SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Arizona - The thing about being a senior traveler is that we don't like to waste time looking for tourist attractions that sometimes aren't where they're supposed to be. For that reason, a Santa Cruz Tourism Council project entitled "As The Birds Fly South" suits our desirability to the full measure.
As the name implies, it's about birds, both literally and figuratively. Literally, Santa Cruz is a prime bird-watching destination because it's on the flight path of a multitude of migratory birds so the area attracts those of us who wear funny hats and baggy shorts and carry huge binoculars. But figuratively, the birds under discussion here are of the non-flying variety, forever grounded because they're sculptures.
They are spread across the county at resorts, golf courses, offices, and parks as markers that direct visitors to places of interest. And they are varied. In species, they range from "what is that" to roadrunner to owl. In size, they run the gamut from a six-footer standing alone to a hawk attacked to a 15-foot steel beam. In composition, the materials used include scrap metal, bronze, tin, and ceramic.
One of the more unusual is called "Bird Watcher," a whimsical creation that artist David Voisard crafted from rusted car parts scavenged from junk yards. It stands near a complex in Amado, just a couple of miles away from a building shaped like the skull of a longhorn steer. On the other end of the spectrum, on a more serious note, Marlene Knutson's "Magnificent Turkey Vulture" in Rio Rico features a delicate bronze vulture head mounted on a body covered with copper feathers.
Ten of the sculptures are spead across Arizona's smallest county, and easy-to-follow maps identifying the various sites are available at the Tubac-Santa Cruz Visitors Center, 2221 E. Frontage Road in Tubac.
All that figurative bird-watching might cause neck strain and tired eyes. If that happens, BEST WESTERN Inns located in nearby Green Valley and Douglas will afford a good night's rest.
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