Fishing for sand trout and suckers

A sculpture of sand trout in the Rose Hill Wash on Tanque Verde Road, Tues. July 5, 2011.

Big Jim: The evolution of sand trout

It all began when the Sonoran Desert started drying up, to become what it is today.

The evolution of sand trout

No fishing for sand trout at the Atturbury-Lyman Bird and Animal Sanctuary loop trail. Photo taken 12/11/09.

Ring's reflections: Tucson grew - and changed - with statehood

1912 to present

Ring's reflections: Tucson grew - and changed - with statehood

Famed pilot Charles Lindbergh came to dedicate the new municipal airport on Sept. 23, 1927.

Ring's reflections: Tucson grew - and changed - with statehood

Firefighters apply a steady stream of water during the Pioneer Hotel fire, which killed 29 people.

Ring's reflections: Tucson grew - and changed - with statehood

The Pioneer Hotel, on the northeast corner of Stone Avenue and Pennington Street, around 1950.

Ring's reflections: Tucson grew - and changed - with statehood

Tucson Police Chief C.A. Wollard, standing at far left, at John Dillinger's arraignment. Dillinger is at center, with his hat on his knee.

Ring's reflections: Tucson grew - and changed - with statehood

Navy P-3 (A and C models) sit in storage at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, commonly called the "boneyard," at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Ring's reflections: Tucson grew - and changed - with statehood

A rendering of the Phoenix Mars Lander. The program was headed by the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona.

Big Jim: Dry river stories

In my last blog I shared some of the historical importance of the Santa Cruz River. That’s a good example of the way I use history and archaeology — the study of the past — to illuminate the present. That river, no matter how much it has changed, is the reason for Tucson being where it is.

Big Jim: A river ran (and still runs, sometimes) through it

Let’s start with a river – The Santa Cruz River. We have to start there, because that’s where human settlement in this area started.

Ring's reflections: Tucson emerges from frontier-village roots

Old Main, the original building of the University of Arizona, was built in the open desert, at a distance from the town of Tucson.

Ring's reflections: Tucson emerges from frontier-village roots

1854 to 1912

Ring's reflections: Tucson emerges from frontier-village roots

Journalist Ross Browne sketched this image of Tucson in 1864 as the U.S. Civil War raged.

Ring's reflections: Missing Headline

A photo shows St. Mary's Hospital at the turn of the 20th century. The hospital was one of many major "firsts" for Tucson in the 1880s.

Ring's reflections: Tucson emerges from frontier-village roots

In 1910, Congress Street (looking west) was still unpaved but was the principal roadway in downtown Tucson.

Celebrate Tucson's Slavic heritage

True to my promise, I’m alerting you to events related to the subject of this blog, the living cultural traditions of Tucson.

Celebrate Tucson's Slavic heritage

Members of the Lajkonik Polish Folk Ensemble perform for the Tucson Slavic Festival Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010 at St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church. Such entertainment can be expected at the Slavic Heritage Festival April 20, 2013.