Horseback riding is as much a part of the American West as sunsets, saguaros and sagebrush. In Tucson and Southern Arizona you can saddle up at a resort, a guest ranch, a public stable or at a specific horseback riding business. In this part of Arizona, Tucson and horse property go hand in hand.

Catering to pretty much every skill level, most of these outfits offer horsemanship lessons and wrangler-guided trips (often complete with a yummy trailside breakfast or a delicious picnic lunch) for both individuals and groups. Specialty rides, such as sunrise, sunset and moonlight rides, are especially delightful. Whether you choose a half-day jaunt, a longer trail ride, a group or solo journey, riding horseback is the real Western way to explore the Tucson landscape.

Here are some resources from www.VisitTucson.org to help you plan your horseback riding adventure:

Guest Ranches

Circle Z Ranch
P.O. Box 194
Patagonia, AZ 85624
65 miles south of Tucson
(888) 854-2525
Must be a guest to ride horses

Grapevine Canyon Ranch
P.O. Box 302
Pearce, AZ 85625
80 miles southeast of Tucson
(800) 245-9202
Must be a guest to ride horses

Price Canyon Ranch
Douglas, AZ
150 miles southeast of Tucson
(800) 727-0065
Must be a guest to ride horses

Rancho de la Osa Guest Ranch
1 La Osa Ranch Road
Sasabe, AZ 85633
65 miles southwest of Tucson
(800) 872-6240
Must be a guest to ride horses

Tanque Verde Ranch
14301 E. Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85748
(888) 574-3833
Must be a guest to ride horses

Triangle T Guest Ranch
P.O. Box 218 (I-10, exit 318)
Dragoon, AZ 85609
60 miles east of Tucson
(866) 586-7533
Stables are open to the public

White Stallion Ranch
9251 W. Twin Peaks Road
Tucson, AZ 85743
(888) 977-2624
Must be a guest to ride horses

Horseback Riding Businesses

Arizona Horseback Experience
16 Coyote Court
Sonoita, AZ 85637
50 miles southeast of Tucson
(520) 455-5696

Cocoraque Ranch
3199 N. Reservation Road
Tucson, AZ 85743
(520) 682-8594 or (520) 405-5884

Spanish Trail Outfitters
8500 E. Ocotillo Drive
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 749-0167

Stables

La Posta Quemada Ranch, Colossal Cave Mountain Park
16721 E. Old Spanish Trail
Vail, AZ 85641
(520) 647-3450

Old Tucson Studios
201 S. Kinney Road
Tucson, AZ 85735
(520) 437-8280

Pantano Riding Stables
4450 S. Houghton Road
Tucson, AZ 85730
(520) 298-8980

Pusch Ridge Stables
13700 N. Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85739-4262
(520) 825-1664

Source: Tucson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau website, www.VisitTucson.org. Information used with permission.

Need a Great Place to Shop? Tucson Houses it All

Whether you’re heading out on a full-fledged shopping spree or just looking for that one special, much-needed item, the stores, boutiques and shops located all around the Tucson real estate provide the ultimate shopping experience. In fact, scattered across the city are a number of beautiful indoor malls, as well as conveniently located individual stores.

If you’re looking for an artsy shopping adventure, head over to Fourth Avenue between Broadway and Speedway, which is a well-known environment for both dining and shopping. This area is home to vintage clothing stores, locally owned bookstores (imagine that!), custom furniture stores, funky thrift stores and pretty much everything in-between. Fourth Avenue truly comes alive at night as people come out to enjoy everything it has to offer. Twice a year, Fourth Avenue plays host to a fun-filled street fair which allows people to set up their own exhibits; this is often one of the most talked-about events in the city of Tucson.

If you’re looking for a more traditional shopping experience, one really nice mall to visit is the Foothills Mall, located in (where else?) the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The Foothills Mall contains not just nearly 100 stores, but also a play area for the littlest shoppers, a dynamite food court and a fifteen-screen multiplex movie theater.

Other malls in Tucson include El Con Mall, Park Place Mall, the Tucson Mall and La Encantada, which is an open-air shopping center featuring dozens of eateries, boutiques and shops. La Encantada, which is part of the Westcor shopping center chain, hosts events such as the Summer Concert Series, which brings live music and dancing every other Friday to one of the mall’s courtyards, and the Movies in the Courtyard Series, which shows a free movie and provides free popcorn on the last Saturday of every month. All you have to do is bring your own blanket.

Tucson is Home to Great Bird Watching?

Who knew?

According to the Tucson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau website, Tucson’s plethora of classic Sonoran desert vegetation, rolling grasslands, high mountains and warm winters all combine to make southeastern Arizona a bird-watchers' paradise. In fact, more than 500 species of birds call the area home, hummingbirds can be seen year-round and specialty birds like the the Red-Faced Warbler, the Grey Hawk and Vermilion Flycatchers can be found within a short drive of metropolitan Tucson.

Get this -- during the fall and spring migration it is possible to see 150 or more species in a single day…that’s amazing! Summer brings spectacular rarities including hummingbird species found nowhere else in the United States, while wintertime brings more than 20,000 Sandhill Cranes, myriad species of waterfowl, sparrows and raptors…all of whom are seeking the warm temperatures and sunny skies of the scenic Tucson real estate.

Several local communities host birding festivals throughout the year in celebration of the outstanding bird life found in this ultra-scenic area, and you can view a complete list of Tucson-area birding sites on the Tucson Audubon Society website, www.tucsonaudubon.org.

Additional resources for bird-ophiles include:

* Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
* Madera Canyon
* Sweetwater Wetland
* Agua Caliente Park
* Catalina State Park
* Saguaro National Park West
* Sierra Vista Birders Guide
* Las Cienegas NCA - Watchable Wildlife
* Southern Arizona Bird Observatory
* Nature Conservancy's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve
* Tubac Birding
* Birding the Anza Trail at Tubac
* Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
* Tucson Audubon Society's Rare Bird Alert
* Tucson Audubon Society
* The Nature Conservancy Arizona
* Southern Arizona Bird Observatory

*Source: www.VisitTucson.org; information used with permission.

Tucson is the Second Largest City in Arizona

Known by many as the “Old Pueblo,” the city of Tucson, Arizona has a history reaching back hundreds of years, well before Arizona officially became a state in 1912. In fact, the territory of Arizona was established in 1863, and Tucson served as the territorial capital for a full decade, from 1867 to 1877. Since its humble beginnings, it has grown to become Arizona’s second largest city and currently Tucson houses over one million residents in the metropolitan area and one of the state’s three public universities, the University of Arizona. Here is a brief overview of how the city is governed.

City government: First, an important resource is the website, which is home to a wealth of information and insights into the governing structure of Tucson.

The city of Tucson is divided into six wards, each of which elects a representative to the City Council, which is run by the Mayor. Every two years, three of the wards hold re-elections, for terms of four years each. The city of Tucson also employs a City Manager to take care of the myriad of professional managerial tasks associated with running a city the size of Tucson.

Using an online map, you can enter your zip code on the website listed above and determine in which ward you live. To stay abreast of governmental goings-on, you can review the Council’s agendas and meeting schedules so that you can be fully informed and take a more active role in Tucson’s government. In addition, you can read biographies and information related to each elected official. With this resource available to the public, anyone can easily stay informed and up-to-date.

County government: Tucson is located in Pima County, which is governed by a Board of Supervisors. The County is divided into five districts.

State and United States government: As a city in Arizona, Tucson is also governed by Arizona’s state officers, including the Governor, Attorney General and two United States Senators. In regards to the U.S. House of Representatives, the majority of Tucson falls under Arizona District 8, although some parts of Tucson fall under Arizona District 7.

A Few Fast Facts About Tucson

According to www.VisitTucson.org, the official website of the Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tucson is the 32nd largest city in the United States, boasting a population of about half a million people. The city’s elevation is 2,389 feet above sea level, while the total area of Tucson is 227 miles. Tucson houses over 630 miles of striped bike paths in the metropolitan area, 72 miles of shared-use paths and over 100 miles of residential bike routes and is considered to be very bike-friendly.

Here are a few “fast facts” about the Old Pueblo:

Geographical Facts:

* Tucson is surrounded by five mountain ranges: the Tucson, Santa Catalina, Rincon, Santa Rita and Tortolita mountains

* Tucson is bordered by Catalina State Park, Coronado National Forest, Saguaro National Park East, Saguaro National Park West and the Tohono O'odham Nation

Hospitality Facts:

* Tourism has a $3 billion economic impact on Tucson annually

* Tucson has 4 million domestic overnight visitors per year

* Over 40,000 jobs in Tucson are related to the hospitality and tourism industry

* Lodging properties within Tucson city limits: 108 = 10,163 rooms

* Lodging properties within Pima County: 196 = 16,696 rooms

Tucson's Top Employers (numbers are approximate/rounded)

* Raytheon Missile Systems: 11,000 employees

* University of Arizona: 10,000 employees

* State of Arizona: 9,900 employees

* U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca: 9,100 employees

* Davis Monthan Air Force Base: 8,200 employees

* Tucson Unified School District: 7,400 employees

* Pima County: 7,300 employees

* City of Tucson: 5,850 employees

* Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.: 5,600 employees

* Phelps Dodge Mining Company: 4,900 employees

* Carondolet Health Network: 3,700 employees

* TMC HealthCare: 3,100 employees

* University Medical Center Corp: 2,900 employees

* CheckMate Professional Employer: 2,000 employees

* University Physicians, Inc.: 1,500 employees

*Source: www.VisitTucson.org; information used with permission.

As Place to Live, Tucson Gets High Marks and Low Cost of Living

Located in Pima County, the city of Tucson, Arizona encompasses forty-four zip codes in a variety of high-end and more moderately-priced communities. Tucson is currently the second largest city in the state of Arizona with a population of over 525,000 residents (as of 2009). According to the website www.bestplaces.net, the population growth since 2009 has been 6.63 percent. The married-to-single ratio is 48 to 52, the median age is 33 years old, and the male-to-female ratio hovers around 49 to 51.

Good news – when compared with the rest of the country, Tucson’s cost of living is approximately five percent lower than the U.S. average. Additionally, at the present time, Tucson’s unemployment rate is a full percentage point lower than the current U.S. average.

On an annual basis, Tucson receives eleven inches of rainfall, and most people don’t realize it, but Tucson does generally get a bit of wintertime snowfall, albeit a tad less than an inch per year. Tucson enjoys an average low temperature in January of 38 degrees Fahrenheit and an average high in July of just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Approximately 80 percent of people in Tucson are high school graduates, which is on par with the national statistic of 79.62 percent, while over 14 percent are graduates of a four-year college and about nine percent hold graduate degrees. In alignment with Arizona averages, public schools in Tucson spend an average of almost $5,000 per student annually.

On the political side, at the present time, 46 percent of people living in Tucson are registered Republicans, while 53 percent are registered Democrats.

Right now, 72 percent of people who work outside the home in Tucson drive themselves to work with an average commute time of 23.5 minutes. Around three percent use mass transit, about 15 percent carpool and about three percent say they primarily work at home.