Outdoor ice skating is back in Tucson and this year the weather co-operated. It’s been chilly and below freezing at night, unlike previous years when it rained on the would-be ice rink and delayed the opening by a day or two.
Sponsored by the City of Tucson and 18 other organizations, the Tucson Holiday Ice runs until January 8th. And–ta-da–if you go to the rink on Wednesday nights, you can enjoy a free cup of hot coffee or cocoa courtesy the Bisbee Breakfast Club. The skating, however, is not free. There is an admission charge that includes skate rental. Details are here.
“Date night” by daylight
At night this outdoor rink with holiday lights twinkling overhead is perfect for a date night, but even in daylight couples circled the rink hand in hand. There were also two solo speed demons racing around the relatively small ice rink with a lot more confidence than most of the ice skaters.
Kids from young to not-so-young were playing and skating and scooting around on those blue dolphin skater helpers.
On Sunday when I visited the outdoor ice rink, Pima Animal Care Center had popped up a tent and their volunteers were showing off several dogs looking for forever homes. Here are two of them:
A few steps away from all this outdoor fun was the indoor ice arena where the Tucson Road Runners hockey team do their thing. And I end with a view of downtown Tucson and the cathedral across the street from the Holiday Ice. It’s typical of winter in Tucson: lots of sunshine and leaves still on trees and shrubs. Those clouds in the sky are just for decoration; they’re not serious. Serious clouds come during the summer monsoon.
