I have been planning a trip south to Tubac and Tumacacori for many months. Frequently, when people meet me and see my camera, they fervently suggest Tubac as a place to visit. So, on a mild December day, I headed south. So far south of Tucson that the miles signs turned to kilometers and the landscape took on a foreign and exotic feel. The mountain ranges of the Coronado National Forest bleed into the Madera Canyon. Stripes of color trace the river valleys where the cottonwoods hold tight to their yellow leaves, dividing the landscape between water and desert.
Tumacacori is in a National Historial Park and sits at the cultural crossroads in the Santa Cruz River Valley. The O'odham, Apache, and Yaqui people met and mingled with the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, settlers, and soldiers. The intersection of vibrant cultures and traditions took place on this ground.
The Franciscan church is the defining feature and, though never completed, is a colorful landmark. It’s filled with signs of life from the 1700s. You see the sanctuary with a giant dome (some of the original paint remains on the wall like a fresco in Italy), baptismal rooms, built-ins for the 14 stations, storage rooms for food and housing of the missionaries, and a cemetery out back. This was a living and working crossroads surrounded by images of Catholicism and Mexican Baroque statuary that give you a sense of wonder while strolling the grounds.
45 miles south of Tucson, it is worth the trip. Admission is free if you have a Parks Pass, otherwise, it is $7 for entry per person.