Today we leave the Phoenix Metro area. We head south. We
will gain some elevation, so we hope that cooler days are in our immediate
future. Today’s destination is Tubac, an Art’s and Historical Community south of Tucson. Tubac
is about 20 miles north of our border with Mexico.
We have a hearty breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express, load
up the X3 and head out. The scenery is the same as when we were headed into
Phoenix 2 days ago: it is flat, treeless and hot. But there is a gentle upward
elevation change happening, though it doesn’t show up much in the thermometer.
We have made some road-trip regimen adjustments. We are
filling two water bottles for the car and drinking from them often. It seems to
help.
The drive south is uneventful except for the opposite side
of the Interstate as we near Tubac. There is a huge Quonset
hut-like structure that covers the entire set of northbound lanes. The
structure appears to be able to accommodate at least 4 lengths of cars. It looks
very temporary. Most of the vehicles around the structure are government
vehicles with “Border Patrol Enforcement” and the like stenciled on their
sides.
Later, we ask our server at dinner what gives, and he says
that the structure has been there for at least the 8 years that he has lived in
the area. It is not temporary at all. He also tells us that there is no way to
skirt the checkpoint (for that is what it is) via local frontage roads, as they are
all dead ends on both sides of the area.
This appears to be defense in depth for the border. Amy and
I wonder whether we have made a mistake leaving our passports at home.
We arrive in Tubac and all is very quiet. We check in at
Wisdom’s Café Dos for lunch. Delicious. Amy has the Carne Asada Burrito and I
have a three taco sampler. We have a nice chat with two couples, one visiting from Colorado and the other from Michigan.
We have an hour and a half to kill before we can
check in at our hotel, so we head south 5 miles to Tumacacori to visit the
Mission.
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| Tumacacori Mission |
This was established as a mission in the 17th
century, initially by Jesuits. When the Jesuits were expelled from New Spain in
1767, the mission was taken over by Franciscans. Mission building being a
long-haul enterprise, the cathedral was never completed. Interesting fact
learned: The De Anza Expedition to settle missions in California (on El Camino Real) was launched
from this location! All those years of studying California history and never a
mention of Arizona being so important to the effort!
The tour of the site was really interesting. Archeologists
from the University of Arizona have studied this site and many of the artifacts found are on display. Taking the walking tour
is recommended. This is the oldest continuously inhabited site in state of Arizona. Over
the course of two hundred years, this site has been built up, allowed to lapse,
been abandoned, been reestablished a number of times, all in response to the needs
of the times.
After the tour, we head to our motel for the night, The
Secret Garden Inn.
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| The Secret Garden Inn |
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| Our Room |
This is a really lovely place to stay. There is a Koi Pond
and lots of other interesting structures in the garden.
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| In The Secret Garden |
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| In The Secret Garden (2) |
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| The Koi Pond |
After settling into our room, we head to Tubac Jack’s for
dinner. Amy had the Soutwest Salad and I had the Chicken and Ribs Combo.
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| Tubac Jack's BBQ Chimney |
We eat outside, where it has thankfully cooled down to about
80 degrees. Dinner successfully concluded, we call it an evening and return to the Secret Garden.
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