Tucson has many mountains... it kind of lies in a valley with mountain ranges on all four sides. An hour away is Mt. Lemmon (9,000 feet) where you can even go skiing. If I had to live in the desert, it would be in Tucson. There is nothing that would make me live in Phoenix.
Mt. Lemmon is in the background here, and all the red brick buildings in the middle are the University of AZ campus (my alma mater).
DUH!!! I am out of touch. LOL.... didn't even dawn on me that's where you went. Spent a lot of time hanging out on that campus with cousins going to school there. Grama's sister lived walking distance (6 blocks) from campus. Ummmmm.... I think I had a lot of fun there.... but it was the kind I don't always remember too clearly.