Consulting the hivemind: The Raven and I are — if all goes well this week — going to be spending a couple of days in Tucson next weekend. I see the Ghost Ranch Lodge closed down a few years ago. Does anyone here have suggestions of pleasant, relatively non-soulless places the two of us could stay without going into credit card debt above our eyeballs?

1. 
   LauraJMixon 2009 04 05 at 9:34:26 pm

   You could try Endicott Studio West. It’s just lovely—peaceful, rustic, very private. A few miles outside of Tucson. I’m not sure what your budget is, nor am I 100% sure they provide rooms for less than a week at a time, but it’s probably worth checking. It’s run by some good friends of mine, as a desert retreat for writers, artists, and the like.

   Here’s an email link. endicottmailbox-info at yahoo dot com. Feel free to mention my name as a frequent reader of your blog, who recommended you contact them. Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman and Terri Windling are the co-founders; Will Shetterly and Emma Bull are the writers in residence at the Tucson locale.

   Have a good trip!

2. 
   Ron Sullivan 2009 04 05 at 9:53:01 pm

   Avoid the Copper Cactus motel. The campground south of town is better than any motel, tho’. Or it was in 1980.

   Wait, Will Shetterly and EMMA BULL??? GO there! And give her a deep bow from me.

3. 
   LauraJMixon 2009 04 05 at 10:00:16 pm

   Yes, she rocks. What’s your fave book of hers? Have you read TERRITORY yet? If not, do so, right away. And btw, so does Will. Read his THE GOSPEL OF THE KNIFE, if you haven’t. Give yourself over to the second-person present tense narrative. I found it hard to sink past that for a chapter or two, but man on man, I sure was glad I kept going.

4. 
   sherwood 2009 04 05 at 11:45:37 pm

   Airfares are incredibly cheap right now, so here’s my suggestion for free time in Tucson:
   1)  Go to the airport.  Catch a Delta flight to Salt Lake City.
   2)  Catch an Air France flight to Paris, but make sure it’s one that continues on to…
   3)  Dublin.
   4)  Depending on your economic status, you can rent a car, take a bus, or hitchhike to the midlands, County Offaly.
   5)  Find the town of Birr.  Ask where the castle is.  Go there.
   6)  If Lord or Lady Rosse is at home, introduce yourself as a friend of mine.  He, she, or they will be happy to rent you one of the two cottages on the 135-acre grounds at only slightly above retail.  If you’re feeling especially cheap, don’t mention me, and you’ll get it at retail.
   7)  Settle into your cottage for at least a month.  That’s how long it will take for you to even begin to explore the gardens and the arboreal collections, which seem to have been designed over the past several hundred years just for a visit from Chris Clarke.

   http://sharrington.net/RedTreeTrail/
   http://sharrington.net/BirrCastle/index.htm

   Remarkably enough, my suggestions would have been exactly the same if you had asked for suggestions for a place to stay in Winnemucca!

5. 
   Space Kitty 2009 04 06 at 10:40:58 am

   Honey?  Listen to sherwoood!

   *passes sherwood previously agreed-upon bribe*

6. 
   will shetterly 2009 04 07 at 12:14:11 pm

   Laura says sweet things about you. If you’re still looking for a place in Tucson, email me (shetterly at gmail dot com). If nothing else, I’m always glad to offer advice.

   Apologies for not getting over here sooner! Life’s been very hectic. That yahoo address is out of date, so if you wrote to it, your message is sitting in the ether, alas.

7. 
   LauraJMixon 2009 04 07 at 12:19:06 pm

   Sorry about the bad email address, Chris. Will, thanks for the correction.

8. 
   Chris Clarke 2009 04 07 at 12:26:25 pm

   Howdy, Will! Will be in touch.