So spring break just ended. That is tragic. However, you still have a month and a half of school left to cross out more Tucson must-do’s. There are a lot more randomly awesome places and events in this city than you’d think. Hey, you might even get a great story to rival your friend’s epic tour of Miami’s night clubs. You’ll never know until you try.
Dinner and a show
Just off East Broadway Boulevard and North Kolb Road sits the Gaslight Theatre: a small venue that adds a little excitement to any meal. A Tucson gem since 1980, the theater and restaurant offers original melodramas that are both hilariously satirical and wittily stereotypical. If you can tolerate a little cheesiness, you’ll be impressed with the intricate sets and talented actors. “”The Son of the Sheik,”” an adventurous romance story complete with flying carpets and camels will start April 1 and run until June 12. Student tickets will cost you around $16, and a couple more bucks will get you something delicious to munch on during the show.
7010 E. Broadway Blvd.
Call for reservations and showtimes at 886-9428
Hang out at the rock gym
Barely a five-minute car ride from campus lies a spectacular rock gym called Rocks & Ropes. With plenty of routes for all levels on a handful of walls, there’s no end to the variety of courses to conquer. If it’s your first time, you will have to take a quick orientation that will show you the ropes, so to speak. The gym also hosts a variety of clinics that teach anyone from the novice to the master on subjects ranging from bouldering to lead climbing. So wear some comfortable clothes and bring a partner — you’ll be climbing in no time.
330 S. Toole Ave. Suite 400
Admission: $12
Rentals (climbing shoes,
harness, helmet): $6
One month student
membership: $45
882-5924
Natural beauties
Speaking of rocks, one of Arizona’s best natural treasures is the Kartchner Caverns State Park. With beautiful living stalagmites and stalactites (because who really knows the difference anyway) towering up to 50 feet, tours of the “”Big Room”” last over an hour and a half. Additionally, 17 miles east of Tucson is Colossal Cave Mountain Park. Legend has it that outlaws hid in the many passages of this dormant cave, leaving behind tales of secret treasure. With both sites maintaining an inside temperature of around 70 degrees, either tour will be a nice reprieve as the Tucson heat creeps up.
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Benson, Ariz.
Cave Tour Rate: $18.95-$22.95 (depending on tour)
Call 586-2283 for reservations and to book tickets.
Colossal Cave Mountain Park
16721 E. Old Spanish Trail
Vail, Ariz.
Cave Tour Rate: $11
647-7275
— Kathleen Roosa
