TS: Tucson vs Alberquerque

Nuff said.

Plus don't you remember all the trouble Bugs Bunny always got into when he forgot to take that left turn at Albuquerque?

I liked Albuquerque when I was there, but it was a) only for a day and a half or so, and b) in the middle of a very hot July, so I saw little. I have friends who lived in Tucson who really liked it (is Tucson the dry part of AZ or the humid part?). So pretty much, I think you'd have fun whichever one you chose.

http://nacho.princeton.edu/~walterfb/pics/NM/tram.png

See the jaguarundi!
http://desertmuseum.org/images/exhibits_jaguarundi.jpg

The javelina!
http://desertmuseum.org/images/exhibits_javelina_2.jpg

the gila monster!
http://www.desertmuseum.org/images/nhsd_suspectu.gif

I also remember seeing bighorn sheep, tarantulas, lizards and skinks, bobcats, and a nice collection of rocks & minerals.

I stopped in Albuquerque briefly and, while the folks there were all very nice and cool, I kinda have to agree with JBR...

Never been to Tucson nor Phoenix so I can't say... my only AZ experience has been all the touristy pretty stuff around I-40 or north.. like the Navajo reservations, Flagstaff, Painted Desert, Grand Canyon, and the Meteor Crater..

And, if you get to leave the city, go to the BIOSPHERE! (About 40 minute drive north). I saw no Pauly Shore around, but it's damn cool anyway. And yes, I think Pauly Shore is hilarious.

it's kinda surreal to see people talking about tucson on ilx!

Would you learn how to drive, jody?

http://www.wcities.com/en/record/,145031/160/record.html

owl cafe is a must stop on i-40 for burgs and shakes.
m.

Oh wait, there's a whole thread comparing Tucson and Albuquerque. How convenient!

i still say tucson. tucson's better than santa fe too, although that part of the southwest is prettier.

I'm moving to Tucson this summer...any ILXors there?

because we are exposed to america so much we dont have the difficulty in pronounciation of us places that americans and australians sometimes have here. he then went on to ruin his argument by pronouncing tucson as tucks-on

I made it well into adulthood before realising Tucson is not pronounced Tucksen and then like 3 days later happened to hear the "Jojo was a loner from Tucson Arizona" bit of "Get Back" (song all Britishers are also exposed to since childhood) and was amazed that this little nugget of pronunciation had passed me by so many times

that is all I know about Tucson but from this thread it sounds pretty cool so I hope you find it a good place to live

my crazy sister lives in a trailer about 15 miles outside tucson
i won't hook you up, how about that

in the grand pageant that is AZ tucson sons phoenix and flagstaff

abbott -- me, still. i'd be happy to show you around when you get here. tucson summers are kind of scary but if you time your move right you'll get here just in time for monsoon season!

pretty sure every letter i've ever gotten from someone who wasn't from here was addressed to "tuscon."

Hey, J.D., that'd be great! I've never been to the town (or the state) before so it'd be way nice to have someone who knows what's up to show me the ropes. Any particular parts of town or realty companies to avoid? My husband & I are going to go to U of A for grad school.

I've lived in southern New Mexico for three years, at abt the same latitude as Tucson...looking at the wikipedia entry for Tucson, the summers look pretty similar, tho it looks like the winters are warmer there, which is a bonus (my town is abt 1,100 ft higher in elevation). So if it starts hitting 110+º F, I'm accustomed to it.

I spelled it Tuscon until a few weeks ago. *_*

I'm way stoked to move to an actual city btw! This tiny town has been cramping my style.

The Viceroy & I (and a very very kind pal who offered to chauffeur our carless selves) were in Tucson the past couple of days. It seems like a totally groovy city. We found ourselves a nice place to rent where the landlords are totally pro-dog. I liked it a lot, and fwiw it is about the same level of hot as Cruces is.

I am drinking a Nimbus pale ale right now. Not bad at all.

hey abbott, did you ever wind up making it down here?

Yes! I have been here since July.

FWIW I was *wrong* in the above post – Las Cruces is nowhere near as hot as this Helios-ruled sunscape.

drop me a line, we should hang out!

Going to Tucson this coming weekend.

What to do?

omg

ride on the back of Abbott's scooter

am currently in Las Cruces for two days. Anything here to see?

• hang out on 4th Ave for an afternoon
• go to Biosphere 2 (which tbh is one of the coolest things I've ever done)
• marvel at how fucking crystal-clear the air is and how you can see huge huge mountains a million miles away like a fucking photograph
• also marvel at how Tucson is this weirdly huge sprawling grid with half-mile city blocks and everything is tan and grey with palm trees (I mean it's kind of like LA but w/ less flourish and maybe in sepia tone)
• rent a really obscure hard-to-find film from Casa Video and peep the free popcorn (watch out it's salty)
• get prickly pear iced tea from that one place

Geez is someone going to ask what to do in Rigby, Idaho?
Downtown Tucs is all ripped up right now and so is 4th street.
Just drive west on 22nd or Broadway forever and look at saguaros. Go to Tucson Tamale Company! Sweat a lot! Eat some paletas!
Kingfish should check out the weird, dead "downtown" "mall" in Cruces. Go to Coas Books. It's a used bookstore. They call it "the Powell's of the Southwest." As a Portlander, this will make you laugh when you see it. It is great for musty weirdness. Check out Mesilla, eat at El Patio. Eat some green chile for the love of Christ!

"That one place" w/the prick pear tea is IKE'S btw

go to the Sonoran Desert Museum! its so rad!
get a drink here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-shelter-cocktail-lounge-tucson it rules!
if you get sick of 100degree weather, drive up Mt Lemmon-- pretty cool!

Thanks, guys!

Also there's a cool solar-powered bar on 4th next to a pizza place that's iirc p cheap and good?

(Sky Bar and Brooklyn Pizza Co.)

a visit to the Hotel Congress is a must, for lunch or a drink

yes tap room @ Congress is great in the afternoon bcz Tiger is working there and he is my favorite bartender

Everyone keeps telling me I have to go to the Meet Rack but it sounds skeezy.

Buffet would be #2 on my list of dives before Meet Rack

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-buffet-tucson

I think I might have almost chosen to stay at this Hotel "Congress" (lol)

I hit the Mesilla Kitchen today, and made it to Coas with 15 minutes til close. Theyre not so much a Powells as much of a HalfPrice or a McKays. Plenty of board games on sale, too.

I am going to AZ next month. I hope to go to Tuscon and meet an Abbott while I'm there!

I went to Alberquerque once. While I was there I fainted on the street and then cried at an Ani DiFranco show. The food was pretty good though.

hope to go to Tuscon and meet an Abbott while I'm there!

I totally recommend this activity :) Sad b/c hen I am back in PHX in Oct, I won't have time to go to Tucson due to being in Prescott :(

Snapped a shot of this today:

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/538802_10151018227116596_592983695_n.jpg

Blake's Lotaburger! An NM tradition!

i recommend:

-- go to frank's/francisco's -- decent diner/breakfast fare by day, absolutely stupendous mexican food after 5.
-- agree with the aforementioned bars but i'd recommend checking out the shelter (wonderfully kitschy '60s decorations, including neon pictures of JFK and RFK) and plush (comfortable seating, interior oddly reminiscent of a really big car, nice place to chill and hipster-watch).
-- when you're on fourth i recommend stopping by revolutionary grounds, which is just what it sounds like: a communist-themed coffee shop!

is PDQ still open? if you like record stores go to PDQ.

PDQ closed
I think the only going concern as record shops is Zia?

I've found good stuff over the years at Bookmans: http://bookmans.com

Get a mocha shake at Bentleys on Speedway: http://www.bentleyscoffeehouse.com

Here now.

Any good thrift stores?

Any good thrift stores?

There's a good one at the south end of 4th Ave. near the train overpass. It gets picked over quite a bit, but I've always found things there.

Elvis probably talking about the Goodwill on 4th, there are a bunch of little vintagey shops nearby too

Another little cluster I like is Savers on Oracle/Fort Lowell, Casa De Los Ninos on Prince/Mountain, and Value Village on Stone/S of Glenn. All kind of close to each other. Value Village I have good luck w/records and household goods though the clothes are terrible. I got a Le Creuset pot there for $7! NB I find Savers a little spendy these days but it's still fun to go.

Once again though both 4th and Congress are totally tore up so you kind of have to circle around nearishby to park, and then walk, and hope you don't need to cross the street very often.

The St Vincents at 18th & 6th is really great too, and near the 4th st Goodwill. That's a more fun part of town to hang out in too.

Savers on E. Broadway was a pretty good one as I recall too.

I got like 85% of my work clothes at that Savers. ANd most of my wacky vintage phones.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/539004_10150947590691428_1705357206_n.jpg

There are a bunch of little thrift shops on E Broadway and Speedway that are absolutely lame though. Like there's a little stretch where every other store is a thrift store and they all suck.
There is a good one at 22nd and Pantano (22nd Street Thrift Store) though it is way the fuck out there. like I never make it out there except the couple times of year I need to sate a craving for Popeyes chicken (at 22nd and Kolb).

omg we went to a thrift store and I forgot! Where did we go?

Savers on Oracle

I like it a lot here. The mountains and palm trees are kind of what I'm used to but I love all the puffy cacti. We went to the Loft theatre last night which was really cool and Hotel Congress is great. What exactly is going on w/ all this construction?

Trying to decide if we want to make time for Saguaros and the Desert Museum or if we should save them for next time-we're only here briefly but like it enough that we're thinking about coming back for Thanksgiving.

Desert Museum is worth checking out, you won't regret it! Weather is cooler than usual this weekend, you may as well take advantage of it.
The construction is for building a light rail.

What did you see at the Loft?

I want to go to both of these places ASAP. I love the southwest. I'd move to NM in a heart beat if I could actually find a job there. AZ is great too.

We saw The Imposter!

How about this copper country antiques mall? I'm basically looking for vintage lenses and camera, my wife is looking for fabrics. You can't find much of this in LA at any decent price.

Savers on Oracle

such a great name. Looking fwd to being able to tell ppl "I went to a Saver's in Tucson once."

Man, I love Tucson in the late summer/early autumn.

you're probably gone by now, and i dont know if you'd come accross many cameras/fabrics, but that little stretch of South Park Ave with all the importer/folk ark/antique stores is really a great way to spend an hour or two.