The place has been a fixture of Tucson’s restaurant landscape for 60 years. It’s a classic diner with a counter and booths. And pies. Yup, pies. I thought I had left good pies behind in Dallas with Humble Pies. But I soon discovered that those 60 years of experrience amount to something when it comes […]
Embracing Tucson: Gus Balon’s Read More »
It was a like a trip in the Wayback Machine. My sister and I had been planning this adventure for sometime. Our mission was to head for the apple and peach orchards and snag some fresh corn from this converted cowtown. Back in the 1880s when Willcox, about 80 miles southeast of Tucson, was founded
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“A cement building, white cinderblocks…the sign read ‘Cold Spot’…” We all seem to have a corner store, a coffee shop or other store in our past or present life. Gathering places where you know each other’s names and share moments together. Where there are no strangers. Kane Brown’s song about his grandpa’s store reminded me
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They say if you give a cyclist a cookie… Oh, wait, that was a mouse! Seriously, the Tour de Cookie bike rally in Marana, Arizona, was fun offbeat and tasty. Less of a bike rally and more of a fun outing with friends, this ride really didn’t have a beginning, middle or end. We started
Growing up in this town there were lots of local personalities that produced (and many times, starred in) TV advertisements for their businesses. This is not a Tucson-only phenomenon, but, you have to admit, we have had our share of characters over the years. “Call for Wally! Call for Wally! For an estimate Free, given
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Every February, usually the last Thursday and Friday of the month was rodeo break from school. It was our week to dress up in boots and pearl button shirts and cowboy hats. And the big event was the parade. The La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros rodeo parade is the longest, non-mechanized parade in the world.
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Numbers. We live by them. Birthdays. Holidays. Anniversaries. Deadlines. Payday. You get the idea. I have a number that keeps cropping up in my life: 26. Why 26, you ask? I grew up on 26th Street in Tucson. 5962 East to be exact. One of my first addresses in Seattle was 12626. I took my
The area just north of the Pima County Historic Courthouse isn’t a stranger to us. We’ve been to the Tucson Museum of Art plaza for art fairs and on our way to look for murals. And the murals by Bill Singleton (and sons) and others take us there. Between the MLK Holiday and the Meet
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It was too cold to ride this morning, I told myself. So instead of riding while Sal was at the groomer, I headed out to a familiar coffee shop near the Catalina Highway. This is where I insert the phrase “…behold the power of random conversation.” After parking myself at a table near the back
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As I have been piecing together the stories of my hometown, I ran across three stories of three men who shared a name but were unrelated. Maynard Dixon. Maynard Pike. Harry Maynard. Mr. Dixon is a famous creator of southwestern art who made Tucson his home late in life. A gallery of his art resides
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