Some Interesting Facts about Tucson, Arizona:
• Tucson gets 350 days of sunshine annually - more than any other US city.
• Tucson is surrounded by the world's largest concentration of Saguaro cactus.
• The Wall Street Journal dubbed Tucson "a mini mecca for the arts".
• The Arizona-Sonora Museum was rated one of America's top zoos in the country by Parade Magazine.
• Pima Air & Space Museum is the largest privately funded air museum in the world.
• Original Ansel Adams prints hang in the museum he founded, the UA's Center for Creative Photography.
• Quarter horse racing began at Tucson's historic Rillito Downs.
• Tucson is consistently rated one of the best golfing destinations in the west.
• Colossal Cave is one of the largest dry caverns in the world. Explorers have yet to find its end.
• Tucson is the only city in the U.S. that hosts three Major League Baseball Spring Training teams - The Arizona Diamondbacks, The Colorado Rockies and The Chicago White Sox.
• Tucson hosts the Worlds Largest Gem Show the Tucson Gem Show every February and people come from all over the world to attend.
• Saguaro National Park is one of the Unites States' newest national parks. It is second only to the Grand Canyon in the number of visitors it receives annually.
• Bicycle friendly: 630 miles of striped bike paths
72 miles of shared use paths Over 100 miles of residential bike routes Over 300 miles of mountain biking trails
• Aside from the Amazon Rainforest, Tucson is home to more bird species than any other region on earth.
Some Tucson History:
Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino visited the Santa Cruz River valley in 1692, and founded the Mission San Xavier del Bac in 1700 about 7 mi (11 km) upstream from the site of the settlement of Tucson. Historical site, the Mission San Xavier del Bac is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona. The mission was completed in 1797 when Southern Arizona was still a part of New Spain. 200,000 visitors come each year to tour this National Historic Landmark which is considered to be one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States. 
From 1877 to 1878, the Tucson area suffered from a rash of stagecoach robberies. Most notable, however, were the two robberies committed by masked road-agent William Whitney Brazelton.[5] Brazelton held up two stages in the summer of 1878 near Point of Mountain Station approximately seventeen miles northwest of Tucson. John Clum, of Tombstone, Arizona fame was one of the passengers and Brazelton would eventually be tracked down and killed on Monday August 19, 1878, in a mesquite bosque along the Santa Cruz River 3 miles (5 km) south of Tucson by Pima County Sheriff Charles A. Shibell and his citizen's posse. Brazelton had been suspected of highway robbery not only in the Tucson area, but also in the Prescott region and Silver City, New Mexico area as well. Brazelton's crimes prompted John J. Valentine, Sr. of Wells, Fargo & Co. to send special agent and future Pima County sheriff Bob Paul to investigate.
Incorporated in 1877, Tucson is Arizona’s oldest city. Tucson and nineteen other Arizona cities were incorporated long before Arizona officially became a state in 1912. The city’s history began much earlier, as long as 4,000 years before, when Native Americans began farming in the area at the base of Sentinel Peak. At a height of 2,897 feet, the Peak provided the Spanish with a lookout point over the entire city when it was a part of New Spain.
• Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912.
• At one time camels were used to transport goods across Arizona.
• El Charro Café was called one of the America’s 21 Most Legendary Restaurants by “Gourmet Magazine” in 2008 and founder Tia Monica Flin is said to have accidentally invented the chimichanga during the restaurants 90-plus year tenure.
Many unique museums in Tucson offer experiences that are unique to the city. One of the largest air and space museums in the world is located here. Visitors can see over 300 air and spacecraft from the United States and around the world at the Pima County Air and Space Museum. The museum is located on what is known as the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), also known as the "Boneyard," next to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The aircraft collection includes planes highlighting over 100 years of aviation history. Many rare aircraft can be viewed including: a Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” and the only remaining Martin PBM-51 “Mariner”.
Experience a piece of Cold War era history by visiting the Titan Missile Museum located just outside Tucson. This former Titan II Missile Site offers the only opportunity for the public to see an actual Titan II missile. This National Historic Landmark was at one time a top secret military installation. When the site was operational, it was one of 54 Titan II Missile sites which remained on alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to protect the US against a nuclear attack from 1963 and 1987.
A unique miniature museum, the Mini-Time Machine, hopes to transport visitors to a variety of eras through the stories and history which accompany the tiny pieces on display. The collection includes more than 275 miniature houses, room boxes and other items collected by the museum's founders. The Enchanted Realm includes woodland creatures, snow villages and fairy castles. The History Gallery includes one of the oldest miniature houses in the US, dating to 1775. The museum features antique and contemporary miniatures. Exploring the World showcases miniatures created by artisans from many other countries. Special tours for schools and miniature making classes are also offered.
Tucson is also home to The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum which includes a zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden. Over 300 animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants, native to the Sonoran Desert occupy the museum’s 21 acres. The museum even houses the first and only important dinosaur skeleton to be discovered in Southern Arizona. A unique cave on the property displays gems, minerals and fossils from the Sonoran Desert region. Almost 85% of the museum is located outside. Special tours are offered throughout the year.
If you'd like to find out more about the Tucson Gem Show:
