My Travel Blog : Tucson, Arizona

Last week, my husband and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary by taking a road trip to Tucson, Arizona for the day. Tucson is about 2 hours south of Phoenix (where we reside), 60 miles from the Mexico border, and the second largest city in the state. This was our first time exploring the city so I’m excited to be sharing with you some highlights from our trip!

EL CHARRO CAFE

For lunch, we made sure to dine at the original El Charro Cafe, an iconic Mexican restaurant, which we discovered from the Travel Channel. Established in 1922, it is the Nation’s Oldest Mexican Restaurant in continuous operation by the same family. El Charro also boasts that their original chef/owner invented the chimichanga after accidentally dropping a burrito in the fryer! Naturally, we had to try the OG chimichanga.Our server also brought us a sample of their other house special, a meat that they still dry up on the roof of the restaurant in wire cages. The texture is much like a dry jerky, but flavorful.

MISSION SAN XAVIER DEL BAC

After lunch, we headed to this gem, set in the middle of the desert. According to their plaque, San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission in 1692. The Baroque architecture style building is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona. Construction began in 1783 and was completed in 1797, making it over 220 years old!The beautiful architecture set against the desert backdrop was absolutely stunning. It was definitely a treat to be able to explore this historical landmark.

TUCSON MOUNTAIN PARK

For our last stop, we decided to quickly swing by the Tucson Mountain Park on the way back to Phoenix, and boy were we glad we did. Pictures don’t do it justice. The scenery is truly breathaking. There are cacti, vegetation, peaks, and canyons as far as the eye can see. What really surprised us was how lush and green the Sonoran Desert looked! We also spotted bodies of water (lakes, I presume) in the distance, but we ran out of time and had to head home. Best believe, we will be back next time to explore more of the park!I am truly thankful to live where we live and have these opportunities to explore the gorgeous landscape around us. We LOVE desert living! Ta-ta, Tucson! Until next time.