Mission San Xavier del bac

by Leland

March 2014 Saturday

On March15, 2014 a Sunday, me, Mom, Dad, & Anna went to the Mission San Xavier.   The Mission san Xavier was started in 1783 and completed in 1797.  And in 1887 an earthquake in Sonora damaged parts of the Mission and major repairs weren’t started until 1906.  Just to give you a part of its history.    Also, Mission san Xavier isn’t the original Mission the original Mission was started in 1700 by a Missionary from Spain called Kino but was never finished.           

The entire thing was crazy- the art was amazing, but a little weird.  It was so overwhelming.  I loved the paintings, everything had a meaning, and they were not only paintings they were messages- prophesies, to carry the thoughts and beliefs of those who painted it for as long as the paint will last. I think that is the intention of all artists, to express themselves, so that a piece of them will last as long as it can. So when they die, they never really leave you they continue their existence. Just in a different way. So it was pretty cool.         

It turns out we took no photos at the Mission- we were all too overwhelmed- the photo above is from their website.  Haha.

    

Wiley Coyote Cactuses

Was getting too chilly to head north so we zigged and headed south.   I didn’t think we would get to the Sonoran Desert on this trip but with this zig we headed toward Tucson and the Saguaro cactuses.  You know the ones- the iconic arms, the striking silhouettes, Wiley Coyote.   Saguaro (pronounced Sa-waro) cactuses are perfectly evolved for their environment. They start out as a tiny seed near a nurse tree and it takes until 50 years of age before they start to grow an arm which starts out as little prickly bud.  They have ribs that expand and contract depending how dry or wet it is for water storage.  All shapes and sizes and homes to tons of cactus wrens and curved billed thrashers.  

Dying saguaros

    Everything is prickly.

Goofy girl

Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum- amazing.   It is an outdoor- natural history museum combined with a zoo.  Very well done and well worth going to if you are in the area.  Highlights were the artificial cave- Leland loved the bat ears.

and the turtle shell...

The free flight raptors were semi trained to fly over our heads and dive and land on branches nearby.  

and the hummingbird aviary.

Rock Trees

Petrified Forest- rocks and ancient trees that have turned into rocks!  Anna was in rock heaven!  

Shit Show

A word about shit.

Yep the real human stuff.  We have been doing some boondocking in our travels- which at its most basic is camping not in a campground-  off of the side of a back road -legally.  This is usually on public land like Bureau of Land Management or in National Forests- similar to crown land in Canada.   We love it- we can find an out of the way spot down a forestry road and pull off.  No one around, dogs can relax and run around, kids can be loud- no noise or rules.  But the major drawback to boondocking is that humans are disgusting and apparently no one has taught most of us how to shit in the woods.   We have been in sites where there is so much human shit that we have had to tie the dogs up (they are disgusting and will eat it) and the kids can’t run around.    Toilet paper all over, piles of shit right on the surface- NASTY!  So here’s how you do it in a nutshell.  By the way our kids knew how to do this by the time they were toilet trained.    If you have a toilet in your trailer or camper- use it- that’s what it’s there for.  If not- go away from the campsite, away from a trail and away from water.  Dig a hole with a trowel, shovel, stick, rock or the heel of your boot, 6 inches deep.  Shit in that.  Wipe- wrap used toilet paper in a clean piece and set aside or put in a bag in your pocket.  DO NOT BURY, BURN, OR LEAVE TOILET PAPER!!!!   Bury the shit with the soil you dug out.  Now cover the spot with a large rock or log.  Take the toilet paper with you and burn it in your campfire or put it in the garbage.  So- not so hard.  Remember the kids’ book We all poop?  Learn to do it right and don’t inflict your remains on others.  Enough said. 

Grand Canyon Side Trip

South Rim

Only this family could make a trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon an afterthought....we were all pumped to go to the Petrified Forest and Greg and I realize that we are only 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon South Rim.  So we found a boondocking site just outside the park and went in exploring for the day.   It is breathtaking- but too many tourists and really it is impossible to take a photo or describe it.  The Grand Canyon is one of those places that must be experienced.    We were all inspired and loved the views and the rocks and also the tower at Desert View.  

We had a big brainstorming session about a round house and cool stairs and pictographs on the walls....we aren’t that rich.  

Funky Town

Chloride- an out of the way place off of highway 93 on the way to Kingman, AZ.  Middle of nowhere place that used to have a silver mine.  The now have funky houses, a tourist information centre a ton of local character and characters including the guy that drives this “truck”.  Yep it drives.

  At 10:30 in the morning he was already buzzed on some kind of hooch and was chatting me up at the info centre aka liquor outlet, art gallery, used bookstore and general mercantile.  I asked him if he had a friend that followed him around with shovel and the store owner started laughing and said know it all falls down into his boots!   If you are driving past- go in.  Totally.  

Death Valley

Death Valley....

Sounds forbidding- so beautiful and at the same time harsh.  There are springs here that feed life as long as it stays in balance.    

“There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount, a perfect ratio of water to rock, water to sand.  There is no lack of water here unless you try to establish a city where no city should be.”  Edward Abbey

It feels like there is enough water here.  When we were at Red Rock and Lake Mead it felt sort of dirty to use water- knowing the water level in the reservoir and knowledge of climate change.   There shouldn’t be a city there- or so many people.   For sure not green grass, casinos and fountains.  Likely in the future it will be a surreal ghost town.

A land of extremes – low- Badwater Basin – below sea level with no diving equipment! 

  Hot- we only got to about 87 deg F but it can get to 130 F!.  It is super dry.  Water- springs, and snow and salt and a swimming pool.  Weird.  The area gets about 2 inches of rain per year!  We were there for rain! 

It does turn “dirt” to gumbo and rain to snow at the higher elevations.   Our friends from Kentucky that we met made the mistake of going up to 11,000 ft the day before it rained.  Apparently they are still (one week later) waiting for it to melt so they could get their truck and camper out.  Expensive lesson, but will make for a good story some day.  

 We drove a backcountry canyon road, rock, cliffs, up and down, switchbacks and one way through Titus Canyon- unbelievable that we were actually allowed to drive there. 

I love seeing Leland in the mirror.

Checked  out mines, views, a new rock formation at every turn.  We met an archeologist who was volunteering at the park demonstrating flint knapping and got the kids really keen to see some ancient ruins and cliff dwellings. Even saw a  real live roadrunner!  No picture though.