Tucson and the surrounding area offer visitors a variety of things to see and do.  Perfect weather. Friendly people. Gorgeous natural scenery. It all makes for a vacationers paradise! And remember - take the time to enjoy yourself.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - The name "museum" is misleading; this delightful site is a beautifully planned zoo and botanical garden featuring the animals and plants of the Sonoran Desert. Hummingbirds, cactus wrens, rattlesnakes, scorpions, bighorn sheep, and prairie dogs all busy themselves in ingeniously designed habitats. An Earth Sciences Center has an artificial limestone cave and a hands-on meteor and mineral display. The coyote and javelina exhibits have "invisible" fencing that separates humans from animals, and the Riparian Corridor section affords great underwater views of otters and beavers. The gift shop carries books about Arizona and the desert, plus jewelry and crafts. www.desertmuseum.org. COST: $12. OPEN: Mar.-Sept., daily 7:30-5; Oct.-Feb., daily 8:30-5.

Colossal Cave Mountain Park - is limestone grotto 20 mi east of Tucson (take Broadway Boulevard or 22nd Street East to Colossal Cave Road) is the largest dry cavern in the world. Guides discuss the fascinating crystal formations and relate the many romantic tales surrounding the cave, including the legend that an enormous sum of money stolen in a stagecoach robbery is hidden here. Forty-five-minute cave tours begin every 30 minutes and require a ½-mi walk and 363 stairs. The park includes a ranch area with trail rides ($20 per hour), a gemstone-sluicing area, a small museum, nature trails, a butterfly garden, a snack bar, and a gift shop. www.colossalcave.com. COST: Park $3 per car; cave tour $7.50 per person. OPEN: Oct.-mid-Mar., Mon.-Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-6; mid-Mar.-Sept., Mon.-Sat. 8-6, Sun. 8-7.

DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun - Arizonan artist Ted De Grazia, who depicted Southwest Native American and Mexican life in a manner some find kitschy and others adore, built this sprawling, spacious single-story museum with the assistance of Native American friends, using only natural material from the surrounding desert. You can visit De Grazia's workshop, former home, and grave. Although the original works are not for sale, the museum's gift shop has a wide selection of prints, ceramics, and books by and about the colorful artist. www.degrazia.org. COST: Free. OPEN: Daily 10-4.

Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium - Attractions here include a 16-inch public telescope; the impressive Star Theatre, where a multimedia show brings astronomy to life; an interactive meteor exhibit; and, in the basement, a Mineral Museum, which exhibits more than 2,000 rocks and gems, some rather rare. Bring a camera -- special adapters allow you to take pictures through the telescopes. www.flandrau.org. COST: Exhibits $3; planetarium shows $5.50; observatory free. OPEN: Exhibits Mon.-Wed. 9-5, Thurs.-Sat. 9-5 and 7 PM-9 PM, Sun. 1-5. Planetarium show times vary. Observatory Aug. 15-May 15, Wed.-Sat. 6:40 PM-10 PM; May 16-Aug. 14, Wed.-Sat. 7:30 PM-10 PM.

Kartchner Caverns - This spectacular limestone cavern has become such a popular destination that it is now virtually impossible to get inside without making reservations weeks in advance because the number of walk-up tickets per day is limited. However, the massive multicolored cave formations may be well worth the call and the required 49-mile drive from Tucson. Tickets purchased through the reservation line are USD10 per car (up to 4); cave tours are an additional USD14 for adults, USD6 children 7-13 and free for children under 6. There is a visitor center, shaded dining area, picnic area and campground.  Open Hours: 7:30am-6pm daily; Tours: Every 20 minutes 8:40am-4:40pm daily

Mission San Xavier Del Bac - The oldest Catholic church in the United States still serving the community for which it was built, San Xavier was founded in 1692 by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, who established 22 missions in northern Mexico and southern Arizona. The current structure was constructed out of native materials by Franciscan missionaries between 1777 and 1797 and is owned by the Tohono O'odham tribe. The beauty of the mission, with elements of Spanish, baroque, and Moorish architectural styles, is highlighted by the stark landscape against which it is set, inspiring an early-20th-century poet to dub it White Dove of the Desert. Inside, there's a wealth of painted statues, carvings, and frescoes. Paul Schwartzbaum, who helped restore Michelangelo's masterwork in Rome, supervised Tohono O'odham artisans in the restoration of the mission's artwork, completed in 1997; Schwartzbaum has called the mission the Sistine Chapel of the United States. Mass is celebrated at 8:30 AM daily in the church and three times on Sunday morning. Call ahead for information about special celebrations. Across the parking lot from the mission, San Xavier Plaza has a number of crafts shops selling the handiwork of the Tohono O'odham tribe, including jewelry, pottery, friendship bowls, and baskets with man-in-the-maze designs. COST: Free. OPEN: Church daily 7-5, gift shop daily 8-5.

Mt Lemmon - In 1881, Sara Lemmon became the first woman to reach the peak of this mountain, part of the Santa Catalina range. Mt. Lemmon is the southernmost ski slope in the continental United States, but you don't have to be a skier to enjoy a visit. In spring and fall you can picnic and hike among the 150 mi of clearly marked and well-maintained trails; in summer the mountain's 9,157-foot elevation brings welcome relief from the heat.  Mt. Lemmon Highway winds and twists its way for 28 mi up the mountainside. Every 1,000-foot climb in elevation is equivalent, in terms of climate, to traveling 300 mi north. You'll move from typical Sonoran Desert plants in the foothills to vegetation similar to that found in southern Canada at the top. Rock formations along the way look as though they were carefully balanced against each other by sculptors from another planet. At milepost 18 of your ascent, on the left-hand side of the road, is the Palisades Ranger Station of Coronado National Forest (PHONE: 520/749-8700). Rangers have the latest information on the mountain's campgrounds, hiking trails, and picnic spots. It's open weekends 8:30 to 4:30 in winter, daily 9 to 6 in summer. Even if you don't make it to the top of the mountain, you'll find stunning views of Tucson at Windy Point, about halfway up. Look for a road on your left between the Windy Point and San Pedro lookouts; it leads to Rose Canyon Lake, a lovely little reservoir. Just before you reach the ski area, you'll pass through the tiny alpine-style village of Summerhaven, which has a couple of casual restaurants, gift shops, and a few pleasant lodges. Many of Summerhaven's cabins and shops were destroyed by a forest fire in summer 2003. Rebuilding is well underway, as is construction to widen the Mt. Lemmon highway, which is scheduled for completion in early 2005. Mt. Lemmon Highway ends at Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley. Skiing here depends on natural conditions -- there's no artificial snow, so call ahead. There are 16 runs, open daily in winter, ranging from beginner to advanced. Lift tickets cost $28 weekdays ($32 weekends and holidays) for an all-day pass and $23 weekdays ($27 weekends and holidays) for a half-day pass (starting at 1 PM). Equipment rentals and instruction are available. In off-season you can take a ride ($7.50) on the double chairlift, which whisks you to the top of the slope -- some 9,100 feet above sea level. Many ride the lift and then head out hiking on one of several trails that crisscross the summit. There are some concessions at the ski lift. There are no gas stations on Mt. Lemmon Highway, so be sure to check the road conditions in winter and to gas up before you leave town any time of year. To reach the highway, take Tanque Verde Road to Catalina Highway, which becomes Mt. Lemmon Highway as you head north. Mt. Lemmon Hwy., Northeast, Tucson, AZ, USA, PHONE: 520/576-1400 recorded snow report; 520/547-7510 winter road conditions; COST: $5 per vehicle per day or $20 for an annual pass (includes Sabino Canyon); OPEN: Daily (depending on snow during ski season).

Old Tucson Studios -   Through the lens of the camera, Old Tucson Studios has played a prominent role in shaping the world's perception of the Old West. Although the Wild West spanned only 30 years in our nation's history, the legend lives on through the magic of Hollywood and on the streets of Old Tucson Studios.  Prepare to live the legend of a day in the life of a western town. From live shows and rides to plenty of delicious vittles, Old Tucson Studios offers authentic Old West entertainment in the traditional style that has brought countless filmmakers, history buffs, enthusiasts, and families to our action-packed streets.  So whether you're listening for the echo's of cowboys' spurs jingling on the boardwalks, making your fortune panning for gold, witnessing a bank robbery, or shopping at one of our many gift shops, we invite you to enjoy Old Tucson Studios--the world's most famous film location and one of Arizona's biggest family attractions. Summer hours at Old Tucson Studios are now in effect. The Western movie location and theme park is currently open 10am to 4pm Thursday through Monday and 10am to 3pm Tuesday and Wednesday. Summer admission prices are a great deal! Admission Thursday through Monday has been lowered to $12.95 for adults and $7.95 for children ages 4 to 11, while prices drop to $9.95 for adults and $6.95 for children on Tuesday and Wednesday. Guests can enjoy legendary live Wild West entertainment-including gunfights, stunt shows and musical revues-any day of the week. Plus food, souvenirs and guided tours highlighting the park scenery and movie history. Some shows are performed only once a day, so arrive early for best selection. Visit www.oldtucson.com for a full description of attractions currently available, and for the latest movie news including the June 8th U.S. video and DVD release of Ghost Rock, shot on location at Old Tucson Studios in 2002.   Directions to Old Tucson Studios: Old Tucson Studios is located at 201 South Kinney Road in Tucson Mountain Park, just minutes from downtown Tucson. Take Interstate 10, exit Speedway Boulevard (west) or take Interstate 19 to the Ajo Way West exit, and follow the signs.

Pima Air Museum - This institution is totally dedicated to the preservation of the history of flight, be it commercial, military, or interplanetary. The museum opened in 1976 with just 75 aircraft and has now grown to more than 250 on display. Its newest addition is the Northrop F-5B "Freedom Fighter." Be prepared to spend the entire day if you, or someone in your party, is a flight buff. Admission is $9.75 for adults, $6 for children 7-12; free for children 6 and under; discounts are available for seniors, groups of 20 or more and military personnel. Exhibits rotate, and special events and conferences are scheduled regularly, so check the Web site for current events.  Open Hours: 9am-5pm daily; no admittance after 4pm

Reid Park Zoo - While not being in the major league of zoos, this is still one of the major attractions in the city. Due to its relatively small size, the zoo can be explored at a leisurely pace in less than two hours. The animals are on display in pleasant natural settings. Chances are you will envy the two polar bear cubs as they happily float in ice-cold water while you're chafing in the 90+ degree Tucson summer heat. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $0.75 for children over 5, free for people under 5.  Open Hours: 9am-4pm daily except Christmas

Sabino Canyon - Year-round, but especially in summer, locals flock to the Coronado National Forest to hike, picnic, and enjoy the waterfalls, streams, swimming holes, and shade trees that provide a respite from the heat. No cars are allowed, but a narrated tram ride (about 45 minutes round-trip) takes you up a WPA-built road to the top of the canyon; you can hop off and on at any of the nine stops. There's also a tram ride to adjacent Bear Canyon, where a much more rigorous but rewarding hike leads to the popular Seven Falls (it'll take about 1½ hours each way from the drop-off point, so carry plenty of water). If you're in Tucson near a full moon, take the special night tram and watch the desert come alive with nocturnal critters. www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/scrd. COST: $5 per vehicle per day or $20 for an annual pass (includes Mt. Lemmon), tram $6, Bear Canyon tram $3. OPEN: Visitor center weekdays 8-4:30, weekends 8:30-4:30; call for tram schedules.

Saguaro National Park - Designated in 1994 and bookending Tucson from two sides, Saguaro National Park gives protection to native and animals and plants, most prominently the stately Saguaro cactus—a well-known icon of the Arizonan and Mexican deserts. Both locations have loop roads for driving and cycling, visitor's centers, bookstores, hiking trails, picnic areas and exhibit centers. The Westside park also has a remarkable ancient petroglyph site. Rangers offer special interpretative hikes on request. There is no admission fee for the Westside; however, the Eastside park charges USD4 per car.  Open Hours: 8:30am-5pm daily

Tohono Chul Park - This park on Tucson's northwest side is a very civilized piece of the Sonoran desert in the city, with a wide variety of desert plants around pleasant trails, which lead visitors to a gift shop and a shaded tea room serving delicious scones for tea time. Regular "Walk in the Park" tours provide an educational experience about the park's fauna and flora. Admission for adults 13+ is USD5, children 5-12 and seniors 62+ are admitted for USD4 and kids 5-12 get in for USD2. Children under 5 are admitted free.  Open Hours: Trails: 7am-sunset daily; Exhibits and shops: 9am-5pm daily; Tearoom 8am-5pm daily; closed major holidays

Tombstone - Perhaps the most famous town in the Wild West, TOMBSTONE lies 22 miles south of I-10 on US-80, 67 miles southeast of Tucson. More than a century has passed since its mining days came to an end, but "The Town Too Tough to Die" clings to an afterlife as a tourist theme park. With its dusty streets, wooden sidewalks and swinging saloon doors, it's surprisingly unchanged. Most adults, however, have seen too many inauthentic replicas and movie re-creations for the real thing to retain much appeal, and so Tombstone is reduced to trying to divert kids with tacky dioramas and daily shoot-outs. The best time to visit is during Helldorado Days in late October, when the air is cooler and the sun less harsh, but the streets are full of gun-toting strangers acting out gun battles and stagecoach robberies. Tombstone only began life as a silver-boomtown in 1877, and by the end of the 1880s it was all but deserted again. However, on the day that gave it the notoriety that's kept it alive, its population stood at more than ten thousand. It was 2pm on October 26, 1881, when Doc Holliday, along with Wyatt Earp and his brothers Virgil and Morgan (who all served as local sheriffs), confronted a band of suspected cattle rustlers, the Clantons, in the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral. Within a few minutes, three of the suspects were dead. The Earps were accused of murder, but charges were eventually dropped. Although the gunfight in fact took place on Fremont Street, the OK Corral itself remains the major attraction for visitors (daily 8.30am–5pm; $2.50), despite the fact that it holds little more than crude dummies that show the supposed locations of the Earps and the Clantons, in complete contradiction to contemporary reports of the fight. A couple of blocks along Allen Street, the Bird Cage Theater (daily 8am–6pm; $5) was Tombstone's leading venue for entertainment of all kinds. Seven "bird cages," much like theater boxes but curtained off and said to have been used by prostitutes, hang from either side of the main hall. The dusty, cluttered theater now holds a motley collection of curiosities, including a revolting foot-long "merman" from China, while downstairs you can see the old gaming tables and bordello rooms. The exhibits are real enough, but there's little historical accuracy to many of the makeshift signs. You might want to skip it entirely in favor of Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park on Toughnut and Third streets, just off the main drag (daily 8am–5pm; $2.50). This one-time seat of Cochise County features the little-changed courtroom where several well-known trials took place. Excellent exhibits include two detailed alternative versions of what might have actually happened at the OK Corral.  Central motels include the Adobe Lodge, 505 Fremont St (tel 520/457-2241 or 1-888/457-2241; $50–75), while the classier mountain-view Best Western Lookout Lodge is a mile north on US-80 W (tel 520/457-2223 or 1-800/652-6772; $50–75/$75–100), just across from the Boot Hill Graveyard. Among old-style saloons serving burgers and beer in as raucous an atmosphere as they can are the Crystal Palace at Fifth and Allen, and Big Nose Kate's at 417 E Allen St, where you can still join an ongoing card game.

Tucson Botanical Gardens - In 5 acres are a tropical greenhouse; a sensory garden, where you can touch and smell the plants and listen to the abundant bird life; historical gardens, which display the Mediterranean landscaping that the property's original owners planted in the 1930s; a garden designed to attract birds; and a cactus garden. Other special gardens showcase wildflowers, Australian plants, and Native American crops and herbs. Call ahead to find out what's blooming. All of the paths are wheelchair accessible, and there is a little gift shop near the entrance. www.tucsonbotanical.org. COST: $5. OPEN: Daily 8:30-4:30.

Tucson Museum of Art & Historic Block - The five historic buildings on this block are listed in the National Register of Historic Places; you can enter La Casa Cordova, the Stevens Home, the J. Knox Corbett House, and the Edward Nye Fish House. The Romero House, believed to incorporate a section of the presidio wall, is not open to the public. In the center of the museum complex is the Plaza of the Pioneers, honoring Tucson's early citizens.  The museum building, the only modern structure of the complex, houses a permanent collection of modern and contemporary art and hosts traveling shows. The museum's permanent and changing exhibitions of Western art fill the Edward Nye Fish House. This 1868 adobe belonged to an early merchant, entrepreneur, and politician and to his wife, Maria Wakefield Fish, a prominent educator. The building is notable for its 15-foot beamed ceilings and saguaro cactus-rib supports. There are free docent tours of the museum, and you can pick up a self-guided tour map of the El Presidio district. Parking is in a large lot at North Main Avenue and Paseo Redondo. www.tucsonarts.com. COST: $5, Sun. free; tours free. OPEN: Mon.-Sat. 10-4, Sun. noon-4. Guided tours Wed., Thurs., and Sat. at 11. Closed Mon. late May-early Sept. (no guided tours during that period).