DESERT HITS AND A MISS

December, 2018 – January, 2019

Known as the White Dove of the Desert, the San Xavier del Bac Mission (pronounced hah-vee-air not zay-vee-air) is a remarkable and iconic example of Spanish Colonial architecture that can be found in many of the churches in the American Southwest; it is actually considered the oldest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the U.S.   It is located about 10 miles south of Tucson on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, and it is possible that many of the people currently living in the area are descendants of the O’odham who were converted to Catholicism by the Spanish Jesuit missionaries that settled the area over 300 years ago.

By 1692 Spanish Jesuit missionaries had brought Catholicism to the native Tohono O’odham peoples of this region.  St. Francis Xavier came to the region as a young priest and served the diocese his entire life.  He guided the building of the Mission structure, which was completed in 1797, and he is reputed to have converted more people than anyone else since Saint Paul.

On a bright cloudless sunny day, the blazing bright white Mission glows against the beautiful blue skies of Arizona, and you can see it long before you reach the parking lot. The building is being renovated.  Age and the effects of desert weather have had a negative effect on the exterior, and unfortunately, some earlier repair efforts in the 1980s using cement-based stucco caused water to be trapped inside the church and caused damage to its interior decorations.  The west tower has been repaired and the east tower is slowly being brought back to its previous glory.

We arrived in time to join a group tour that was being directed to look at the ornately decorated entrance. The two massive doors are carved from mesquite wood.  On the far right and the far left of the façade over the doorway are a cat and a mouse.  Our guide said it is believed by some that when the cat catches the mouse, the world will come to an end.  (If you look closely, you can see two cats and two mice on the front of the building.)  We were led into the interior and seated in the last two rows on antique pews. We were asked to silence our phones and to speak softly as many of the people in the Mission were in prayer.  We listened quietly as the guide told us the history of the Mission, and we marveled at the elaborate details, exquisite paintings, and the incredible number of Catholic images that filled the walls and ceilings. There were also a number of statues of various Catholic saints on the exterior and interior.  A reclining statue in a glass case in the west transept was said to be St. Francis Xavier.  Our guide suggested believers say a prayer then lift the head of St. Xavier to be sure that the prayer is heard.

Seems kind of trite to say, but don’t miss purchasing some fry bread from the vendors who set up tents near the parking lot.

Agua Caliente Park was so named because at some point in the history of the park there was an active hot springs – it no longer exists. The ride to the park was beautiful: scenic surroundings and a roadrunner crossed the road right in front of us! How cool is that? As we approached the entrance to the park, runners and bikers were enjoying this fabulous winter’s day: 75 degrees and sunny making it an ideal day for exploring this new park.  We were delighted to see that the parking lot was nearly full. We had brought our bikes hoping that we could enjoy the park on two wheels.  However, we were greeted with a large sign that was filled with all the things visitors could NOT do, and biking was included on this long list.  We don’t know the history of the park and perhaps it has had more than its share of problems and hence the need for all the rules.  Nonetheless, we quickly nicknamed Agua Caliente  the “NO Park.”

We wondered what could possibly be attracting so many people? There were many people with their dogs and a number of families enjoying a beautiful day in the park.  It was wonderful to watch the children playing, the dogs playing fetch, and to see so many little ones with their moms and dads out on the green space.  However, the black-topped walkways that were probably made for easy navigation around the park were peppered with  lots of “keep out” and “watch out for venomous animals” signs, and they made for a less-than-welcoming experience.  Hiking felt more like a forced march despite the great number of benches and picnic tables inviting folks to sit and enjoy the park, the ducks and the pond, and/or to picnic.

The diversity of the landscape was interesting though, ranging from what was formerly a fruit orchard to massive palm trees and various cactus and mesquite trees to rather desolate and sandy areas.

Aqua Caliente Park is promoted as a sanctuary for mule deer, javelina, ducks and lots of birds and perhaps that is its charm, but with the exception of a few birds and the ducks, no other animals were to be seen.  Overall the “NO Park” was not worth our time.

Mount Lemmon is located in the Coronado National Forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains just north of Tucson, and it was named for botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon. As we traversed this scenic byway we were struck by the breathtaking and continually changing topography at every turn in the road. There are a number of scenic pullouts and overlooks on the way up and down the mountain that treat visitors to an ever-changing perspective of the beauty that is uniquely southern Arizona.  It is also a challenging ride for bicyclists; we saw many of them pedaling their way to the top – 9,171 feet above sea level.

It’s hard to describe the geology because it is so different from the Colorado Rockies and the other mountain ranges we have travelled so far. We found ourselves marveling as we drove through the vegetation of the Sonoran desert to the foothills of Mount Lemmon from which sprang deciduous trees and evergreens. The contrast between the various steep and sharp-crested mountain ranges like the Colorado Rockies, and the exposure to mile after mile of unusual granite boulders left us awe-struck as we traveled through this fantastic mosaic of remarkable landscapes, both beautiful and complex at the same time. The rocks look like they have been hand-painted; some of the rocks are hoodoos (also called tent rocks, fairy chimneys or earth pyramids) – a marvel to behold! Hoodoos are tall, thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or bad land – just like you would see in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Their bodies look like totem poles. The size, the color and the quantity of hoodoos on the road to the top of Mount Lemmon are breath-taking.  Other formations look improbable – how is that rock sitting up there so precariously?

The Palisades Visitor Center is about half-way up the mountain, and it’s a good place for a break and an opportunity to chat with a ranger. After our brief stop, we headed to the summit. The closer we got, the cooler it became and we were treated to some snow when we got near the summit. Not enough snow for skiing or sledding today but still a pleasant surprise after the 70 degree temperatures of the desert floor.

The road to the observatory was closed to vehicles, but some brave and energetic souls hoofed it up the 1.5 miles to the top. We made it about halfway before our energy and our shortness of breath got the best of us.

The car ride down the mountain was equally enjoyable, and we stopped at the spot named Windy Point – a favorite place for a lot of travelers.  We felt like Rocky Mountain sheep as we leaped across the rocks to find a place to just sit and to take in our surroundings. So peaceful and pleasant. A great day for an outing in the mountains.

We rode our bikes downtown and partially around the 135-mile paved walk/run/bike path that circumvents the town and through Catalina Mountain State Park.  We enjoyed the stalagmites, stalactites, and bat roosts in the Kartchner Caverns (no photos allowed); hiked Sabino Canyon and Madera State Park, both of which have enough of a water supply to support a pine and hardwood forest (in the middle of the desert!), and leisurely explored the Tucson and Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens.  So many beautiful views and vistas!

We were fortunate that the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival was just getting underway while we were in town, and we were lucky to get seats to see “Budapest Noir”, a hard-boiled detective, noir murder mystery film done in Hungary.  We stayed after the film to hear a Holocaust survivor talk about her mother’s courage and her remembrances of being an infant/small child during that time of darkness in Hungary.

Petroglyphs…

…and ate Sonoran hot dogs whenever we could, comparing the dogs offered by 5-6 food trucks and restaurants we sought out along our journey.

A Sonoran dog consists of a hot dog that is wrapped in bacon and grilled, served on a bolillo-style hot dog bun, and topped with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, and a variety of additional condiments, often including mayonnaise and mustard; a grilled pepper (varying in heat) is always included, sometimes wrapped in bacon, too!.  Whether at a food truck or restaurant, other condiments are always available: salsa, radishes, guac sauce, cucumbers, hot/mild peppers.  Barbara, who rarely goes out of her way for a hot dog, fell in love with these babies as a 3pm snack!

The most wonderful thing about our time in Tucson was the friends we made.  We came to value those new friends who, on the very first day we set up camp, invited us to happy hour, and we hung with them daily for the 6 weeks we stayed at this campsite.  We look forward to sharing times together again next year.  Yup – we found a place to call home next winter.

Sunsets were pretty special in this neck of the woods, and we leave the Tucson area with just a few more pictures we hope you’ll enjoy.

Barbara and Brian