One of the 50 Wonders of the World

We arrived in Tucson Tuesday and are at Rincon East for a week. We saw the Catalina State Park today which sits at the base of the majestic Santa Catlaina Mountains. The 5,500 acres of foothills, canyons and streams are a haven for plants and wildlife and its nearly 5000 saguaros.
Then we went to Bioshere 2, number 1 being earth. Time Life rates it a must-see wonder. You go through an airlock door into this glass and steel structure that encompasses 3 acres and 5 biomes: rain forest, ocean, savanna, desert and mango marsh. This learning, teaching and research center is determining an ecosystem's ability to recycle air, water and nutrients in order to sustain human, plant and animal life. Run by the University of Arizona, Human Mission 1, a group of 8 lived here 2 years, 1991 - 1993. We toured their living and cooking quarters. The Biosphere has 6,500 windows, 7,200,00 cubic feet of sealed glass, is 90' high and 3.14 acres large. We went down the Lung Tunnel to see the Desert Basement with the technology to manage this facility. Coming out of the air lock door you nearly get blown away.