Arizona State Museum

   This museum focuses solely on Native Americans making up for the lack of information in the Arizona State History Museum. The main gallery explores the cultures of 10 Native American tribal groups living in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Exhibits cover the traditions and lifestyles of each group before the arrival of the Spanish and other settlers, the way new ideas and materials were absorbed into the cultures, and the influence of old traditions and new ideas on contemporary lifestyles. There are also several small galleries featuring changing exhibits and a large collection of pottery.

  The museum is accessible.

   There’s a parking garage close by if your vehicle will fit. If not, 2 hour, metered parking in available on the streets near the museum. We parked on 1st Street. The sidewalks and curb cuts are in good condition.  Museum  32.23219, -110.95575

Santa Cruz River Park Trail

  A paved trail follows the Santa Cuz River for over 40 miles and provides access to other trails.  Most of the year the river bed is a dry wash but abundant foliage along the trail makes for a pleasant and scenic walk.

        

   Make a quick stop at the Garden of Gethsemane, a group of sand and plaster statues created by Felix Lucero, a veteran of WWI, to fulfill a promise he made as he lay wounded on a battlefield in France.

 

  The trail is well maintained and flat except for the underpasses at major highways so it’s very accessible.

    We parked on North Riverside Drive where there’s plenty of on– street parking. There’s also a small parking lot that is not suitable for RVs. Trail   32.23418, -110.98615

Tucson Museum of Art

    The museum isn’t large – it takes about two hours to see it all – but the amount and variety of art is quite impressive. From Pre-Columbian to contemporary, western art to folk art- there’s something for every visitor to enjoy.

                          

    The museum is accessible. A long ramp accesses each lower level. Once down to the lowest level take the elevator up to see additional exhibits in the older section of the museum.

   The museum has a small parking lot that is not suitable for RVs but there is parking on the streets and in the lot on Church Street - three blocks east and one block north. It's easier to get a parking spot on the street if you visit on the weekend plus there’s no charge for metered parking on the weekend.  The sidewalks and curb cuts are in good condition. Museum  32.22347, -110.97445

Arizona History Museum - Tucson

   Very nicely done exhibits and interesting artifacts including an actual stamp mill, a uniform that belonged to Santa Anna, and a Spanish Colonial silver chest, give details of ranching, mining, and other aspects of Arizona’s history. A small exhibit features Geronimo but Native American history is not well covered.
         
  The museum is accessible. An elevator up to the kids’ hands-on area is available on request.  We did not visit that area.

   Parking is validated if your vehicle can fit in the garage. If not, 2 hour, metered parking in available on the streets around the museum. We parked on 1st Street. The sidewalks and curb cuts are in good condition.  Museum  32.23313, -110.95749

The Thing

    Everyone traveling along I-10 is bombarded with billboards for The Thing – 247 in all! For years we’ve resisted the temptation to stop however our chosen highbrow museum of the day proved to be inaccessible and The Thing was just a few miles down the highway so….

   After reading reviews about the old museum with its three dusty, weird warehouses, I kind of wish we had stopped years ago but the new museum is weird enough on its own. The museum exhibits theorize that aliens have been living among us since the age of cavemen and dinosaurs - yes, they existed at the same time ;-).  Aliens are currently and have been involved in many world events while most earthlings remain blissfully unaware. The museum is just silly, goofy fun and the Thing itself is most likely a hoax.

   There’s also a huge giftshop, a Dairy Queen, and a gas station.

   The museum, Dairy Queen, and giftshop are accessible.

   There’s a section in the parking lot for trucks and RVs. Thing  32.08137, -110.04972

Wilcox Playa Wildlife Area

   The playa is one of the winter roosting grounds for large flocks of sandhill cranes so we were hoping to see them coming in for the evening or leaving in the morning. Somehow they snuck past us because we heard them but we never saw them. There’s a short trail but I don’t think it goes close to the roosting area. A zig-zag entrance to the trail blocks animal access and also blocks wheelchair access.

         

    Primitive camping is allowed in the parking area which is fairly large but has some rough spots with potholes. The traffic noise from Kansas Settlement Road dies down at night. Some reviewers are disturbed by a noisy pump at one end of the parking lot. We didn’t notice it but that may have been because we had all of our windows closed.  Playa  32.1419, -109.7569

                 

Chiricahua Regional Museum

   Both Geronimo and Cochise, as leaders of their tribal groups, were central figures in the early conflicts between the Apaches and Spanish settlers and later between the Apaches and the Anglo ranchers. Most of the fighting ended when Geronimo surrendered in 1886.

    Half of the museum, which is housed in a small storefront building, is dedicated to the Apaches. The other half has exhibits and artifacts about the history of the forts, ranches and farms in the area.

   The museum is accessible.

   Parking is available on the street. Museum    32.2524, -109.83193