Sunday, March 7, 2021

Site Seeing South, South Central AZ Day 2 of 3

Part 1 of 2    Tubac Presidio State Historic Park



Tubac was established in 1752 as a Spanish presidio fort, now the site of the 
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park.



Tubac started to develop into an Art Colony in the 1930's & 40's.
More than 100 businesses line Tubac's meandering streets.


The schoolhouse is the 2nd oldest in AZ (and we visited the
oldest - The Strawberry Schoolhouse in Pine AZ 4 or 5 months ago).
Click on the photo to see some of the firsts that are part of Tubac...



My favorite sign was a list of Punishments and how many "Lashes"
the perpitrator would receive for various infractions of the rules.
"Telling Lies" = 7 lashes;  "Giving each other ill names" = 3 lashes; "For misbehaving 
to girls" = 10 lashes.  (They didn't list dipping girls braids in ink wells.) 




We really enjoyed the museum which housed Arizona's 1st printing press.




A very knowledgeable docent showed us how the old printing press
operated and how to set type.




A very challenging task since the rows of words to be printed
had to "set upside down and backwards"!!!



These reins were made out of braided horse hair and had an engraved
silver bit.




This color photography entry features a Mexican cultural dress
worn by a ballet dancer during the Ballet Forklorico El Tapatio de
San Dieguito.  WOW, no wonder it has won many awards in color
photography competitions!!!




A closer look at this Cartridge Box and Powder Horn is well worth
the "click" on the photo to learn more...




Don's favorite piece was this .73 caliber gun which was made with
a decorative percussion lock and a wooden ram rod which was all
made in Spain.  This crucial invention gave rise to the caplock mechanism
or percussion lock system using percussion caps struck by the hammer
to set off the gunpowder charge.




A special event, "The Exuberance", which featured artistic and botanic outdoor 
sculptures, created by 35 artist was a feast for the eyes and the 
camera lens.


Who could resist paper mache Javelinas.




As a "fiber" person I enjoyed the crocheted piece "Joy Unconfined"
that wrapped the trunk and branches of a tree in the garden.




An who could resist "Bunny Hill" featuring carefully carved wooden Bunnies.




And you always want to remember to look up or you might
miss something perched in the overhead branches.  This piece
was appropriately named "Strange Bird" a mixed media piece
by Joyce Jackson.




I loved all the colorful buildings in Tubac and even had a
chance to enter the Tubac Center for the Arts where I had
an opportunity to teach tapestry weaving workshops several 
times about 25 years ago.




Part 2 of 2    Tumacacori



Mission San Cayetano del Tumacácori was established by Jesuits in 1691 
in a location near a Sobaipuri settlement on the east side of the Santa Cruz River.

After the O'Ohadem rebellion of 1751  the mission was abandoned for a time
In 1752, the village was reestablished and in 1753 the church of the 
Mission San José de Tumacácori began construction at the present site on 
the west side of the Santa Cruz River. 



This first church structure was erected for
 use by the mission in 1757. 




The architectural style of the church is Spanish Colonial.  
Let's take a closer look, inside & out...





























As we walked out the Anza Trail, we actually saw water... and
there isn't much anywhere in southern AZ this year!!! 
The Santa Cruz River is an international waterway.  It begins
in the San Rafael Valley, flows southward into Mexico,
then makes a U-turn back into the United States,  Here it flows from 
south to north, eventually joining the Gila River.




As we walked along the Santa Cruz River, we did not have to wear
our masks while Don searched for several geocaches.  If we would have
had to wear a mask I would rather wear one like this that I saw in the 
museum.  It was historically and is presently used in traditional Yaqui dances.
Looking Good...



































































No comments:

Post a Comment

Another Mixed Bag: Ruby + Flowers and other things...

Can you believe this weather for the Sacramento CA area in late JUNE???  Time to head outside. There were interesting vapor trails in a beau...