We went to Tucson

After giving Theresa and Dan a chance to go hiking for a day, we then took a trip to Tucson to do some exploring. It took us about 2 hours to drive down and we spent most of the day there. The weather was incredible as usual so we thoroughly enjoyed being outside all day. We packed a lunch so we could have a picnic when ever, where ever, we were when we were hungry.

The first place we headed to is off in the distance in this picture. We are heading to the Mission San Xavier Del Bac. 

 This was the welcome sign as you got closer to the mission. Of course someone has to deface it with spray paint!

Our first glimmer of the mission as we drove up. It looked quite magnificent against the beautiful blue skies. We were also amazed that there was no cost to tour the mission - not often you get anything free now a days! The mission is still an active Catholic church and services the Native American population as it sits on Indian land. It is open to all Catholics that want to attend services.

Theresa and I are standing next to the gates that go into a courtyard where they sell Native American jewelry and food.

 More close up pictures of the mission. The carvings were spectacular and the restoration they have done on the building is quite remarkable also

It was hard not to just keep taking pictures it was so beautiful

 This was a walkway around a little mountain just east of the mission.

 We are up on the little hill looking down at the mission, it was a very beautiful site

 The fellows are walking behind us taking our pictures as we went

 This was the ceiling inside the mission church. It reminded us of churches we had seen when we were is Spain many years ago. Of course a very strong Spanish influence to the architecture and the tiles and paintings inside the church. A lot of use of bright almost garish colours and in the tile work.

 A side view of the mission. It was quite a site no matter where you were when you were looking at it.

 One of the side areas in the church, note the coloured tiles along the lower walls

 There were murals along the walls all made from small pieces of coloured tile.

 St. Francis Xavier is buried here in the church and this is the shrine to him.

 These are the original doors and note how short they are. We had to duck to go through them and not hit our heads.

 Another side view of the mission. It was beautiful and white it was hard to look at when the sun was so bright

 This is a little chapel of the three bells just to the west of the mission church

 Original ironwood beams in the church. Hard to believe they have been there since the 1700's

 After we had toured the church, we bought Indian fry bread from the stands in the parking lot. Theresa and Dan had the full meal deal with beef, beans, chili's, cheese. lettuce and tomatoes. Of course with Doug not being the least bit adventuresome, our fry bread was just dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar!

 A road runner "beep, beep" sat on the wall and watched us eat hoping for some leftovers. Unfortunately he didn't know any of us as we ate it all!

 After leaving the mission, we went into the old downtown district of Tucson as we wanted to experience some of the old architecture and visit the Presido. We parked the car and did a walking tour. We were so amazed at their use of colour on their buildings - it was so cool. I guess when you live in a fairly monotone landscape most months of the year, you want some colour to liven things up.

 They had a great systm for tourists that wanted to walk. There was a blue line along the sidewalk that you just followed and it took you on a round trip walking tour.

 This was Tucson's City Hall and the whole dome was done in coloured tiles. Very Moorish looking.

 We are now coming up on the Presidio. It was the original fort Tucson and they have maintained a section of it right in the middle of the city that you can walk around and see what it was like back in the 1700 - 1800's.

 This was an original iron gate that was still hanging as you entered the site

 A little plaque explaining about the Presidio, when it was torn down and then the reconstruction of part of it so history could be shared.

 These were huts inside the Presidio that the armed forces lived in. The cooking ovens were out in the courtyard.

 This is Doug figuring he can blend in with the mural and look a part of it. We didn't have the heart to tell him he stuck out like a sore thumb!

 Another plaque explaining how he Presidio had been built right on top of an old Indian village. It was discovered under the Presidio when archeologists were excavating the Presidio.

 This was looking down about 4 feet below the level of the Presidio floor to the old site of an Indian circular home.

 They were able to preserve some of the original Presidio walls and it is very easy to see it was a very well fortified fort protected from the Indians if the need arose.

 This is tile work students from the Art program at the University did and it is hung on the Art Gallery wall. There is so much colour and beauty as you walk around the old section of downtown Tucson

 We now come upon the St. Augustine Cathedral, the oldest Catholic church in Tucson. Theresa, Doug and I are resting up leaning against a flower pot as Dan takes a picture across the street.

 You can get a bit dizzy looking up towards the top of the cathedral. Very intricate carvings done in the wall, again very Spanish in style.

 This is looking at the Cathedral from the side yard. Again it has been beautifully restored and maintained and is very striking against the skyline

 This is the bell from the bell tower. It is preserved in the church as they are still working on the restoration of the bell tower

 The church is very simple compared to the Mission but still very beautiful, The back wall behind the crucifix is all done in tile.

 Everywhere you looked there were nooks with statues, tile work and lots of inlaid gold

 Theresa and Sharon walking down the main isle heading to the back of the church

 There were many, many stained glass windows that all told a story. With the sun streaming into and through them, the church was full of rainbows.

 Outside the church in one of the side courtyards was a raised stage decorated all in coloured metal work. The parishioners had done this and use this area for celebrations, wedding pictures etc. It had a very Mexican feel to it. Quite spectacular to see in person.

 A close up look at the flowers and butterflies on the canopy

 Another look at the bell tower minus its bell! After touring this church, we then headed off to the north eastern portion of Tucson to view another small Catholic chapel. Thank-goodness for GPS and friendly locals that helped us find our way. We had a delightful drive right through the city and went from poor areas to quite wealthy homes within miles of each other

 This was the little chapel called San Christabel. Unfortunately, we got there too late and it was all closed up so we were unable to look inside.

 Standing up by the chapel we could look out onto the Catalina Mountain range.

 This was an original old adobe home that had been preserved on the chapel site where the priest used to live.

 It seemed everywhere we went, there were little chapels. Inside you could see statues of saints and candles and letters people have written asking for divine intervention. They were really interesting to stop and look at. This is the last site we visited and then we made the leisurely trip home up the Oro Valley, through Florence and back to Apache Junction.