Tucson, Arizona
I keep a list of my “bucket list” travel spots on my phone along with a list of spots I run across that I would love to stay at. One of those spots that has been on my travel note for a couple years is Joshua Tree House in Tucson, Arizona. When I ran across pictures from the inn I was captivated with the owners eye for design and way they integrate the natural beauty of the Sonoran desert along with the dwelling of their inn. I immediately added it to my “must stay at” list and hoped I’d make it there soon.
Our family loves doing experiences/trips for birthdays and we typically go down to the 30A area in Florida for my birthday trip. My birthday weekend typically lands on the weekend after Labor Day and it’s the perfect weekend to still capture good beach weather but miss the crowds down there. I decided that even though I love the tradition of 30A, I wanted to venture somewhere new this year.
I looked at my bucket list of places within the USA and decided on Tucson, Arizona. I told Ara and Nora the saguaros were calling our name! We had never visited Arizona together and it seemed like the perfect time to mark a new state off for Nora!
We landed in Phoenix and stayed the first night there since we were arriving in the early evening. The Camby was a perfect spot to stay for the evening. We drove 5 min down the road to dinner at The Henry. Nora kept us on toes as she was up at the crack of dawn since our bodies were on Central Standard Time waking up on Arizona Standard Time. Cartel Coffee Roasters has an outpost in the hotel and that came in very handy. It was extremely convenient to have delicious, artisan coffee shop located in the hotel! I’d stay there again just for the convenance of good coffee when you roll out of bed!
We headed south to make our way to Tucson, stopping first at Queen Creek Olive Mill. We grabbed lunch and purchased a meal kit to prepare later at the JTH Inn.
We wound our way around a few roads and were about 15 min away from the JTH Inn and all of a sudden we had the most expansive and vast view of saguaro cacti in front of us. The view was surreal as we skirted the edge of Saguaro National Park. These cacti are on average 40 feet tall with multiple arms and just as green as can be.
We reach the road to get to JTH and there’s nothing but a dirt road in front of us and Ara looks at me and says “Is this where I look at you and wonder what you’ve gotten us into?!”
After we successfully make the dirt road drive onto the JTH property we are immediately in awe. We find ourselves at the edge of the Saguaro National Park, in the middle of nowhere, on 40 acres of Sonoran desert.
The Inn, nicknamed “Posada” was exactly as pictured with more varieties of cactus than I can name, gorgeous desert colors and textiles. We stayed in the Ocotillo Suite - perfect for families since there are two bedrooms and a small kitchenette.
We changed quickly and headed to our next adventure: a sunset horseback ride at Tucson Mountain Stables. This was a first time experience for Ara and Nora. One of the aforementioned was a tad more excited than the other. I will let you guess who that was!
Nora on Little Girl, Ara on Eagle and I on Cinnamon—rode along with our cowboy and another family through the desert that skirted the National Park. I don’t think we could have found a better way to experience deep within the saguaros than this. It was so peaceful to be in nature, next to the hills and surrounded by the saguaros as we rode on the horses all while taking in the changing views of the sun setting. I was so proud of Nora (okay, Ara too) for being so confident on her first horseback ride. This ride ended up being one of our favorite moments from the trip!
The next morning we made breakfast in the shared kitchen at the Posada. There were so many perfect spots curated for dining or relaxing—we chose a spot and drank coffee and played a few games of Uno every morning to start the day.
We also took advantage of the two trails located on the JTH property before the sun got too hot for the day. I can’t wait to go to Tucson in the winter to take in more hiking when the weather is a bit cooler. We explored and saw so many cactus bones. "Cactus bones" are not true bones but the internal woody, rib-like skeletons of certain cacti that are left behind after the plant dies. This fibrous structure, also called the skeleton or frame, is what supports the cactus during its life and remains after the fleshy, water-storing parts decay.
We headed into Tucson to grab lunch at Seis Kitchen in the Mercado district. I would come back in a heartbeat for the surf and turf tacos and salsas. Nora discovered she is a huge fan of cilantro rice! We ended our lunch with a coffee at Presta Coffee Roasters.
Since the Posada is fair distance away from Tucson the property has several recommendations and one of those is having a chef created meal at the Inn. That evening we had a special meal created for us at the Inn by Chef Aaron and we were able to pick the best spot “in the house” for our sunset view at dinner. We were able to choose our own menu out of his offerings ahead of time and Nora even got one of her favorites—mashed potatoes!
The next day we made a stop to the Sonoran Desert Museum. I’d recommend this in cooler months as we were pretty warm on our visit. Nora spotted our first in person rattlesnake on the property and we made sure to stay a good distance away!
Since it was so warm we spent most of our relax time enjoying the pool and hot tub area at the Posada it felt so refreshing and was also fun to climb around the rocks by the pool I had also taken some solar paper and I did some creating with the leaves by the pool. We hung one of the prints up in our house!
Our last full day of our travels was my actual birthday! We started the day slow with breakfast at the Inn and another hike around the property. That evening we were able to meet up with my Aunt, cousin and my Aunt’s husband for dinner as they were also in town! We dined at Tito & Pep, a a southwest style restaurant on the east side of Tucson. It was a fabulous dinner and a great way to catch up with family on my birthday!
On our way out of Tucson we got to check out the Air Force “boneyard” located near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. It’s the largest aircraft boneyard in the world! There are nearly 3,500 retired or stored aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. Many of these aircraft are updated and sent back into duty or sold. In addition, valuable and sometimes rare parts are repurposed so that other aircraft can keep supporting warfighters.
We absolutely LOVED our visit to Tucson and I’m already plotting how to get back there for a visit. I didn’t get to fill my belly nearly enough with the delicious southwest/Mexican flavor foods. The desert landscape brought me so much peace—my cup filled up by views of saguaro arms. Until next time Tucson!
