What NOT to Do When Visiting Tucson, Arizona

Hey there fellow travelers! I'm Jocelyn and this is Elizabeth. Hi! She's from Means to Travel and we are here in Tucson, Arizona and this place is very special to both of us. I grew up here as a little one and you've been coming here forever. Yeah, I have family that lives here so I come here multiple times a year and I can't wait to talk to you guys about our tips today. We are so passionate about this place so this is the don'ts of Tucson. So first is don't call it tuxen. Drives me crazy. Mark does it just to get my goat. I know it's spelled t-u-c-s-o-n. It's spelled tuxen. We get it. It is never pronounced though. Yeah, let's not be an ignoramus. It's definitely Tucson. The next don't is to make sure that you don't forget to prepare for the elements. So we are in a desert. One of the things that's most likely going to occur for you is you're going to feel how dry it is here for most times of the year. As Jocelyn applies her little lip protection. So make sure you bring something like a chapstick, sunscreen, sunglasses, big water bottle. Huge water bottle. Like not the small one and bring the big one. Definitely need like a big old reusable refillable water bottle. Yeah, because you're going to be drinking a lot. And if you have any sensitivities to dust or any potential allergies, my extra tip on that is to make sure that you bring like eye drops, allergy meds, that sort of thing. Yep, all the things that contain water. That's what you need. The next don't is to absolutely make sure that you do not forget the wildlife here can be dangerous or if nothing else, just don't feed them. Don't let coyotes feed the mountain lion. And there's scorpions, there's snakes. Don't get close to them. Basically try to avoid anything that is wild in nature. If you can protect the desert in that way, but also protect yourselves and protect your pet. Yeah, because like we have javelina here and they are wild pigs. They probably want to be called boars because they are like, they are rough and tumble animals. They literally bite them, right? Knock over people's trash cans. Yes, in order to get to the food. I mean, there are a lot of deadly, there are a lot of deadly animals. My favorite animal here is the Gila monster. It can totally kill you. It's such a cool looking thing, but you should really just go see it in a museum at the Sonoran Desert Museum. You know, don't play with it. Do not try to encounter them in the wild. My next don't is don't miss out on all the food of Tucson. This place, the cuisine is incredible. It's actually been named a UNESCO world heritage site for a gastronomy city. I mean, like the first gastronomy, first city of gastronomy in the United States. Really hard to say. It is, but it's so true. So the reason it's that way is because agriculture here has been going on for thousands of years and it has stayed the same. There's so many things here that are like, just they're so indicative of this place and they're this region. And you can talk more about that too, because I know that you're just like me. You like to eat all the stuff when we're here. Yes. Yeah, absolutely. I love trying the like local kind of Sonoran cuisine. There's also Sonoran hot dogs that I know Mark really loves. We talk about those a lot. Yes. Yeah. There's things like prickly pear jelly and prickly pear margaritas. Because, you know, we have prickly pear cacti. There's one kind of right thing. And those have these beautiful reddish purpley fruits and you can make all sorts of things out of that. So those are some of the things that make this a UNESCO World Heritage Site for food. Next don't is to absolutely make sure that you don't think it is always going to be hot outside here. It's a desert and therefore it does get pretty cool at night. And also we're here in early February. We're here in the winter time. And it was just cold all day today. Jocelyn's wearing a coat. Just fun, right? I mean, it got up to almost 60 today. But last night it was like down into the 20. So yeah, definitely don't expect it. And especially if you're gonna be out in the desert, even during the summertime, the desert floor can get pretty dang chilly. Yeah, make sure you bring layers and you can take them on and off throughout the day. Yep. So next I would say don't miss the art nor the architecture. This place is sort of like... People have been coming here and being inspired by this landscape and the beautiful sunsets and the mountains for eons. And there's tons of great art. Like you can go down to Tubac and see some really cool artists. Like there's an artist colony there. Yeah. But there are galleries everywhere. There's a really neat photography one at the University of Arizona. And what about Degrassia? Degrassia Gallery is so wonderful. The artist, I'm forgetting his first name, but his last name is Degrassia, has kind of an outdoor art gallery. We both really love. There's also, even within downtown Tucson, you might find a lot of jewelry makers and local artists that you can explore some of their galleries and boutiques as well. So, I mean, there's art to be found all over this city for sure. And the really cool Pueblo style architecture. And you've got like just the adobe bricks and things like that. So sometimes when you're going to some of these historic sites, you can actually see these bricks that were handmade, dried in the sun. It's a really cool, unique type of architecture and building style. So there's a lot of great culture in the art and the architecture of this area. As Jocelyn was talking about the architecture, I also wanted to add in don't miss out on visiting the historic neighborhoods of Tucson. My favorite to go look at and drive through is Barrio Viejo, but there are several kind of pretty close driving distance to downtown Tucson. And you can see, I mean, homes that are a hundred years old plus, and it just feels like a completely different world, especially from where we're from in the Midwest. So don't think that you can come to Tucson and not rent a car. Public transportation here is pretty lacking. And there are a lot of things to see within the city, but almost everything in the city, I swear, is like 30 to 35 minutes across town. That's how it always is. So don't think that you can do everything in one day. Right. So we should also talk about prioritizing what you want to see. Absolutely. Make sure if you are coming to visit Tucson, especially if it's just for a few days, you look through all the different options and figure out what makes, what sings to your heart, I guess, what makes the most sense for your trip, because you are going to need to prioritize. There's so much to do here from anything from nature to arts and culture and eating at different restaurants, etc. But even if you have your own rental car, it might take you a long time to get from one point to the other. And so you can't cram too many things into one day. On top of that, I will add that there aren't really a lot of taxis or there is Uber and Lyft and those rideshare apps here, but they aren't as easy to call and order one. 35 minutes to get everywhere. Right. So you are going to definitely want to have a rental car if you can. Yep. Next note that we're going to share is to definitely don't think that it's going to be dry all year round. So there's something here in Tucson and in the southwest of the U.S. called monsoon season. And it is from roughly mid-June to mid-September each year where it rains pretty much every single day. And it does get humid as well. But let's talk about that rain. It's like a torrential downpour for like maybe an hour. It's not all day. It's not like it rains all those muds. Right. And then it's done. And that rain is so important because it feeds the desert. So we're standing here in the desert right now and all these cacti probably still have water in them from last summer, from last summer's monsoon season that they're using throughout the year. So while it's extremely important for maintaining the nature that we see, it's also pretty dangerous actually. And there can be flash floods because of how much rain falls at one time. So make sure that you are extremely, extremely careful with driving, walking, etc. Even if you're on a mountain, there can be flash floods down a mountain if you're in one of the dry riverbeds on there. Don't think that if there's a little bit of water going by, don't think that you can drive through it because one, you may not know how deep it is. Two, even a few inches with all the gravel and the other things that come sweeping through, you walk through that, you're a mile away in like two minutes. Yeah. But it can really be dangerous for your vehicle and for your person. Exactly. So make sure you stay safe. Don't mess around with the monsoon season. On top of needing to rent a car, our next don't is that you want to make sure that you don't drive offensively because quite honestly, a lot of the people in Tucson do. So you need to be a little more defensive than you're normally. Please be careful. There's a lot of people that come here, especially in the winter time to vacation or maybe to live here for many months because of the mild temperatures and everything. And they are not as used to driving around the city as others. And yeah, it just can get a little bit. You know, I have to say that as much as you have to be defensive because people are usually... For me, it's always people are cutting in and out of lanes really quickly. Yeah. That's what scares me. But I will say this, people also always wave when they cut in front of you. Please be friendly. Do, do the courtesy wave. Do the thing here, right? So another don't is don't expect your normal fast food service. Why? Because it's really stinking friendly here. We have been like, we've been cutting up with all sorts of people in drive-thrus. It's just the way it is here. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we've made friends with all of the people that we've been getting all of our favorite foods from. Absolutely. Like, I mean, it didn't matter if it was coffee or EG's or a Sonoran hot dog. We had a good laugh with people. So when you go and you get your food, don't be all grumbly and whatever. Actually be really kind. And you're going to get so much more fun in return because people here are so cool and welcoming. Yeah. Our next don't is to don't forget to make reservations in advance at restaurants if you're going to be eating out. Regardless of what time of year, we definitely recommend to be looking at those reservations and making them a few days in advance. If it's a really busy time, you might even want to make them a week in advance. We're here right now in early February. And if you're wanting, say, anything in particular, like you want a very specific time and an outdoor table or something like that, you're going to want a week in advance or more. For sure. The high season here is definitely winter and spring time. And any time where there's big action at the University of Arizona, so there might be graduation weekend, there might be a lot of like sports games happening or something like that, right? Or if there's a big conference like the Gem Show is going on and it's a massive thing in early February. So all of those things. I tried to get a reservation today. No joke. The only reservation open was 445. Y'all, I'm not eating dinner at 445. Yeah, that's not the normal time to eat here. Definitely not for me. So anyway, just make sure you're getting those reservations and don't mess that up because you do want to eat all the amazing food in Tucson. The next don't that we have is don't forget to go to as many of the amazing local attractions as you can when you're here. Some of our favorites are the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. Absolutely. That one is really cool where you have a lot of local wildlife in an outdoor setting as well as seeing different flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert. Plus there's an aquarium there so you can see river otters. You can see stingrays and feed them, which we did. Very cool. And the reason that is is because the Sonoran Desert actually butts right up to the Gulf of California. So it is still like this cool regional thing and you don't ever get to see fish in the desert. On top of that, we also really like there's Saguaro National Park, which we're really close to right now and has incredible protected saguaro cacti, which are those big green guys behind us. The iconic part of this desert, right? Exactly. Yep. And I really love the Titan Missile Museum down in Green Valley, which is just down the road on I-19. And on the way is one of Elizabeth's favorites. I love the San Javier del Bac, Old Spanish Mission, that is, yes, on the way right off of I-10. Super easy drive from Tucson. I-19. Oh my gosh, it's I-19. I promise. I-19 South. This was actually something that we messed up yesterday. Yes, right off of I-19 South. And what's really, it's just so beautiful. The architecture is great there. And you've got to make sure to get the Navajo flatbread that's there. Yeah, they got this great fry bread. There'll be like this wonderful little market right out front. And go, gosh, get some fry bread because it's really unique to this area. For sure. I actually filmed one of my must-dos in Tucson videos on my channel at the mission. So if you want to see what it looks like, go over there and check it out. But on top of that, on at means to travel. Yes, yes. And on top of that, I also wanted to add one of my favorite places to go hiking, which there's so many here in Tucson. One of my favorites is Sabino Canyon. And that is approachable for people of all hiking abilities. So you can walk up and back. It's four miles up, four miles back. Or you could get a tram that is a little small extra fee and take the tram all the way into the canyon. And it is so much fun for the whole family. Cool hikes like that. You can also go hike Mount Lemmon. And by the way, if it snows on Mount Lemmon, expect a really long drive up the mountain because everybody here wants to go see the snow. Yep, that is so true. So there's also a couple of things that I'd like to tell you about. You know, there's like the DeGrazia Museum. There's tons of galleries, tons of art. There's a photography one down at U of A. There's all sorts of stuff. But there are two really cool ones. And those two are Old Tucson. Old Tucson started in 1938. And they've been shooting westerns there for like, you know, since 1938. Almost 100 years. All those old movie stars have been there. It's so cool. Like great place for kids, but also adults. It's just really fun. It's like a bit of the old west. So that's one. The other one is Davis-Monthan Air Force Base has a boneyard. That is like a really amazing thing to see. There are boneyards kind of all over the place. But this one's big and it's just part of, you know, it's kind of part of the fabric of Tucson. Yeah, it's got all these old planes that have been decommissioned. And you get to go walk around and see all. It is really cool. So our very last note is don't forget to like this video. Hit subscribe for Walter's World, means to travel, Simply Jocelyn. We've got all sorts of channels to help you with your travel and culture and all sorts of great things as we go all over this beautiful earth of ours. And on top of that, don't forget to put some cool stuff down in the comment section because I know we had a lot of things on this video because we're so passionate about this place. But we know we missed things. So please put those down there so everybody can have more information. Have fun everybody on your trip to Tucson. Bye.