January 26, 2016

January 26, 2016

Tucson’s annual Gem and Mineral Show doesn’t officially start until next week.  My brother-in-law is into rocks so we stop at two venues that opened early this year.  My relatives had the same reaction we had on our first visit.  Shock and awe on the vast array of minerals and fossils that are available for purchase.

Ten miles south of Tucson, we stop to revisit the church, San Xavier del Bac.  Since our last visit this old Spanish mission has had a face-lift and is finally free of scaffolding.  Back in the 17^th century, Spain tried to expand the frontier of New Spain (Mexico) into what is now Arizona by constructing a string of missions north up the Santa Cruz River from Mexico.  San Xavier is one of those missions.  Last rebuilt in 1787, it is the oldest European structure in Arizona and is a beautiful example of Spanish Colonial architecture.

We continued another forty miles south to Tubac Presidio State Historic Park.  This was Arizona’s first state park but because of budget cuts is now run by a group of local volunteers.  After a revolt by the local Pima Pueblo Indians, the Spanish built a presidio (fort) in Tubac in 1752 to suppress rebellion.  It was the first European settlement in Arizona.  Later the presidio was moved to Tucson to drive the frontier northward.  This left Tubac vulnerable to Apache raiders.  The citizenry drifted away and Tubac would never recover permanently.

We walked the self-guided tour, seeing the outline of the old adobe fort, learning about the archeology of the site, and visiting the couple of old buildings adjoining the presidio.  One was a cute one-room schoolhouse from 1885.  My sister, a retired teacher, loved it.

The presidio also marks the trailhead for the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.  In 1775 this Spanish commander led a group of settlers from Tubac cross-country to establish the community of San Francisco and secure Spain’s hold on California.  Afterwards we walked around the little artsy town of Tubac visiting the many craft shops.