Jack Caldwell is a columnist who writes "I Think Mining" (subtitled: Sharp opinions about mines and mining). On July 1, he wrote about news reports on the public hearing on the proposed Rosemont copper mine, concluding, "in the best American tradition we have the silliest of reasons given for not building the mine." He lambasts mine opponents over what he considers inane comments but he also takes a few shots at Tucson, saying,
"Tucson is not a particularly pretty town. In mid-summer heat the dusty roads and look-alike shopping centers shimmer and visually pollute your view." [above, credit B. Smith, UA]
He also hasn't been here in quite a while, because he seems to think the mine will be somewhere around Davis Monthan Air Force Base: "My recollection of that area is a huge airfield and more old planes than than you can count and then industrial sprawl and then nothing. Maybe I just never got past the industrial sprawl."
So far, no one has posted comments to his column about this piece.
I've always had a fondness for Tucson, ever since going there for field camp in 1973. Back roads in most towns can be not-so-scenic, depending. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a great place, and I was lucky enough to visit there in early summer after a particularly wet winter, and so there were lots and lots of wildflowers. Plus, there's a great mountain just outside Tucson, with some fabulous geology (of the detachment type). And the best Mexican restaurant in the west, La Fuente.
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