys and baron desert movie scenes you have a lot to learn. For example, besides the over one million saguaro cactus that calls this desert oasis home, so does thousands of indigenous plants, animals, fish (yes, there is water in the desert),birds and vineyards. You could easily spend more than three perfect weeks in Tucson instead of only three days. The cornucopia of leisure options creates a year-round recreational paradise that has something for young and old alike. The old pueblo boasts 345+ days of sunshine a year. Temperatures hover between 70-80°F (21-27°C) during winter, rising to summertime highs up over 100°F (38°C) from May to September. Afternoon monsoonal storms are frequent in July and August, though Tucson does not suffer the uncomfortable humidity that usually accompanies such weather. Day 1 A short one hour drive from downtown Tucson is the town and appellation of Sonoita. At an elevation of over 5000 feet, this desert highland area is bordered by the Santa Rita Mountains, Whetstone Mountains, Huachuca Mountains and Canola Hills. While summer temperatures in Tucson are into the 100's. The Sonoita wine country is considerably cooler, almost 20 degrees cooler during the day and 40-50 degrees cooler at night. On the way through Sonoita, stop at Crossroads Café for lunch. Try their homemade barbeque pork sandwich or daily lunch special, you will agree that it was worth the trip. Be sure to get invited to their annual traditional luau in mid-June given by Hawaiian natives and owners Evan and Micheal Uyeshiro. Once through the town of Sonoita, you come across an old west style building that serves as the tasting room for Callaghan Vineyards. Harold and Karen Callaghan along with their son, Kent began Callaghan Vineyards in 1990 after discovering the Sonoita highlands. They named their vineyard “Buena Suerte” (good luck in Spanish); over the last fifteen years good luck and plenty of hard work paid off with several award winning wines. Today, Callaghan Vineyards produces approximately 2,000 cases annually from their estate and other local producers. When you visit Callaghan you will typically find Kent talking about his wines and life in the Arizona wine country. Callaghan Vineyards pours several white & red varietals. Tasting fee is $3.00 with a souvenir wine glass. A few minutes down the road you come to the Village of Elgin Winery. Built in 1895 the building was first used as a bordello then a hotel, and later a feed store. The winery is owned and operated by Gary Reeves and his wife, Kathy. Together, they oversee every step of the process, from pruning vines to bottling approximately one third of the state’s wine production in the state’s only totally automatic bottling line. Gary acts as the wineries’ wine maker with Kathy acting as the cellar master. They are sure to have something for everyone’s wine palate producing almost 50 different wines annually from sweet wines to cuvee blends. The tasting room is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Christmas. Before driving back to Tucson for the evening, stop at the Sonoita Vineyards, the area’s first vineyard planted in 1973. Be sure to take in the vistas from their second story balcony and newly built winery. Check into Loews Ventana Canyon Resort & Spa, nestled into the Catalina Mountain foothills you can enjoy the desert and city views from your balcony before dinner. Your reservations are at Jonathan’s Cork; a Tucson favorite since the 1960’s when it was known as the Cork and Cleaver. Not much has changed since those days-it still has some of the best southwestern cuisine in the country featuring angus beef, game meat and fresh fish. Chef Jonathan Landeen has meticulously created seasonal menus using the best ingredients and traditional techniques. Be sure to save room for some amazing desserts from pastry chef Peggy Forrest. One taste of this savory blend of cultures and you'll be hooked on Jonathan’s Cork. Day 2 Loews Ventana Canyon Resort and Spa is surrounded by acres of recreational diversity and beauty in the American Southwest. Framed by the Catalina Mountains at the entrance to Ventana Canyon, Loews offers an amazing selection of quality activities for fitness enthusiasts. As you wake up and greet the panoramic views of the desert, there are several choices, golf aficionados can take advantage of the two championship 18-hole golf courses or enjoy all the pampering, luxury and relaxation you expect from a full-service resort and spa. Loews has eight lighted tennis courts, hiking, biking, horseback riding, Ping-Pong, basketball, and a playground for younger guests. After enjoying your morning activities, take a 45 minute breath taking scenic drive out to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Combining a zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, the museum has almost two miles of desert walking paths. Be sure to keep a look out for rattlesnakes and other animals that have been known to wander along the path. The museum living exhibits include more than 1,300 types of plants, 300 kinds of animals including prairie dogs, fish, birds, bears and other wildlife that call the Sonora desert home. The museum has several lunch options that overlook the desert landscape. Ironwood Terraces is a self serve grill with plenty of sandwich and salad choices. The Ocotillo Café offers gourmet regional specialties including lobster flautas and filette del sol. Return back to Ventana Canyon freshen up and relax. Dinner tonight is at the Ventana Room Restaurant. This elegant restaurant serves exquisite modern American cuisine with one of the southwest’s best wine lists. You might opt for one of the chef created three, four or five course dinners or select items from their menu that feature Russian Royal Osetra caviar appetizer and Kobe style beef entrées. Either way, put yourself in Chef Philippe Trosch’s capable hands and prepare to be dazzled and pampered. Be sure to save room for the ultimate artistic desserts that looks too good to eat until you have the first bite. Day 3 Check out of your room at Ventana Canyon and drive to your first stop of the day. The Tohono Chul Park is a short 15 minute scenic drive. Enjoy breakfast at the Tohono Chul Tea Room, before enjoying the park’s exhibits and trails. The park is a great place to learn about the different plants of the area and their histories. You'll see natural desert, demonstration gardens, seasonal gardens, rare indigenous plants and water features. Other exhibits showcase contemporary art and anthropological sciences. Pick up great pottery, seeds, plants, books on the Southwest, and items for children at the well-stocked gift shop. Tohono Chul Park has one of the largest known collections in the world of the rare night-blooming Cereus, which looks like a dead stick most of the year. Sometime between May and August, the Cereus transforms itself into a beautiful, waxy, white blossom flower that bloom for only one night. When there are enough of the Cereus blooming at one time, the Park calls an official "bloom night" or open house. Bloom-night visitors have the rare opportunity to see these mystical flowers, and more importantly, smell their wonderful aroma that attracts the Sphinx moths that pollinate them. Check into Westward Look Resort, just one half mile east of The Tohono Chul Park. Westward Look offers everything a guest could desire, and over the years it has attracted celebrities from around the world. Set among the luxuriant grounds, with views of nearby Catalina Mountains, the resort offers onsite tennis, horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, birding, and swimming. Westward Look Resort offers Tucson's only accommodations with private outdoor freshwater hot tubs in their suite-sized Stargazer Spa Rooms. The full-service spa, offers traditional spa treatments and exotic “East meets West” treatments that are derived from the 5,000-year-old Science of Life known as Ayurveda. Herbs and oils designed especially for your constitution or "dosha" are used to balance the mind, body and spirit. It is late in the afternoon, so ease into the evening with a short drive to Terra Cotta, a Tucson Originals restaurant for a cocktail and small appetizer plates. Order one of their signature margaritas, and watch as dusk settles over the urban desert. Head back to The Westward Look to change; you have reservations at the award-winning Gold Room Restaurant. Dine outside on the terrace overlooking Tucson. There's nothing subdued about Chef Jamie West’s cuisine, the only way to describe it is “it’s a fun gourmet experience that you do not want to end”. Using only the freshest in-season ingredients from his on-site chef’s garden, Chef Jamie expertly crafts world-class cuisine. Those with seafood appetites will want to request: warm lobster “Martini” appetizer; caramelized diver scallops entrée; or Sonoran “Surf & Turf” with cowboy steak, lobster Mac & Cheese and Tumbleweed Potatoes. Adventurous taste buds can opt for the “Duck Trilogy” or the pomegranate “Lacquered” Venison Chop. Settle in for an after-dinner drink while star gazing through their high-powered telescope out on the resort’s patio. Ramble back over memories of your old pueblo weekend and admit it—your Tucson experience was exactly what you had hoped for. |
