Ah, water. With the long, hot summer approaching, here are examples of cool, aquatic places in Tucson to visit and enjoy.

I miss the Pacific Ocean and sometimes go out looking for ponds and public water features around town. So here’s my list of where there are large bodies of water (and fountains) in Tucson. Lots of ducks and other aquatic birds habitate most of these ponds.

Ponds:
1) Reid Park ponds, with cascading streams on the hill nearby. NE corner of E. 22nd St. and Country Club
2) Ft. Lowell Park (NE corner of Glenn and Craycroft), small pond with spouting fountain in the middle, for fish, turtles, ducks & geese
3) Kennedy Park pond (NW corner of Mission Rd. and Ajo Way), medium sized pond for fishing
4) Christopher Columbus Park (4600 N. Silverbell Rd, north of Grant Rd., west of I-10), perhaps the largest of all these ponds, even has boats, fishing, and wind surfers
5) Chuck Ford Lakeside Park pond (8300 E. Stella Rd., south of Golf Links), medium sized for fishing
6) Roy P. Drachman Agua Caliente Park pond (12325 E. Roger Rd. at Soldier Trail Road) in Pima County, pond 1 has fish, turtles, frogs, & aquatic birds; ponds 2 & 3 are dried up (see photo below)
7) University of Arizona small turtle/goldfish pond on Park Avenue (between E. 2nd St. and E. North Campus Drive, across from the AZ Historical Society)

Streams:
Sabino Canyon and Bear Canyon out east both have natural steams and small pools of water

Fountains:
1) El Presidio Park (near Tucson City Hall) and La Placita Village downtown just between Leo Rich Theater and the Music Hall, east of Church Street have large fountains
2) Tucson Museum of Art (140 N. Main Avenue, north of Alameda Street), small fountain outside in front plaza
3) Fourth Avenue Underpass layered metal fountains (south end, near E. Congress St. and the new parking garage)
4) University of Arizona Administration Bldg. on the UA Mall has some spouting fountains on the south side, and the Student Union Memorial Center to the west has cascading water over large chains, near the UA Bookstore)
5) University of Arizona Old Main historic circular fountain on the west side of the building, facing Park Avenue
6) University of Arizona Architecture building on Speedway (east of Olive Street Underpass), in the back of the building is a small, lush landscaped wetland pool, “Sonoran Landscape Laboratory” with a waterfall from a metal scupper
7) Geronimo Plaza fountain at Main Gate Square, just east of Euclid Avenue on University Blvd.
8) E. Speedway Blvd. at Warren Street Underpass (west of Nob’s Hill shopping center), cascading waterfall fountain (area under construction due to streetcar)
9) River Center, cascading stream (NE corner of River and Craycroft)

Know of any more ponds, streams, or fountains in Tucson open to the public? Please note in comments below for our readers to seek out & enjoy the refreshing coolness of these water features in this Southwest desert, especially during the summer.

Agua Caliente Park pond, courtesy of Friends of Agua Caliente Park

Keep cool in the hot summer heat.

Bonus: Youtube video from University of Stuttgart in Germany about water having memory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ILSyt_Hhbjg

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Recently I helped at the Study Abroad Fair on the University of Arizona mall on October 10th, which highlighted numerous opportunities to study abroad… in Australia/New Zealand, Europe, Japan, South America, etc.

Later that evening I heard about this unique first time Primate Studies Field School in Rwanda in Central East Africa. Let by seasoned faculty Dr. Dieter Steklis (Ph.D in Anthropology from U Cal Berkeley) and his wife Netzin (M.A. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Princeton), the field school entails a month (July 1 to 29, 2011) camping or staying in hotels and visiting Akagera National Park, Nyungwe Forest National Park, Volcanoes National Park, Ruhengeri, and Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali.

The Skeklis couple have been conducting research on primates (especially the mountain gorilla) in Africa for 20 years. Their website is www.wild-minds.org with more information about their research and the field school.

Program highlights (from their brochure):
–Follow and observe in the wild several rare monkey and ape species
–Walk in Dian Fossey‘s footsteps while collecting date on mountain gorillas
–Take in Rwanda’s scenic beauty– Africa’s “little Switzerland”
–Explore Rwanda’s cultural heritage and experience one of Africa’s mostly progressive nations

“Students will go on adventure treks to observe gorilla families and golden monkeys on the slopes of the extinct Virunga volcanoes, follow groups of chimpanzees, black and white colobus and guenon monkeys in an afro-alpine jungle, and go on Safari to watch wildfire and study troops of baboons and vervet monkeys in a savanna setting.”

University students (and older adults as non-degree) can earn up to 6 credits, and the cost of the program includes meals, housing, entrance fees, in-country transportation, & insurance.

If this sounds like something you always dreamed of doing, contact the UA Study Abroad office, www.studyabroad.arizona.edu, or Dr .Steklis at steklis@email.arizona.edu, or Netzin at nsteklis@email.arizona.edu. Their phone # is 520-621-7572.

Or attend the upcoming session:
November 17, 2010
Office of Study Abroad and Student Exchange
Information Session: Primate Studies Field School in Rwanda
Student Union Memorial Center, Santa Cruz Room
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Harmony DeFazio, defazioh@email.arizona.edu, 520-626-6039

Deadline to apply is February 15, 2011.