Tucson Hiking Clubs

[Jim]

I give up. I've held out on this. I know Joe would prefer I don't and might delete this, but after several days of it, and yet another Memorial Day Weekend ruined by high winds, my Colorado Trip canceled due to high wind and cold, and nothing do to but sit and think, I take to the key board. When it comes to my location, I give up.

As some of you know, I moved to Kayenta on September 30. Liz knows I was cautiously optimistic at that time, but generally trying to stay positive about the move. I was getting excited about many aspects of the move, such as renting a house instead an apartment (something I later learned was sort of silver cloud with a gray lining), having a yard, living in a rural area and so on. The house is in terrible shape and isn't even 10 years old. Let me put it like this, "the building should be condemned. There’s serious metal fatigue in all the load-bearing members, the wiring is substandard, it’s completely inadequate for my power needs". Then there's the neighborhood (though this was obvious before the move). It's a disaster area. You might say, "the neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone". The yard is pointless and nothing but dirt, blowing dirt, unless it is mud, or hard packed clay, depending on season. Mostly, the yards seem to function as catchments for the blowing trash and people's 8 trucks they park on them. The rural area, is more of a prison of isolation, hours and hours from anything not this place. Then, there is the air pollution. Not from cars, but coal that people burn. It stinks like an old 2-stroke lawn mower idling with the choke clamped down, and it hangs around on cold winter nights.

All of that pales in comparison to the high winds made so much worse with fierce dust. I never thought it could be that bad. No wonder people in Oklahoma went insane in the 30s during the dust bowl. I had gusts so bad this afternoon, the house shook like I was in an earthquake. I mean windows rattled, the roof shook, and dust hit the windows so hard sounded like they were going to break.

Still, you would think that at some point, it has to get better. Summer is nearly here, it's time to enjoy the yard, the house, the warm weather and enjoy it by starting a garden to get food from. And, I did. I bought some stuff when I moved out, a peach and plum tree, and some other plants, as well as two pines. Virtually everything is dead. Dead, dead, dead. Stuff that looked fair after the last big wind event is now dead. Dried out and dead. All the leaves on the fruit trees, the sage brush I planted, the grapes (long since), and now all of the stuff I had planted in the last month and had come up. I really liked seeing some life, something green, something growing in the world of virtually nothing. My broccoli is shredded and dried out to stalks on the ground. My corn that came up is dead, my watermelon seeds, honey dew seeds, and sunflowers that had come up, all dried out and dead. My tomatoes, my basil, my radishes, my lettuce, and my gramma grasses, all dried out and killed in the last 48 hours. All dead. Even one area where I put in corn and it started growing, not only is that dead, but the wind has been so fierce that the soil I had planted the corn in- that is blown away. Completely gone! I have seedlings in pots that I could re-plant, but I am having a hard time wanting to bother again. I mean, what is the point? I put a lot of work in out here, just to have the wind destroy it. I had a lawn that got buried under 6 inches of dirt. Gave up on that, as you can't shovel your lawn. I had a native plants garden of grasses and wild flowers I planted and seeded last summer right after getting in. That was blown away in April. Not doing that again. I shoveled the dirt out of the street. That came back. Not doing that again. Seriously, I give up. Time to get up on the Model-T and move on.

[SAMBA]

@SpiderLegs

Given your well documented history of visiting dens of iniquity, did you ever have the good fortune to partake of the "happy hour" at one of Tucson's lost treasures, the Granfalloon Saloon? The GS had the best (at least the most irresponsible) HH I ever had the (mis?)fortune to experience. As I remember, the requirements for GS's HH were a bell, a stop watch, kegs of Coors, and a pocket-full (make that a "small pocket-full") of change. 4 PM on Fridays draft beers cost a nickle, but went up a nickle when the bartender rang the bell at 10 minute intervals. At 4 PM it looked like the start of the Oklahoma Land Rush with frat guys queuing up to try to get a sub-$1 head start on an evening of debauchery.

[SAMBA]

@SpiderLegs

Kudos to SL for his "Manhattan Club" reference. It was the inspiration for my Googling Tucson's dipsomaniacal past, http://arizonafootballonline.net/forum/ ... ?f=2&t=626. How many these dens of debauchery can yooz guys remember?

[JimmyLyding]

If you include stops at the Bambi, Kon Tiki, The Bomb Shelter and Bay Horse I might have to come down.

The old Asian lady proprietor of the Kon Tiki used to take our watches and credit cards as if our watches were nice, which they weren't, and we had money, which we didn't The Bay Horse was the first bar I ever went to. Is the giant chair still there? :whistle:

[SpiderLegs]

I stopped into the Bay Horse for old time's sake about 6 months ago with my girlfriend. The chair is still there. The two bars that I started to frequent when I moved to Tucson in high school were Nino's and Jack's. Both are long gone, but would serve anyone that put cash on the table. Nino's hosted a lot of bands back in the 80's and I got to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Flag, Meat Puppets and lots of other bands in a tiny club. The location is on 1st & Grant and is now a thrift store.

As far at the Manhattan Club goes, I only went into there to use the restroom. There used to be a punk club two doors down and it was tough to get into their restroom. So I would head over to the Manhattan Club. They always had some Indian chicken scratch band playing and the locals didn't seem to care for white guys from the 'burbs walking into the place. Seems like most of the places that I frequented as a young man have been closed or torn down. Now when I head back to Tucson I look for sedate places with a long list of craft beers.

[SpiderLegs]

@SpiderLegs

Kudos to SL for his "Manhattan Club" reference. It was the inspiration for my Googling Tucson's dipsomaniacal past, http://arizonafootballonline.net/forum/ ... ?f=2&t=626. How many these dens of debauchery can yooz guys remember?

So in true HAZ fashion in taking a flyer on a rabbit trail I perused the list from the link. Now I'm starting to sound like a lush but I've been to the original Gentle Ben's, the Green Dolphin, the Wildcat House, the Bum Steer, spent a lot of time at the Shanty and over at Greasy Tony's. The house next door to Greasy Tony's on Speedway was being rented by a couple of punk friends, so was the scene of major after-parties when punk or alternative bands came into town in the mid to late 80's. You'd go see the band and then join the band for a kegger at this house. Went to the Tucson Garden a few times, once to see Jane's Addiction play in front of me and 200 other people. Not a bar, but I really miss the original Sanchez Burrito Company that was on 1st & Grant. There was something addictive about their burritos.

Another place that is gone is a place called 17 Poles. You counted 17 telephone poles from the intersection of Broadway & Houghton and took the first dirt road to the right. Follow it back a half mile and it was time for jungle juice and keggers. Talked to my brother the sheriff who patrols Tucson's eastside and he told me that the classic desert party is pretty much a distant memory now. He can't remember the last one he broke up.