Taking in Tucson........

We left Phoenix this morning and headed down H79 to Tucson, Az, about a 2 hour trip. Once you hit the town of Catalina and travel down the Oro Valley  which covers 34 square miles and has 44,000 residents, it is all suburbia into Tucson. The Santa Catalina Mountains and Pusch Ridge loom closely and watch over this valley area, making it a picture perfect location which it is known for. Oro Valley is surrounded by saguaro forests and captivating mountain views, it is a popular area for athletes to train and compete, and it is the gateway to Catalina State Park, a favoured spot for outdoor adventurers.

Oro Valley is at the base of  majestic Pusch Ridge.

The desert between Phoenix and Tucson was abloom with the flowering vegetation - strangely beautiful. It is fascinating to see the many species of desert plants and their flowers.

Leaving Phoenix and the Superstition Mountains.
The desert vegetation is all in bloom.

The desert near Oro Valley

Once in downtown Tucson we visited the Tourist Bureau and picked up their map of the downtown Historical Walking Tour - The Presidio Trail -  a 2.5 mile stroll that zig zags through the downtown streets.

Downtown Tucson from H10

Take in a bit of the Tucson history - do some of the sites on the Presidio Trail with us!
History lesson time...................................

Yes it is a bandstand - a replica of the original 1880 one that stood in this plaza,
but more interestingly it is the site where the stagecoach would gallop into town from
Mescill, New Mexico, or San Diego along the old Camino Real(the Royal Road).
Apache arrows would often be embedded in the stagecoach from encounters on the trail.  

The Leather Jacket Soldier - a bronze sculpture of a Spanish soldier dressed for battle, assigned to the Presidio San
Agustin del Tucson

Mormon Battalion Sculpture - commemorates the day in 1846 when Mormon soldiers entered
Tucson on their way to California to fight in the Mexican War.

Inside the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson.
In 1775 Lt.Col.Hugo O'Connor, an Irishman serving in the Spanish Army, founded a fort in what
is now downtown Tucson - this is one of the first European structures in Tucson. By the 1780's
when the 11 acre fort was completed, it consisted of 10-foot-high adobe walls and two corner
towers 20 feet high. This fort marked the northwest edge of the Spanish Frontier in Arizona. 

The northeast corner of the presidio has been reconstructed on its original site
at Church and Washington Streets.

The adobe walls 

Pima County Courthouse built in 1929 in the Spanish revival style.

The beautiful mosaic tiled dome on the courthouse

An Art Deco movie theatre originally designed for vaudeville and silent movies.
It was the site for the world premier in 1940 of the film "Arizona"
starring William Holden and Jean Arthur

Hotel Congress.
Built in 1919. It became famous in 1934 when members of
John Dillinger's gang rented rooms.

Abode buildings along Cushing Street, built in the Sonoran row-house style in the late 1800's,
are part of Barrio Viejo, Tucson's oldest neighbourhood.

This basaltic peak was once a lookout for Spanish and Native American sentinels,
who watched for raiders approaching the presidio and mission.
The "A" was added in 1915, in a burst of University of Arizona student
enthusiasm, as the result of a football victory over Pomona College.
The O'Odham name for the mountain, pronounced Chuk Shon,
means "at the black base". This is the source of the name Tocson.

This adobe building was built in 1915. It began as a theatre devoted to staging
dramatic works in Spanish, then it became a movie theatre, boxing arena, garage and
Elk's Lodge.  The theatre was named after the builders wife - Carmen

The Wishing Shrine.
Typical of small shrines in many communities in Mexico,
 where people come to burn candles and pray, asking for help with their problems.

Houses in the downtown area are being renovated using the original adobe style.

This afternoon we visited San Xavier Mission, a National Historic Landmark. The catholic Mission was  founded by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. It is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona. The interior of the church has its  marvellous original statuary and mural paintings - fascinating - you can sit their for ages looking at and appreciating their content. You certainly feel like you are stepping back in time when you enter this authentic 18th Century church!