Echoes of the Southwest

The Tumacacori (Tuma-cock-cori) Park and mission are situated about 4 miles south of Tubac in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley.  The park encompasses about 360 acres and is split up into three different areas.  Inside the park's grounds sits the Spanish mission ruins, other ruins, and the museum which is housed in a 1937 building. The first mission was constructed by Jesuit padre Eusebio Kino in 1691.  It was built on the east side of the Santa Cruz River near the O’odham or the Sobaipuri communities.  They called this the Mission San Cayetano de Tumacacori and it was the oldest Jesuit mission found in southern Arizona.  Just following the 1751 Pima uprising, it was moved to its present location given the new name of San Jose de Tumacacori.  After the mission was left neglected and empty for years, by 1848, it started crumbling down and was in poor condition.  In 1908, the mission started getting the renovation and steadiness it badly needed ...

Elvira's Restaurant is a slightly up-scale place which started in 1927 in Nogales, Mexico.  You can now find this wonderful restaurant in Tubac, AZ.  They offer the highest quality of Mexican culinary delights and have won several awards for their tasty meals.  The environment is dazzling and the service is great.  My sea bass was to die for, yummy! Website:   http://www.elvirasrestaurant.com/ I had a very delicious mango margarita.

The La Paloma De Tubac shop is located in the historic district of Tubac, AZ.  For 35 years, they have sold items for the inside or outside of your home or working establishment.  Their unique and colorful merchandise are produced by many artists from Mexico and Argentina.  They take time in making the best quality of items.  The many pieces of porcelain dinnerware have over 20 colorful patterns, are hand painted, microwave safe, ovenproof, and best of all, FDA approved. Since the store was located right across from the Poston House Inn where we were staying, we shopped there a few times.  I had a great time wandering around the outside and inside of the store.  There was lots to see.  I did picked up some interesting pieces for my house.

Originated in 1692 by Father Eusebio Kino, the San Xavier Mission started assemblage in 1783 was finished in 1797.  This mission is known as the “oldest intact European structure in Arizona” and chock-full of amazing one-of-a-kind statues and mural paintings. San Xavier Mission is called the “White Dove of the Desert”, and can be found 9 miles south of downtown Tucson and is precisely located a short distance from Highway 19.  They don’t charge for your walking tour back through time.  The mission has seen thousands of people wander its massive grounds and structure.  The façade is Spanish Colonial with interesting carvings on its walls and trim. The main house of worship was funded by Franciscan missionary Father Juan Bautista Velderrain who was able to obtain a money loan by a Sonoran rancher.  Most of the workers were from the Tohono O’odham (desert people) tribe. (The following is from their website)  “Following Mexican independence in 1...

When you think of visiting a small town in Arizona, Tubac (pronounced Tu-back) will not be first on your list, but should be or near the top.  I just spent a weekend in this interesting place and had a wonderful time.  Why doesn’t more people stop to visit and why isn’t Tubac on the road signs?  I am not sure about the signs, but I can give you reasons to visit.  I will put in this post some general reasons, and in posts to follow (here or on my Julie Ferguson Designs blog), I will break down the various B&B’s, restaurants, shops, and must see historic sites nearby. Tubac can be found along Highway 19, between Tucson and Nogalas.  It is only 40 minutes south from Tucson, and 20 minutes from Green Valley.  It is also a short drive west from Patagonia.  Many people pass it by because they may think it is just a resort and golf course, or they just don’t see it because it is not right on the highway.  In other words, those who have plans...

Picture is from:  http://www.educatinghumanity.com/2013/05/all-time-ufo-hotspots-from-around-the-world.html Arizona has had millions of UFO sightings all over the state for decades.  While researching some of the areas where most of the reports were witnessed, I came across these old stories from the 1940’s to the 1960’s.  I found them interesting and decided to share them with you. On July 7, 1947, a Phoenix man , simply called Rhodes, was walking in his yard and heading to his garage when all of a sudden he heard the roar of a jet.  It sounded like it was traveling towards him, but when the 30 year old gazed to the sky a few seconds later; he noticed a gray disc hovering over the horizon in the northeast section of the city.  He described it as being “elliptical in shape, 20 to 30 feet in diameter, and appeared about 5,000 feet in the air.  The disc seemed to have a cockpit and a tail.”  He noticed thingamajig had swirled towards Earth to a...

Picture is from:  http://www.pickeringwx.com/ The minuscule settlement of Tubac in southern Arizona was established in 1752 and the initial European settlement in Arizona.  The town is situated in the Santa Cruz River Valley and contains a 250 year old Spanish past with Juan Bautista de Anza has its first Presidio.  Father Kino followed him and was the one who engineered the numerous missions built adjacent to the river.  One of the best well-kept structures, Mission de Tumacacori, is a short distance away. Today when you visit Tubac, you will find several things to do to keep you busy.  It has 80 galleries and shops with amazing sculptures, paintings, clothes, Arizona items, and much, much more.  You have lots of choices of restaurants from casual burgers and BBQ to chic dining.  The town has several places for you to stay from B&B’s to fine hotels.  Some of the other activities that a found around Tubac are hiking, off-roading, mou...