Tucson wasn’t necessarily a place we thought we’d go visit again. We’ve been to Tucson before but stayed in a place we weren’t super fond of so it didn’t stick in our mind as a great place to go back to visit.

But we’re working our way across the southwest part of the country and up toward Lake Tahoe and this is where it worked out for us to stop for a night. This time we stayed somewhere new and it was a little more enjoyable. Since we were just passing through, it’s not like it mattered a ton this time but still — if you’re comfortable where you’re staying and like the vibe, it makes it a better experience.

We found a place on the south side of the city and it was convenient and easy. We were pretty hungry and ready for dinner when we arrived so we looked at what was close by and found a beer and burger joint that was practically across the street. Once we arrived, we actually almost drove off to find something different because it looked like it was a fast food place and we weren’t really in the mood for that. But we figured since they had beer it had to be something other than fast food so we went in.

It was!

It’s called Brooklyn’s Beer & Burger and it had a super cool vibe and the food was delicious! I’m not a beer drinker but James looooves to try a good beer and he very much enjoyed the two he picked to try. We are normally very healthy eaters but we decided to splurge and share a couple of naughty items for us — wontons and a buffalo flatbread. They were sure tasty! If only we’d remembered to take a picture of the jalapeño wontons before we almost had them devoured. ;) I told you we were hungry! haha!

Before we drove out of town the next morning, we wanted to stop and do a hike. We stopped on the very northern edge of the west side Saguaro National Park and chose one with beautiful scenic views. It did not disappoint! Even the drive there was pretty! It was tucked back on a dead end road that basically went through a beautiful little neighborhood. We saw quite a few people out for their morning walks. I can’t imagine living in a place where you can just go out and go for a walk outside your home with views like this. So amazing!

The weather was perfect and we saw so many beautiful plants as well as amazing mountain views. We always love being in the desert. It’s so different than the landscape that we grew up with and has such a beauty to it.

We always joke that we never would have thought we’d find the desert beautiful before we started traveling so much but now that we’ve spent a good amount of time in the desert over the last 4 years, we definitely love it. It’s fun to see the different kinds of plants that exist in different climates. The saguaros are always interesting because they can have so many different shapes. We saw some of the biggest ones we’ve ever seen on this hike! haha!

It was so good to be out in nature again! It had been too long since we’d been on a proper hike. ;) If we could have our way, we’d be able to go for a hike and enjoy amazing views every single day.

What about you? Do you love to hike? Do you enjoy hiking in the desert?

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