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The month of February is a fantastic time to visit Tucson. Not only does Tucson have amazing warm and sunny winter weather (most of the time), but there is so much going on that there is literally something for everyone; Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Accenture Match Play Championship, Kona 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, and winter birdwatching to name a few things. Of course, with all these events and the wonderful weather Tucson in February is very popular. So be prepared for crowded streets, long waits at restaurants, and super expensive hotel rates.

Of course we didn’t attend all of the above events, there just weren’t enough hours in the day. We were able to participate in some of them, though. Topping our list of fun things this February was a trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Billed as the largest “Gem and Mineral Show in the World,” the name can be a bit misleading since the show actually consists of 48 venues and thousands of different booths and vendors around town.

My favorite is the main show at the Tucson Convention Center which is organized by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society. TGMS, a non-profit, started the show 54 years ago in a local elementary school. The show which starts the second Thursday of February now occupies over 181,000 square feet with various exhibits featuring high quality and rare specimens from museums around the world and booths selling just about everything.

The theme for this year’s show was Gems and Minerals of the USA, and I was really looking forward to it. It was Lance’s first time at the show and unfortunately I don’t think this was a good year to take him. I felt the exhibits lacked pizazz and a coherent flow; granted there were some stellar specimens that dazzled us, but overall it felt a bit amateurish. Sigh. We were impressed with the variety of rocks, gems, fossils, jewelry, and other items that were available—some of them were reasonably priced too. Living in an RV doesn’t allow my rock collection to grow at the rate I might like, although I did pick up a nice fluorite crystal.

My fascination with (and eventual degree in) geology can be credited to the Gem Show since I first went there on a field trip in third grade. I have attended some part of the show almost every year since. Probably the best thing about the show is that it brings our good friend Brendan to Tucson. While it is a work trip and his every minute is packed with meetings, he usually stays an extra day so he can play. We always get in a short hike, rain or shine, and this year we had a wonderfully sunny day to wander the Sonoran Desert.

We hiked right from our RV over to an exceptionally large Ironwood Tree in the Tucson Mountain Park where we stopped for lunch. Entertainment was provided by a hungry Curve-billed Thrasher who almost caught a Tree Lizard. Instead he consoled himself with the poor creature’s tail which went down in one gulp. Then he found a medium-sized black beetle. We watched in wonderment as he repeatedly smacked the bug against a rock. Eventually the carapace fell away and the bird swallowed the internal workings of the bug. We left our lunch spot appropriately in awe of the bird’s voraciousness.

The desert was alive with the buzz of an early spring. Our last cold, wet spell a week earlier (courtesy of a storm from Alaska) nourished the seedlings which grew rapidly, and some were already blooming. We came across the small purple Desert Sand Verbena, a pale yellow Desert Evening Primrose, bright yellow Brittlebush, Mexican Gold Poppies, and vibrant red Ocotillo blooms. All of this is quite early, even for Tucson. We’ve not only witnessed a burst of nest building and mating activities, but some birds have already laid their eggs; even more amazing, some of them are already hard at work feeding their young!

Next up was the Rodeo Parade. The self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Non-Motorized Parade” kicks off the final weekend of the Fiesta de los Vaqueros, the first professional rodeo event of the year. The rodeo had very humble beginnings in Tucson—it was started in 1925 to entice tourists by promoting the area’s old west and cowboy heritage. The event has since grown into one of the top 20 pro-rodeos in the U.S. with over 650 contestants competing over nine days. The rodeo is such a part of Tucson’s identity that all the schools close on Thursday and Friday for an extended Rodeo Weekend and the rodeo stadium can seat 11,000 spectators.

I headed down alone (Lance had to work) to watch the Rodeo Parade feeling a bit foreign since I no longer have my cowboy boots or western shirts. My horse riding days were so long ago! I decided against viewing the parade from the grandstand area figuring it would be too crowded and parking a hassle. Instead I hit the beginning of the parade route near Sixth Avenue and Ajo Way. I’m really glad I did since I was able to get behind the scenes and photograph some of the horses before they started on the roughly two mile route. I must say I was impressed by the organization of the parade, with over 800 horses and thousands of spectators it was no easy task—yet the parade went without a hitch.

There were two things that are no longer a part of the parade that I remember from my childhood: Horse Apple Bingo and the Paddy Wagon full of snowbirds. The bingo game went a little something like this: in front of the grandstand the street was painted in colorful squares. You would buy a ticket for a colored square and if a horse left apples (went poo) in your square you won some kind of silly prize. It was strange but fun! For the Paddy Wagon, police would pull over a car with out-of-state plates on I-10 and “arrest” them. They then rode in the horse-drawn Paddy Wagon during the parade and had their pictures taken with the Mayor. I don’t know why they stopped that tradition, everyone seemed to enjoy it, including the snowbirds.

I stayed until the last marching band and horse had passed, and then I began working my way back to the car. Along the way I came upon an armada of street cleaners, staggered behind each other across the entire width of the road. As you can imagine, 800 horses can leave behind quite a few souvenirs! The clean-up crew was as organized as the parade. Well done, Tucson.

Photos: View our photographs from February, Tucson’s Busiest Month.

Notes: We visited the Gem Show on 02/15/2008 and the Rodeo Parade on 02/21/2008.