Combine a growing artist colony, a White Dove of the Desert, and friendship and what you get is a nice day trip from Catalina State Park in Oro Valley, where we are camped, to Tubac, AZ. I have been mute on our time at Catalina State Park, not because we are not enjoying looking out over and hiking into the Santa Catalina Mountains, but because this is our second visit (here is our first). We have chosen to lazily pass the time in the company of good friends Stan and Marilyn (also camped here) over posting again about this great state park.
Stan, Marilyn, Terry and I began our trip to Tubac with a stop just 10 miles south of downtown Tucson to a place I hadn’t visited in many years, Mission San Xavier del Bac, the “White Dove of the Desert”. This historic Spanish Catholic mission was founded in 1692 by Father Eusebio Kino.
In the late 1600’s, a stranger in dark flowing robes on horseback, a Jesuit missionary, ambled into the village of Wa:k. The desert people who resided there, the Tohono O’odham, welcomed him with open arms, thus beginning the tenure of Father Kino’s mission work.
Present-day church construction began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. Following Mexico’s independence in 1821, Mission San Xavier became part of Mexico, but with the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, ownership changed to the US. It is said to be the oldest intact European structure in Arizona, still containing the original mural paintings and statuary within its chapel, the frescoes and back altar quite striking. It is very much an active mission today, with services being held daily. A separate, smaller chapel to the side of the church is available for special prayer offerings.
Mission San José de Tumacácori (Too-muh-ká-ko-ree) was our next stop, four miles outside the town of Tubac. This historic mission was also founded by Father Kino, one year earlier than that of Mission San Xavier. No one knows the meaning of the word Tumacácori but it is believed to be an O’odham word.
In January, 1691, on the east bank of the Santa Cruz River, the oldest mission site in what is now Arizona was built, a very modest structure compared to Mission San Xavier to its north. It’s original name was Mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori and was renamed to Mission San José in 1751 when the mission was moved to its present location on the west side of the river. The structure was never completed, due to many woes: Apache hostility, lack of government support, and disease, to name a few. When Tumacácori lost its last resident priest, scaffolding still hung from the bell tower. The mission is unfinished yet today, although restoration work has begun on what remains.
Having had our spirits rejuvenated and broadened our knowledge of Arizona history, we headed to the growing artist colony known as Tubac “where art and history meet”. Established in 1752 as a Spanish Presidio, it houses Arizona’s first state park and European settlement, the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park. There is a museum that is open to the public, but quite frankly, a girl can only fill her head with so many facts and figures in one day. We chose instead to wander among the roughly 100 eclectic shops and world-class galleries, a very nice way to wind down our day.
But wait, there’s more! Our exciting finish to the day took us to Elvira’s to dine at what is probably one of the most popular and funkiest restaurants in Tubac, featuring gourmet Mexican fare. The is the second Elvira’s restaurant to open, the first being in Nogales, Mexico. We were thrilled to have friends Stan and Marilyn with us, along with new friends Gary and Christine, who we were fortunate to meet up with while camphosting in San Elijo State Beach in CA. The food and drinks were yummy, the restaurant interior delightful (so sparkly) due to the hundreds of teardrops and colored balls hanging from the ceiling reflecting the light, and the company superb.
We could not have asked for a better ending to our day and with the knowledge that we would see all four of these great folks again next winter in CA, we said goodbye to Gary and Christine. Tomorrow will be a sad day for us as we part ways with Stan and Marilyn, two amazing friends who have crept into our hearts and will definitely remain there.
I must share one final photo of this area, as it speaks to the gentle spirit of this man. He is not near old enough to be my poppy (papa) but I’m certain he was a sweet and gentle poppy to his children. Sorry Stan, I couldn’t resist!
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Paint Your Landscape 
Missions and Doves…we will come back. That is a nice capture of Mission San Xavier del Bac with the clouds and the sky as the backdrop!
Thanks! It was the first time I had seen it in ~25 years.
Love the header photo. So gorgeous!
We visited both Missions two years ago. We learned so much with on our tour of Mission San Xavier del Bac. Your photos highlight the beauty of both Missions.
Tubac was an extremely interesting place. We, too, enjoyed all the little shops and galleries. Such a huge array of different talents all in one place.
I don’t like saying good bye to my friends. I cherish them all so much.
I don’t either but it is always nice when you know you are going to be seeing them again. 🙂
Catalina State Park is one of our very favorite state parks!! We also enjoyed our visit to Tubac.
It is a beautiful park, with a wonderful mountain range as a backdrop.
my slow connection loaded this page in a really weird way, though i can tell that this is a really great place! i will return when the connection is faster (and that’s around 3 in the morning!!!!) so i’ll try later tonight or iearly in the morning!
until then, lisa
See you later Lisa. 🙂
Unfortunately the Tucson snowstorm interrupted our intended visit to Mission San Xavier. Ah, perhaps next winter. Our rig is all clean and winterized…..a sad day 😦 Wish we were still out and about exploring. Happy trails!
It really is a beautiful mission Ingrid. Sorry to hear that you are now off the road for awhile but glad to hear you are not in any extreme weather. It sounds like Colorado isn’t through with winter yet. Take care. 🙂
Gorgeous group shot too. LuAnn – you have a good life. But you know that right? xx
I know just how blessed I am, although there will be a day when I will want to settle somewhere. I do miss community, so there are tradeoffs. 🙂
Beautiful post, LuAnn! Thank you for taking us there.
My pleasure Amy. 🙂
ah! the page finally loaded, and it was worth the wait! what a beautiful area loaded with history and art and amazing architecture!
thanks for letting us tag along!
z
My pleasure Z. 🙂
The photo of all the pottery is to die for. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure.
😃Flotte bilder😃
Takk skal du ha! 🙂
Dejligt at moede en anden Dansker her paa blogget 🙂
Nina
Og ingen oversættelse er nødvendig for at kommunikere!
It certainly looks like was a great time. I do like the missionary. It is very well decorated. It looks very Mexican as well 🙂
Lots of Spanish influence in these parts. 🙂
It certainly looks it 🙂
I am jealous
It was a fun day. 🙂
LuAnne, we must have crossed paths. We had a very similar day last weekend. Yet our meal was at Wisdom’s Cafe – lots of history and fruit burritos! just south of Tubac. We are in Catalina SP until Sunday – then on to Patagonia Lake SP. Great pictures!
Our paths must have crossed. We had also heard about Wisdom’s Cafe by some friends but it didn’t win out over Elvira’s. We heard the food was wonderful. We are leaving today and are headed to Kartchner Caverns SP but plan to visit Pategonia as we haven’t been there in years. Perhaps our paths will cross again and we can say a proper hello. Enjoy the rest of your stay. 🙂
Your photos are just brilliant depictions of a wonderful journey in life… I do envy you…
Thanks Bulldog and I you. 🙂
You are giving me so many things to add to my bucket list…I don’t think I will live long enough☺
😀
Looks fabulous. One of the many day trips we DIDN’T do at Catalina…must come back and add this one on the list!
Nina
It was a great day. Being the Western girl and all, saw that you ventured to Tombstone. Not sure we will go this time as we have already been.
Looks like there is a lot more for us to do our next trip to Tucson!
Having lived in the Phx area for many years, Tucson was not too familiar. This was a great trip for us. Hope all is well with you and John. 🙂
LuAnn–
what a journey, Les and I miss you both.
Amazing that San Xavier del Bac is only 10 miles outside downtown Tuscon.
Beautiful photographs you are taking. going pro?
David
David, So good to hear from you. I have been thinking a lot about you and Les recently. We will be in Ohio early April and will have to see how we can plan a get together. Thanks for the compliment but my photos pale in comparison to the pro that you are. I do love taking photos and would love to take some photography classes.
Thank you for the informative piece..and yes, parting with friends is always sad..and lovely photos here
Thanks so much! 🙂
Hey Lu! It was so nice to see pics of all of you! I especially love the one of Stan. Sounds like you’re having a fabulous time!
Xo lisa
Good to hear from you my friend. How is Sedona feeling to the two of you? I did the Highline Trail hike with Rosie. Don’t know if you did this one with Bill or not. It was fabulous! We are trying to squeeze in as much as we can before we head to the midwest.
Gary and Christine look familiar – would they have been in San Elijo in December when we were there?
This spot looks wonderful, and I look forward to revisiting your first Catalina State Park trip report when I start planning out our 2014 Southwest trip.
We are finally back in RV mode and I’m thrilled. It’s been almost two months since Palm Springs, which is about six weeks too long IMHO!
I’m not sure if Gary and Christine were in the park in Dec. They have been there before we met so perhaps they were and hadn’t decided yet on camp hosting. Catalina State Park is wonderful, wide-open, with views of the Santa Catalina mountain range and the hiking is pretty special as well.
LULU Your and ADVENTURER!!! I am so JEALOUS!!! Thanks so much for sharing your journey!!! And you have such a beautiful family to put infront of this BEAUTIFUL PLACE!!!
Thanks Jasmine! 🙂
Your so welcome !!!
I wish You a happy 8th March Women’s Day!
Thanks so much Stefan. 🙂
Lovely post, LuAnn. That white dome looks stunning against the clear blue sky.
It certainly was lovely. 🙂
Beautiful shots of the missions Luann! And what a fun end to your day. I love the whimsical interior of Elvira’s 🙂
Elvira’s was terrific and the missions were beautiful. 🙂
Hi LuAnn, you continue to fascinate and wish for one (me) to be there with you guys as you explore and learn. Your posts really are the next best thing to being there. Loved this one with all the historical references and the artistic happenings in the now, beautiful words, beautiful photographs. much love to you, Penny 🙂
Thanks dear friend. 🙂
A March entry! and it now August! I can’t believe that how I abstained from blogging!
These missins look way authentic, ancient and distinctive than the ones in California. I like their constructions better than the usual white paint of California missions.
I gotta 🙂 at the last photo.
Thanks Rommel. You have been away for far too long! 🙂