We have a party of six today for a look around Tucson's vibrant mural scene. Barry and I drive downtown with Mark and Sue to meet Paula and Bill, who have come from Phoenix on their way home to St. Louis.
Paula and Bill have brought us a wonderful present - their floor pump. It's on loan for the rest of our time here since we forgot to pack one of the three pumps we left at home. This is so much easier to operate than the weak little frame pump I have avoided using.
Mark makes use of our loaner pump before we get going.
Most of the famous murals I've seen or read about are in or around downtown Tucson so we'll start there, then ride north to see a few fun things on the Loop. It's all part of my not-so-secret plan to lure our friends back to Tucson someday.
It's a fine day, in the mid-70s and sunny. Like on Sunday when I did a reconnaissance ride for this tour, traffic is fairly light in the El Presidio district and thereabouts. I've never had an uncomfortable ride in downtown Tucson. While there are busy streets to avoid, it's not difficult to get around.
The route at the end of the post shows locations of the murals and sculpture on our tour. There are a few in the map that I still need to photograph, and I've surely missed lots of good stuff. What I found easily fills the time available before Paula and Bill drive on to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the night. Let's have a look.
El Tour de Tucson by Joe Pagac, 2021, in the historic El Presidio neighborhood
Partial photo of the 2024 railroad history mural at the Transportation Museum by Bill Singleton and his son Gabriel. Worth a visit to see all three panels, beginning with Chinese-Americans who built the railroad, the arrival of the first train here in 1880, and a surge in tourists arriving in the 1950s.
New this year, Ignacio Garcia's "Los Tres Amigos" celebrates 100 years of La Fiesta de los Vaqueros - the Tucson Rodeo. I almost bought rodeo tickets when we first saw this one.
Joe Pagac's goofy characters ride into the sunset in "Epic Rides" from 2017. Funded through a Kickstarter campaign, this one kick-started Pagac's reputation for large mural painting.
From here we ride through the University district and make our way over to the very pleasant Bike Boulevard on Treat Avenue. That takes us north for a short loop on the Loop by the Rillito River.
Whales swim into the sunset in Joe Pagac's "Sky Islands" from 2019. At Campbell and Grant.
Tracks and Trails, a collaboration by Jessica Gonzalez and Rock Martinez. Spanning across three retaining walls by the Rillito River, the work celebrates the river's ecosystem. It was exciting to ride past this wonderful creation in progress two years ago.
I planned to ride back on the Treat Street Bike Boulevard again, but with time growing short we shoot straight south on Stone Avenue for the return. Stone isn't very scenic but it has a designated bike route that gets us back quickly.
More wacky critters on bikes from Joe Pagac, at the Sahara Apartments on Stone Ave.
We're to the parking lot with 20 minutes to spare on the parking meters. After Paula and Bill leave to continue their journey home, the rest of us decamp to Borderlands Brewing for tacos and one more Pagac creation. This mural is on the back of Borderlands. It's hard to get the whole perspective on this large work in the tight space between the railroad tracks and the brewery. Aviation Bikeway is probably a better viewing spot.
