Round Robin: A Tucson Ramble

My local gas station, Hanson's Good To Go, Oct 12th.

This week's Round Robin Photo Challenge: Photograph Your Home Town comes to us from Marie of Photographs and Memories. I've done quite a few photo essays about Tucson over the past four and a half years, covering downtown landmarks, bridges, parks, the desert, sunsets, etc. (I'm not going to bother with most of the links; there are too many of them. But you may want to click on the Tucson tag on the sidebar and scroll back a few screens.) For this one, I decided to go with "ordinary" places in Tucson: businesses I drive past and other street scenes. All of these shots were taken this month, and most of them in the past 24 hours. Here we go! Click on each photo to see larger versions, in some cases much larger.

Hanson's again, Oct 18th, showing Wilmot businesses

Let's start with two views of the gas station nearest my house (more or less). Hanson's isn't a franchise of one of the major oil companies, and its gas is usually almost but not quite the lowest in town. I like the prices, the architecture, the convenience, the service and the individuality of the place and try to give it all my business. Notice that regular unleaded went down from 3.06 to 2.89 in less than a week. That helps!

A Sun Tran bus picks up at Reid Park on Country Club Road.

Part of the side of that same bus.

The local bus service is called Sun Tran. I don't like to ride buses myself (less autonomy, more delays and motion sickness), but several of my friends ride them all the time. Some of the buses, including the one shown above, have colorful and interesting artwork on every side.

I've never been to Home Plate, but I assume it's a sports bar and grill. There is also a bar on Craycroft near the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base entry gate called 3rd Base Bar. I like the clever names, and the fact that these two business names are related. John points out that third base is "the last stop before home."

A unique Tucson business bites the dust.

Late this afternoon I drove downtown for an Obama Bus Tour event. On the way down Speedway, I noticed that Greasy Tony's has closed and the building is for sale. Although I never ate there, that seems a shame to me. It was a non-chain business and a student hangout sort of place, and it was around long before we got here in 1986. But I suppose its time was up.

The Obama bus outside REA Media on 9th St.

The Obama tour bus was at a meet and greet and canvassing event, just across the railroad track from the rail station I photographed for a Round Robin spread earlier this year. Tucson's other congressman beside my own Gabrielle Giffords, Raul Grijalva, was on hand to lead the charge. Grijalva, a well-liked and respected figure in Tucson politics, has spearheaded numerous pro-Obama efforts this year. I'll be writing more about that after I've had some sleep.

The Coronado Hotel at the end of 9th St.

At the end of the block, in fact the end of the street, was this picturesque and historic little hotel. Around the corner from it was the same dead end where I turned the car around on a previous Round Robin photo shoot ramble, and where I later walked around on that January day, trying to find a way back across the railroad tracks. I retraced that same route in the car tonight, trying to get to the Wells Fargo bank across from the Main Library downtown. You see, I needed cash for an Obama T-shirt.

Now let's go see everyone else's impressions of their home towns.

Linking List

Marie - Posted!
Photographs & Memories
http://photographsmemoriestoo.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com

Monica
Family Affair Photography
http://familyaffairphotography.blogspot.com

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Wammy - Posted!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com

Martha - Posted!
Menagerie
http://meandering-martha.blogspot.com

Jill - Posted!
South Bay Soliloquy
http://southbaysoliloquy.blogspot.com

Cheryl
Life of a College Student
http://erinminusguidedogs.blogspot.com

Jama Hameed - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Connie - Posted!
Far Side Of Fifty
http://farsideoffiftyphotos.blogspot.com

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Kat
In My Dreams I Can Fly
http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com

Teena - Posted!
It's All About Me!
http://purple4mee.blogspot.com

Ellen B - Posted!
The Happy Wonderer
http://happywonderer.wordpress.com

And of course, you can also, you know, play along! See the Round Robin blog for details.

Karen