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The main large tent had the usual dealers of all types, including minerals, gemstones, jewelry, fossils, and decorative rocks. The new Showcase tent featured some interesting public exhibits, including large dinosaurs and rocks from the Moon, Mars, and Vesta. The Showcase also had a more upscale look and feel, with carpeted floors, solid white dividers, and good lighting. The signature dealer of the Showcase was the Arkenstone, with several impressive displays of attractive material. We were able to get some general photos of the show, as well as some from the new Showcase tent, with special focus on some of the minerals and cases in the Arkenstone booth.

We once again provide our detailed coverage of the Tucson mineral shows. The city of Tucson hosts the largest and most significant agglomeration of mineral and gemstone shows and events every year at the end of January and early February. Each year, the list of shows in this sprawling city grows, with hotels and tents throughout the desert landscape springing to life with dealers from around the world selling their material.

It's nearly impossible to attend all the shows, though we do our best to cover the most significant ones. The Westward Look Show is a high-end event in a quiet resort in the northern part of the city, with top dealers offering their finest minerals. This event takes place on the weekend prior to the main show. Most specimens on sale at the Westward Look have three to five digits in their price tag, with several even in the six digit range. We were unable to attend the Westward Look this year due to travel complications. However, many of the specimens here are later exhibited at the InnSuites and then at the Main Show in the convention center, so that is a bit of a consolation to us and anyone else who missed the Westward Look.

We visited the shows along the I-10 corridor near downtown, including the Pueblo Show at Riverpark Inn, and the cluster of tents and motel rooms from the Travelodge, Howard Johnson, and Quality Inn. We then went under the highway overpass to the 22nd Street Show, a giant tent show that seems to grow in size every year. (We'll include coverage of these shows in further postings.)

We attended the show commonly called the InnSuites Show, which is one of the largest shows of interest to mineral collectors. This is an event not to be missed. It is organized by Marty Zinn, and hosted in the Hotel Tucson City Center (HTCC), formerly known as the InnSuites. This hotel is a complex of interconnected buildings with courtyards and dealer tents in its perimeter. A vast number of dealers sell here, and there is a representation of almost all known and reputable dealers at this location. The dealers sell out of their hotel rooms, with professional display cases full of minerals often taking the place of beds.

The InnSuites Show is officially known as the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show, but has always been called the InnSuites until recently. We heard an increasing number of dealers and buyers referring to it as the HTCC show, so it is possible this new name will stick. Perhaps next year's coverage will be referenced as the HTCC shows if this new name continues to increase in popularity.

The first post of our Tucson coverage will be the InnSuites. We'll present general show scenes, and then post new and interesting finds from the dealers. Please enjoy this first post with the InnSuites scenes. You can click each picture for a larger image pop-up.

Many of the most prominent dealers are present at the InnSuites show in Tucson, filling their hotel rooms with beautifully arranged display cases of minerals. The caliber, selection, and variety of minerals at this show is incredible. I visited many of the dealers and took photos of some of the new and interesting material they had showed me. This is the first of two posts of new and interesting mineral finds at the InnSuites show.