Tier Point Run to Tucson in Oct 2024: Day 4 – Morning in Tucson

Another poor night of sleep, but that’s the par for me when I am on one of my trips. My initial sleep only lasted about 3 hours. Then I must have had about 3 hours of being up and I didn’t expect to get much more. But somehow I managed to sleep through to 5am in the morning!

I drove out to my local Starbucks and used the drive-thru. I’m glad I was able to take it back to the hotel since the Palace v Liverpool game was on USA network on TV. We hung on to win 1-0.

My day looked like it was going to be another busy one! After starting with Starbucks, I planned to grab breakfast at the hotel.

I was then going to complete the second half of my AMARG boneyard aircraft photoshoot. That was more of a filler job.

I’d then pop into the Tucson Botanical Gardens, and finally, I would head up Mount Lemon.

I needed to fit in another Starbucks and some food at an appropriate point as well.

So things started with me heading down to breakfast in the hotel. Another one where I appreciated Vick being « with me » since I got $10 per person credit for breakfast.

The buffet included hot items and cost $16.95. Just right…

I got on the road not long after 7am, driving down to East Irvington Road to continue taking photos of the aircraft in the AMARG boneyard.

The view of the aircraft along this road is impaired due to a natural grassy barrier about 5′ tall, but there are places where I could get a better view.

The parking along this stretch is less obvious. The area between the road and the fence is wider, and there’s a dirt track that I could have driven along if I had had a 4WD vehicle.

I found a couple of places that I could easily pull off the road without getting stuck in the fine sand.

Once done there, I headed up to the Tucson Botanical Gardens (TBG). You can find out more by checking out their website.

Along the way, I was impressed with the mountain background.

Such an amazing and classic Arizona landscape. One of the reasons I love Arizona.

TBG covers five-and-a-half acres and contains a collection of more than 20 gardens.

Obviously, I arrived early so I had to wait for 15 mins before it opened. I wasn’t sure they realised they were subject to a Billingham inspection today.

Apparently, TBG was selected as the fourth best in USA Today’s 10 Best Botanical Gardens Readers’ Choice Awards in 2023 and 2024.

I don’t know much about botanical gardens, but I’m not sure I can believe that it’s the fourth best.

It cost $19 to get in and I didn’t even get a map!

When I asked about a map, I was advised to take a photo of one of the maps available around the gardens.

I walked through a number of gardens including a Cactus & Succulent Garden, Barrio Garden, Children’s Discovery Garden and a Herb Garden.

They all showcased the diversity of plants that can thrive in the Sonoran Desert.

There was a variety of desert plants on display, including cacti, roses, herbs and irises.

From a fauna perspective, I saw a pretty big lizard outside and a lovely cute rabbit inside TBG!

Tropical butterflies from around the world were featured in the Cox Butterfly & Orchid Pavilion.

I have to admit I didn’t take a look. I had already started thinking about my next Starbucks!

There was even a G scale model railway set in an Arizona Sky Island inspired landscape. Nice!

There was a café which looked half decent. Not the right time for me having stuffed myself at breakfast!

One of the best aspects of the garden from my perspective was the shade.

I was done in 30 mins, so it was an expensive 30 mins. However, it was another tourist attraction ticked off.

From the Botanical Gardens, I stopped off at a Safeway Starbucks store on the way to Mount Lemmon.

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