Happy 2010 -- Finally!

I've finally reached New Year's Eve 2009 in my posts. I'm only almost four months behind, but at least I've almost reached 2010!

Steven and Haley joined Mike and me for New Year's festivities, and this was taken before we went out.

We ate at home and went out to a place in Columbus that offered some appetizers and a jazz band.

This is our third New Year's Eve together. Happy 2010, Mike!!!!

Tumacácori National Historical Park

Tumacácori is south of Tucson, and Mike and I headed down there on our own the last full day we were in Tucson in December.
This mission, San José de Tumacácori, was established in 1691. You can get some more information at the National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov/tuma/index.htm.

Unlike the Mission of San Xavier (see below), this one is no longer active. It's really neat to see such historic buildings, and in the United States, too! :-)

Saguaros

Saguaros (pronounced sah-WAH-roes) are to the Tuscon area what big oak trees are to the Midwest and Northeast. To get this size, they are pretty old, especially if they have "arms." According to the National Park Service, they have to be 65-75 years old before they grow these arms (see http://www.nps.gov/archive/sagu/Saguaros/saguaro.htm).

Mike and I, along with his mom, went on a short-ish hike among the saguaros.

These photos give you a sense of how tall these cacti are.

Hotel Congress and Other Sites -- Tucson, AZ

Built in 1919, the Hotel Congress achieved notoriety when John Dillinger and his gange were captured here in 1934 after a fire caused fireman to recover suitcases filled with money and weapons. You can read more about this at http://www.hotelcongress.com/hotel-congress/hotel-history/





I thought the the hotel's interior was really interesting, combining elements from the 1920s with desert themes.

The light fixtures were particularly interesting.

We then drove up to the "A" mountain, or Sentinel Peak. The "A" is for the University of Arizona. The view of the city is pretty.

And of course, we saw the sun set. Oh, how I love sunsets!

San Xavier del Bac -- White Dove of the Desert

After the Titan Missile Museum (see below), we went to see this beautiful Spanish-style mission. The mission was founded by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692, and this particular building has been standing since 1797. It's the oldest intact European structure in Arizona.

A pretty good photo, I must say (thanks to the beautiful blue sky). Compare it to the website's: http://www.sanxaviermission.org/.

The Saguaro cacti in Arizona are really cool.

I liked the representation of Native Americans; that makes sense given that much of the population was Native American when the mission was founded and when this church was built.

In many churches, sometimes the most interesting things can be seen on the ceilings.

Titan Missile Museum -- Tucson, AZ

The day after Christmas, we headed to the Titan Missile Museum (http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/), which is south of Tucson. Although I had been there about ten years ago when I went to visit my friend, Kristie, who used to live in Tucson, I wanted to go again. Mike hadn't been there, and so hadn't his siblings, so it sounded like a fun thing to do.

Check out the ever-so-retro controls. It's hard to believe (although believe it, that's for sure) that we could destroy other countries with these controls.

Here's the missile, up-close a bit. It was way too large to get a single photo of it, and the angle from which I was taking the photos wouldn't allow it, either.

This is about the only time you'll see me wearing a hardhat -- at a museum! The view from the museum is quite spectacular, but then again, the view all around Tucson is quite beautiful.