Hi keith,
Others will have much more experience than I do, but I have found that typically, I pitch the yeast at the end of a brew day in late afternoon, and it is generally bubbling away happily next morning when i check it, so i guess 12 hours is typical.
I have found at times i has already started bubbling the first night before I turn in, but I do oxygenate the wort from my welding torch bottle for about a minute and a half so maybe that gets it going quickly.
Since you are fermenting in a carboy (as I do) it is interesting to look at the wort under the foam when fermenting. The first time I saw it I was quite amazed, almost looks as though it is boiling!
I have found that typically after about three days the really active fermentation (and heat generation) has dropped off considerably and so at that point, if I need space on my freezer for something else, I just remove the carboy and take it to the basement - normally kept around 68F.
Adding a freezer and two stage (heat/cool) temperature controller can be a real plus to the hobby of you have room for it. I picked mine up on Kijiji - there were all kinds of them - for $40. Bought the digital controller on Ebay from Hong Kong for $25. It is a chest freezer and I have back problems so I made up a simple 2"x4" rolling gantry with a hand boat winch to lift kegs and carboys in and out. Wouldn't be without it!
Thanks for the tip about Karchner Caverns - heard of it but never been, although we did go to Colossal just a short way east of Tucson. Will put it on the list for this winter! We have stopped in Tucson four or five times and always enjoy it. Bee to the Desert Museum a couple of times - great spot. I also enjoy geocaching & hiking in the mtns around the city.
Only been through Flagstaff once with our trailer, and didn't realize quite how high it was - and cool in winter - I was almost thinking I'd better dump the water out of our trailer, but we didn't stop, so all was fine!
One of the spots I like to visit when in Arizona is Bisbee, South of Tombstone - no doubt we will get there again this year - definitely a different and unusual town!
I'm sure we'll find some good brewpubs in Tucson and maybe a homebrew supply store or two to check out. For some reason the hobby seems not as well catered for up here, although my sense is that things may be improving.
Brian.