(Part 2) Best products from r/Tucson

I don't have a specific recommendation, but I like to do the same thing and I've been using these two books to find good places to explore:

1. Guide To Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails
   
2. Arizona Trails South Region
   
   Both provide routes with descriptions, photos, waypoints and turn by turn callouts. Each trail has difficulty rating and in the case of the second book, there is also a remoteness rating. We typically pick a route, follow the waypoints as described in the book the first time to learn the area, and then when we go back we explore side trails and such.
   
   The first book has a lot of the more well known routes all are day-trip length, the second book has much more routes and much more detail. trips in that book range from a few hours to a few days long. Each trail on those books typically includes one or more pretty interesting things to see or do, we haven't been let down yet.
   
   If you don't have one yet, get a state land trust permit, many of the backroads and trails go on state trust land, so if a ranger finds you out there without your permit, you can get fined. It's only $15/20 per year and you can do it all online (for an extra $1) by going here: https://land.az.gov/recreational-permit-portal
   
   I lied: If you've read down this far, here's a specific location that is pretty neat: There's an old gin house at the end of the trail that leads to Little Fish Canyon. That should be enough to get you to find it on google maps. satellite view might show you the structure a bit. The building is fenced in to keep the animals out, you can undo the fence on the north side to get through, just make sure to connect it back up when you are done. You can open window covers to peek in and get a better look, but make sure you close it all back up when you are done. do NOT enter the building, that might get you in trouble. All around those trails are a number of mines as well. most (all?) are sealed with gates to protect the bats, but still kind cool to look in.
   
   If you are on Facebook, search for "Tucson Jeeps" group and join it. People there are organizing runs all the time. Some of the trails are difficult and/or remote enough that you'll definitely want to go with others just in case.
   
   EDIT: oh, and about the cows, don't worry about driving through the cows, just take it slow and quiet. they WILL move out of the way before you bump them. I never really knew what to do until I ran across a huge herd being walked right down the middle of a highway once. The rancher was like "You don't have to stop, just keep driving, they'll move!"

Did you mean only outings or things you can do at home, too? We have a homemade agility course in the backyard. There are some good videos on YouTube about how to make your own inexpensive course. Alternatively you could do a rally course with just cones or similar markers. We also like interactive toys like this one.

'Sporting Houses' and saloons galore. Conveniently close to the Mexican Army barracks.

Tucson must have been a pretty wild place in those times. I'd love to have a good print of this.

Edit: So I wanted to know more about George Hand, the maker of this map. Apparently he kept a detailed daily journal which ended up being many volumes in length. The contents have been microfilmed. Based on those diaries is this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Whiskey-Six-Guns-Red-Light-Ladies-1875-1878/dp/0944383300

I really want to read it, but $46.00 seems a bit steep.

There are some good, lightweight UPF 50+ products that will keep you cool and protected from the sun. UPF 50+ means you can stay in the sun more than 50 times as long as you can without protection before getting sunburned. If you get something hooded with long sleeves, you could combine that with a hat and last all day. Here are few I found:

http://www.uvskinz.com/Pullover-Beach-Hoodie-Men-p/060360.htm
https://www.exofficio.com/products/details/mens-sol-cool-ultimate-hoody
https://www.amazon.com/Coolibar-UPF-Mens-Traverse-Hoodie/dp/B00TZ4U282

I picked up one of these a month ago after cutting cable. I have it near a window and it picks up about 29 channels, though half or more are in Spanish. The local HD channels which is all I care about look great.

It's going to be freezing your windshield a lot more haha. Swing by a hardware store and pick up an ice scraper to keep in your glove compartment. Something like this will work, though the one I got at Ace is much more compact. This is especially important if you have to go to class/work early and you park your car outside.

Your primary options are Century Link for DSL and Cox or Comcast (depending on location) for Cable. Century Link offers slower speeds at a lower price point. Cox has higher speeds at a slightly higher price point. Both companies offer deals that will get you a discounted service for a while. For example, Cox is offering their Preferred plan for $20 a month for 6 months.

From personal experience and from what others have told me, Century Link can often times be difficult to work with, have unreliable speeds and spotty service. I haven't dealt with Comcast in Tucson yet, but from previous experiences they are alright. Right now I'm using Cox and their service has been very reliable and I don't have any real complaints. One thing I absolutely recommend if you go with Cox is to purchase a DOCSIS 3.0 modem (example). If you use a DOCSIS 2.0 modem chances are you will receive low speeds at most points of the day if you live in more populated areas of Tucson. DOCSIS 3.0 gets around this issue since it is capable of connecting to multiple downstreams instead of just one.

There really isn't a "best" since ISP's in general can be a pain to work with. If you want the best in terms of reliability (personal opinion here), speed and data cap I would pick Cox and pickup a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, just realize you will end up paying a bit more.

Thanks to u/FrogGranite for the ingredient list.

This "medicine" purports to contain water, ethanol, a variety of pollens (whose associated allergens may or may not be rendered inactive/biologically unavailable by being processed into this mixture, watercress (a vegetable), myrrh (a plant that contains antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal compounds [1]), and echinacea extract (a homeopathic plant with little if any known medicinal value [2]).

This mixture also claims to contain goldenseal (which appears to be a pro-inflammatory CYP* inhibitor ("The safety of extended use of goldenseal extracts is also questionable, as another chemical constituent of the plant, hydrastine, may cause hypertension, exaggerated reflexes, and respiratory failure if given in sufficient doses. Furthermore, extracts of goldenseal inhibit the activity of cytochrome P450 (CYP 3A4) in vitro, and, therefore, may increase the toxicity of concomitantly administered prescription drugs t metabolized by this enzyme. " [3]).

​

OP and others, please be careful with consuming this or any other homeopathic drugs. If you're taking any prescription medication, talk to the prescribing doctor and pharmacist before taking a new drug in conjunction.

Some homeopathic formulations are essentially placebos, and others contain powerful drugs. Unfortunately, the only regulation in the herbal supplement industry only requires that manufacturers meet certain quality standards. However, the FDA does not evaluate claims of effectiveness or safety for herbal supplements [4].

​

My favorite example showing how backwards this style of regulation is is melatonin, the popularly sold OTC sleep aid. It's active and useful in doses as low as 0.3 milligrams (i.e. 300 micrograms), but is often sold in doses as high as 10 milligrams (i.e. 10000 micrograms: a more-than-33 fold increase) [5],[6].

Melatonin was on the market for more than 15 years before scientists noticed that melatonin use increases reactive aggression in men [7]. Yet, because of the lax regulations on this drug market, marketers and sellers of melatonin supplements need not disclose knowledge of this side-effect.

My least favorite example is the ephedra debacle. Read this before getting me started on that.

This bit by John Oliver examining consequences of the lack of regulation on nutritional/herbal supplements market is also quite enlightening: https://youtu.be/WA0wKeokWUU

I found a couple more references, will post them here for historical purposes. If Tucson really was the first, then that is truly noteworthy.

1 - Another newspaper article.

2 - Yet another article.

3 - A photo from the local paper.

4 - 2015 Obituary for one of the owners.

5 - Pat McGee the skater who was there for the grand opening, still living.

6 - This book here also mentions the park and its owners and has the wrong address of 2169 E Speedway.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who remembers this place and might have some more pictures. I wonder how long it was in business.

The best book about how to lift in my opinion.

The New Rules

You may be able to borrow it from the library.

http://www.amazon.com/University-Arizona-Wildcat-Figurine-Antenna/dp/B005IB3N00

Plus

http://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Christmas-Morning-Slippers-Hairbrush/dp/B001JEH7ZW

Plus

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001IY82FM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1419287838&sr=8-1&dpPl=1&dpID=41nNuDE7mbL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

= DIY masterpiece

Forager here. One of my most rewarding hobbies, starting with several years of "Arizona" units in school where we learned about mesquite flour, using nopal fruits, and how to get by if you get lost in the desert; the great Willy Whitefeather (https://www.amazon.com/Willy-Whitefeathers-Outdoor-Survival-Handbook/dp/0943173477) even paid us a visit. I'm out of practice in the Sonoran Desert, but have picked up John Slattery's book to get reacquainted: https://www.amazon.com/Southwest-Foraging-Flavorful-Edibles-Regional/dp/1604696508

I bought Tucson: The Life and Times of an American City when I first moved here and it's a really good read.

http://arizona.sierraclub.org/trail_guide/DIFFNDX.HTM

That's a decent place to start for local trails. There's also a good book that you can find at any recreation store around here: http://www.amazon.com/Tucson-Hiking-Guide-Pruett-Series/dp/product-description/0871089661

This book has gps, maps, trail ratings, detailed descriptions, etc, for southern arizona off-roading: Arizona Trails Southern Region
This one is good, too:
Arizona backroads and 4-wheel drive trails

Both have helpful notes on difficulty/obstacles, as well as notes on whether or not there's a lot of brush to scratch up your paint...

And... Charoleau Gap is pretty exciting, but there's no trouble you can't back straight out of if you don't like it...