Caroline and I tried for an early morning start for a visit to Tucson today and were finally underway shortly before 9:00. After nearly a half-hour, we began to leave civilization and enter the natural desert.

Along the way, we pass a few gas stations, an ostrich farm, a nut farm, Picacho Peak State Park which was the site of the furthest west Civil War battle, and quite a few cacti. On the outskirts of Tucson, we pass some lush desert landscapes that are soon to disappear, making way for progress. A nearby sign announces the coming of a new grocery store – goodbye, cactus!

Our first stop of the day is in Oro Valley, just outside of Tucson, to visit the Silvas. Arturo and his family have been friends now for many years. In the photo, Arturo is on the right, his son Arturito (Artoodeetoo) is behind him, and on the left is Arturo’s mother. We pass Guadalupe, Arturo’s wife, as we approach their house, stopping long enough to say hello as she is on her way to take daughters Melissa and Sophia to Sunday School and Church. Our visit was short as Arturito was on his way back to Flagstaff for University after having come down to see a concert featuring Molotov and El Gran Silencio, Arturo needed to join his family at Church, and Caroline and I had primarily come down to catch a couple of movies.

This is the lobby of the Loft Cinema in Tucson, Arizona. We have visited before to see ‘What is it?” by Crispin Glover, but today we were here for a double feature, including the Chinese film 2046 and the Korean film Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Both films were excellent, although Caroline and I both agreed that we enjoyed 2046 just a bit more. Be careful seeing Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, it is a demanding, violent, even a little slapsticky film that should not be seen by the timid.