It was a weekend in late August, we had just moved to Arizona from Tennessee and were anxious to explore our new state. We had no idea where to start, so we took an afternoon and wrote down as many awesome places that we could find on individual pieces of paper to enter into our bucket. Our family has a small bucket that we randomly draw out of when we want to do something fun or adventurous. This makes the decision quick and easy. The first place selected was Tumacácori National Historic Park. I did a little research and found that the nearby town was Tubac, therefore we decided to make a day out of it.
The Tumacácori National Historic Park and Tubac are located close to the United States and Mexico border near the town of Nogales. It is about a two and a half our drive south of Phoenix.
Tumacácori National Historic Park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The entrance fee into the park is $7/adult and children age 16 and younger are free. However, we have a National Park pass which can be used to pay the entrance fee into the park. In 1691, Jesuit Eusebio Kino came over from New Spain to build missions from Mexico to California. The Native American tribe of the O’odham (or Pima) were settled in what is now known as southern Arizona. In 1751, after a Pima rebellion the mission was moved to this location and rebuilt as the Mission San José de Tumacácori, which is the building seen in this photo.After numerous Apache raids, the last remaining Pimas were driven out of Tumacácori in 1848 which was 157 years after Father Kino introduced the mission to what is now southern Arizona.As you walk throughout the park, you will see different buildings that have been restored which include living quarters and a sacred burial ceremony site.Tumacácori was made a national monument in 1908, which is very interesting as Arizona did not become a state until 1912. The Tumacácori Museum was built in 1937 which holds interpretive displays and artwork.Within Tumacácori National Historical Park you can walk along the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. This is a 1,210 mile trail that extends from Nogales, Mexico to San Francisco, California.In 1775-76, Juan Bautista set out with 30 families on a journey from Mexico to San Francisco. They reached San Francisco on June 27, 1776 with a goal to establish the first non-native settlement in the Bay areaIt was nice to walk along this historic trail and talk to the kids about the experiences and hurdles the families may have encountered during their journey.You can walk from Tumacácori to Tubac along the Anza trail, however at one point you have to cross the Santa Cruz River. On the day that we visited, it had rained and washed away the boards that are used to cross the River. The water is very unsanitary and recommended to not walk through.The Tumacácori National Historical Park and the Anza Trail are so full of beauty and history yet a part of our country that is not well known.
After we explored Tumacácori National Historical Park and the Anza Trail, we drove to the town of Tubac.
Tubac was established in 1752 by Spanish troops that had defeated the Pima warriors.We were all starving and decided to eat at Wisdom’s Dos!This is an order of chicken street tacos with black beans.Little Man and I had a fruit burro which was SO good! We had a cherry burro, however you can choose whatever fruit that you want cooked inside the burro.Across the street from DOS! is the Tubac Center of Arts where artists will exhibit their work. Admission is free and is is open daily from 10 am-4:30pm.Tubac is known as an art town as it is home to over 100 art galleries as well as eclectic shops.Tubac Presidio State Historic Park was the very first state park of Arizona which was dedicated on September 28, 1958. It is located at 1 Burruel St, Tubac, AZ, open daily from 9am-5pm, and admission price is $7/adult.Located inside the state park is a play area where the children would play games during school hours.The state park is home to the second oldest schoolhouse in Arizona which was constructed in 1885.Seen here are the kids sitting in the one room schoolhouse which served as Tubac’s school until 1965. The desks are original to the schoolhouse, the other items such as the flag and blackboards have been donated by other surrounding states.The Tubac Presido Museum has many exhibits and artifacts inside. The museum also holds the original printing press from Arizona’s first newspaper from 1859.Located in front of the museum is an arrastra grinding ore. Horse, mule, or sometimes humans would slowly turn the arms to crush gold or silver. Chris and the kids tried it out to see how hard it was to move those heavy stones.On the drive back home, we stopped somewhere between Tuscon and Phoenix to take in another beautiful Arizona sunset.
