RonnieAdventure #0190 - Arizona, 2016 Part II

Tohono Chul in Tucson (Arizona) is noted for native plant sales and this year is a great time to visit because they are celebrating "30 Years of Nature, Art & Culture." The mission of Tohono Chul is "to enrich people's lives by connecting them with the wonders of nature, art and culture in the Sonoran Desert region and inspiring wise stewardship of the natural world." We were fortunate to have a very knowledgeable person guide us around the property!

Sabino Canyon in the Santa Catalina Mountains is a popular destination for tourist and local residents because of the geological and plant diversity. Private owned vehicles are not allowed in the canyon; but there are numerous hiking trails, and for the less energetic, there are narrated tram tours that leave from the visitor center every 30 minutes. The trams cross Sabino Creek numerous times and makes nine stops along the 3.8 mile tour before turning around and coming back on the same road. You can get off-and-on the trams at any stop, or you can take one of the hiking trails back to the parking lot. On the way back down the canyon, we decided to get off of the tram at Stop #2 and hike the 1.5 miles back to our car.

One of my favorite places to visit in Tucson is the DeGrazia "Gallery in the Sun." 

DeGrazia, the son of Italian immigrants, was born in Morenci (Arizona) where his father worked in the copper mine. He later attended the University of Arizona and eventually earned three degrees, including a Master of Arts. After pictures of some of his early paintings were published in Arizona Highways magazine, he was invited to Mexico City to study with Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. 

In 1944 DeGrazia opened his first studio in Tucson and a few years later he built "Gallery in the Sun." In 1960 one of his paintings was chosen as a UNICEF greeting card, which gained him international recognition. 

DeGrazia built "Gallery in the Sun" (and all of the other buildings on the site) using adobe and other native materials. The heavy metal doors on the front of the gallery are patterned after the Yuma Territorial Prison doors and entrance to the gift shop is patterned after an underground mine shaft similar to the mines in Morenci. The gift shop sells a few original DeGrazia paintings, some limited addition prints, and reproductions of DeGrazia's more popular paintings. 

"Gallery in the Sun" contains original DeGrazia paintings in six separate galleries -- Padre Kino, Cabeza De Vace, Papago Indians, Retrospective, Yaqui Easter, and Bullfight. My favorites are the Papago Indian paintings!

"Mission in the Sun" was built adjacent to the art gallery in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Mission has a rustic rock floor, open-air ceiling, and DeGrazia murals on the walls. Adjacent to the Mission is DeGrazia's house and the Little Gallery that hosts visiting artists. Outside of the Little Gallery is a DeGrazian mosaic.

There are a variety of cacti on the site and a fenced area called the "Cactus Corral" that features numerous cacti. 

And at the end of the day, some Arizona sunsets!