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    Travel Media Showcase 2004

    Photos and article by Kathleen Walls

    No matter where I go, when people find out I am a travel writer, they always say, "That must be fun." I love what I do but it is not all fun. There is a lot of hard work in being a travel writer. To give you an idea of a few days in a travel writer's career, I'm going to take you on the inside track. Join me at last years Travel Media Showcase (TMS).


    The opening reception at La Paloma

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Travel Media Showcase is the biggest conference for travel writers in the United States. It provides a chance for the journalists to meet the Convention and Visitor Bureau people (CVB) and visa-versa.

    It is held in a different local each year so the writers can gather material for articles by attending the convention. TMS in conjunction with local CVB also offer pre and post-press-trips .in the nearby areas.

    For those of you who are not familiar with press-trips or fam trips as they are sometimes called, they are trips put together by the local area just for journalists. They take them on a whirlwind tour of as much of the local attractions as possible in a short time.

     

    Last year TMS was held in Tucson, Arizona. Even though I was an invited journalist, I still had to show a few articles I had written in the past two years. After all they are paying your expenses at the convention, all food and lodging. They also cover $150 of your transportation. They want to know that you really are a working journalist.


    Pretending to whoop it up in the Stable

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I had picked the pre-press- trip for the Anzio Trail. Tubac, a small town just south of Tucson, is the starting point of one of history's greatest adventures. From here, Juan Bautista de Anza led a small group of settlers westward to found the city of San Francisco. The trail section at Tubac offers one of Arizona's best birding destinations.

    I had my own adventure at the airport. My luggage had parted ways in one of the transfers. We each took a different plane. Neither of us arrived at the scheduled time. One of us was lost and since I am the most vocal and arrived first, I considered the luggage lost. Due to the delay in arriving, our hostess took us to the hotel after I received a promise from the airline, customer relations person that they would send my luggage to the hotel when it arrived.

    Tubac refers to itself as the place "Where Art and History Meet." Both are represented in abundance here. Five distinct cultures, Hohokam (300-1400 AD); O'odham (Pima and Papago) in the 1500s; Spanish (1752-1821); Mexican (1821-1853); and American, both United States and Confederate States, (1853-present), have left their mark on the tiny community nestled between the Santa Rita, Tumacacori and San Cayetano mountains in Santa Cruz River Valley.

    We stayed at the Tubac Golf Resort. You don't need to be a golfer to enjoy this place. I was assigned an authentic looking Posadas where all the modern comforts mingled with the charm of another century. It is recognized nationally as one of "Arizona's 100 Best Kept Rooms." After a few welcome minutes in our rooms to unwind and change for dinner (those of us who had been fortunate enough to have their luggage with them or smart enough to carry a bag with a few necessities) then we were off for a tour of the resort. They have a really interesting bar and restaurant.. It was the stable when the location was the old Otero Ranch. Teh adobe walls, hand hewed timber beams, rock floor and old saddles for bar stools make you feel welcomed into history.


    The Tubac Golf Resort

    Mark Scheller, our contact person at the resort, promised if my luggage did not arrive he would take me to the nearest Wal-Mart to get what I needed. Meantime, I had no change of clothes and arrived at the magnificent Otero Ranch House for dinner latter that evening in the same lightweight outfit I had worn out of steamy Florida. In case you are not aware of it, the high desert often drops down into the thirties in October. It did that night. The blazing mesquite fireplace in the ancient living room of the historic home was more than welcome. My luggage arrived just after dinner. It too, was very welcome.


    Boot Hill

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The following day it was off to Bisbee. We met up with Donna Harris, the Community Development Director for the city of Bisbee, and Kaaren Lindner, General Manager of the Copper Queen. We dined at the Copper Queen Hotel and learned a little about its numerous ghost stores and colorful history. Then we toured the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum The museum contains numerous items connected with the community's early history of mining and ranching. A fast tour of the Open Pit Copper Mine was next. We even got to watch a film crew making a movie there. Then we were off to Tombstone.

    First stop had to be the legendary Boot Hill. Our guide was an authentically costumed gunslinger. It is so different seeing all those tombstones in person from seeing them in old western movies. As you wander among them you realize these were real people with hopes and dreams like your own. Perhaps my favorite tombstone there was Frank Bowles who died in 1880 at the age of 52. It reads:


    "As you pass by remember that
    as you are so once was I
    And as I am you you soon will be
    Remember me"


    Some of the journalists listen as our guide explains the history of the Bird Cage.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    In town we got an inside look at the life of the women of Tombstone by way of the Bird Cage Theater. Although the Bird Cage was nominally called a "theater" that was a euphemism for a brothel. Women in this town had a rough life. Not many career choices were open to them if they were abandoned or widowed. The highest paid prostitutes made about $25 per customer. Those in the "cages" about $2.50 and the "older" ones past their first flush of youth, got only a mere quarter. Suicide was a common way out. That explained many of the graves in the old cemetery. We drove to the Nogalas/ Mexico border crossing but didn't have time to stop as we were running late for dinner at the plush Rio Rica Resort and Country Club.

    The next day, we toured the missions. From San Xavier Mission, The White Dove of the Desert, to Tumacacori National Historic Park, which is the guardian of three ancient missions, Southern Arizona is mission county.


    Tumacacori

     

     

     

     

     

    The White Dove of the Desert Mission offers a sure-fire way to tell if you are destined for Heaven or the nether region. If you can raise the mummified head of the saint, you are one of the privileged but if not beware of your fate. Unfortunately, I couldn't raise his head at all. Whether on not you believe in the legend, the ancient church is filled with so many objects de art you won't know where to point your camera first.

    At Tumacacori, you will find not only the authentic ruins of one of Arizona's first European settlements, but a virtual window into the past.

    The Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, Arizona's first state park, and the Tumacacori National Historical Monument, which preserves the ruins of three early Spanish colonial missions.


    A journalist atttempts to lift the saint's head













     

    Tubac Center of the Arts offers three galleries, a museum, countless shops and studios. The real fun here is stopping in at the local artist's and crafter's studios and watching them work their magic. We had a little free time and knowing me I found a delightful consignment shop called Annie's Attic among all the other delights of the Art Village. I found a one of kind pin and a very Southwestern outfit.

    We also visited the Amado Territory. We enjoyed lunch the Amado Territory Inn and then a tour of the grounds and nearby shops. I never realized the variety of plants that can grow in the desert until I saw the gardens at the inn. The territory boasts its own Dog Chef too. Micki Voisard teaches owners to be the chef your dog thinks you are. Some of her specialties are foods both you and your best friend can share like Scent Hound Meatloaf.

    Dogs aren't the only animals featured there. The Equine Encounter uses horses as a means of developing teamwork. After seeing the iron sculptures of Micki's husband David, located next door, and several other artists and shops, we enjoyed a human treat at Kristiffer's Dining. They serve strictly human food that is so delicious you dog might enjoy a bit of it as well.


    Micki and Carlos

    After the pre trip you are brought to the convention center. The venue was held at the Westin La Paloma. The La Paloma is a full service resort and spa. It caters to about any type of traveler. If you can squeeze in a massage, their Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa is world famous. If you have children, they have a special kids club. Travelers who bring Rover may be jealous of his warm reception. He is greeted with a welcome kit and doggie treat. When you drift off to sleep in the comfort of your Heavenly Bed, Yes, you guessed it, Rover has a Heavenly Bed, too.

    Since almost every minute of the convention is so packed with things for you to do, the hotel set up a special mini-massage booth so journalists could get a little sample of the Spa treatment. The conference opens the evening of the first day with a welcome dinner and reception.. After a lavish breakfast on the second day, the day, the morning is devoted to appointments with the CVB people you have chosen. Each appointment lasts 12 minutes and them you have three minutes to get to the next one. Often you must rush across the entire convention center to make your next appointment. Remember, when that alarm goes off, everyone else is also milling around headed for his or her next appointment, too. Each exhibitor loads you with press kits about their area and tokens to help you remember what they have to offer.


    Sunset barbecue at Saguaro Ranch

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    After lunch, it's the local fam trips. You get several choices here. I choose to visit a local development where lots begin at the million-dollar mark. They escorted us by bus into the heart of the Saguaro Cactus high desert. We were treated to a magnificent barbecue and one of the most gorgeous sunsets I have ever seen. After the huge red orb sank in the western sky, we were serenaded by soulful cowboy ballads.. Picture sitting so high in the mountains you can almost reach the sparkling stars above after eating your fill and being relaxed with the most melodious music on earth. Would you want to leave and return to the civilization of your hotel, no matter how luxurious?

    The third day is devoted to appointments from just after your 8 AM breakfast until 4:45 with breaks for lunch and two 15-minute breaks. The evening ends with a closing dinner where you learn when the following year's convention will be held.. When they opened the curtains to the dining area we were greeted with sprays of Evian Water and had blue rain gear handed us. The 2005 event was to be held in Niagara Falls in Sept.

    Remember we crowded all that into five days.


    A cougar at the Desert Museum

    After the showcase, I stayed an extra day. A fellow journalist, Maureen Littlejohn and her friend, Stephen, had rented a car so I went with them to visit The Desert Museum. The Desert Museum is a must see. Ever see a javelina? Want to watch cougars in their natural habitat? Did you think desert plants are all cactuses? Would you enjoy a walk inside an aviary with over 40 species of birds? Like to learn about birds of prey? Care to observe prairie dogs in their own town? If you only have one day to visit the high desert don't despair. Visit Arizona's Desert Museum.

    The aim of the Desert Museum is to help visitors gain a better understanding of the complex relationships between the plants, animals and the natural environment of the Sonoran Desert.


    Casa Grande- The remnants of a once great civilization

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    That evening, I drove to Phoenix to see a fellow author, Karen Mueller Bryson. Karen and her husband, Tony, graciously put me up for the night. It took longer than I expected to get there so I didn't have much time to do any sightseeing in Phoenix but I made up for it the nest day on my return to the Tucson Airport.

    I discovered Casa Grande. It was impressive. We think of Arizona's history beginning with the Spanish explorers but when they first struggled into the high desert country, they found mysterious remnants of a culture that had flourished in the midst of antiquity.

    Europeans considered the native people savages but what savages could build 4-story structure built totally of caliche mud. This mysterious structure, built with strategically positioned holes in 3 walls, is believed to have been used for astronomical observation. It was built by a people called the Hohokam around the 1300's.

    Tired but happy, I straggled into the airport with just minutes to spare. I had covered a lot of ground and gotten a lot of information to write about in just six days. But I was ready for a few days of down time when I got home.

     

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    Public Disclosure-- Please Read
    I recently learned of a FTC law requiring web sites to let their readers know if any of the stories are "sponsored" or compensated.  American Roads and Global Highways' feature writers are professional travel writers. As such we are frequently invited on press trips, also called fam trips. Most of the articles here are results of these trips. On these trips most of our lodging, dining, admissions fees and often plane fare are covered by the city or firm hosting the trip. It is an opportunity to visit places we might not otherwise be able to visit and bring you a great story. However, no one tells us what to write about those places. All opinions are 100% those of the author of that feature column.  

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