Sunday, February 26, 2012

San Xavier Mission, Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ


    The approach to San Xavier Mission approximately 9 miles south of Tucson. The official name is San Xavier Mission del Bac; "del Bac" was Father Eusabio Francisco Kino's description of the Indian village, Wa:k, near which he sited the mission. Another translation of "del Bac" is that it means "of the water." There once was a spring in the area.

 

    In case you're wondering why the tower on the right was not completed, allegedly the church would escape taxation if it was not complete -- but that is labeled a legend in one of the links below.

 

 

 

 

 

    A somewhat closer view of the facade of the Mission -- without vehicular clutter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A shot of the mission from the southwest.

 

 

 

 

    The darker color for part of the mission's facade is likely due to the use of mud plaster. Apparently prickly pear cactus pulp is mixed with that mud to provide a plaster which sheds water more effectively but which requires more inspections and maintenance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A National Park Service plaque indicating that San Xavier Mission del Bac is, as of 1963, a registered National Historic Landmark. [Click 1 or 2 times to enlarge; if instead you get a string of photos across the bottom of a new window, as I do, please send me an e-mail.]

 

 

    A plaque with the specifics on the founding of Mission San Xavier: Founded by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692 (on a different site 2-3 miles from the present location). By way of comparison, the first Spanish mission in California was in 1769 at San Diego.

 

 

 

    While most California missions have various types of flowers, ferns, or shrubs, Mission San Xavier has what grows well in this area: cacti.

 

 

 

 

    A sign beyond the gate noted that the cross on top of the hill was not on church property. Some young fellow was hanging onto the left side of the cross and leaning to the right of it. [Fortunately I took this photo before he stationed himself in front of it.]

 

 

 

    Once outside the gate I took this shot of the Catalina Mountains to the northeast; and, of course, primary among those peaks is one of my favorites: Mt. Lemmon.

 

 

 

    One final look at Mission San Xavier -- with no vehicles in the parking lot. Note that, like all California missions which I've visited, the main doors of the church face south or west -- not north or east.
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    The following six photos were taken on Th 1 Mar; the Mission was closed by the time I got there on Su 26 Feb after 4:30 or 5:00 p.m.
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    Like most Catholic Churches San Xavier Mission is in the form of a cross when viewed from above; that is, as you approach the main altar directly ahead when you enter the church's doors, there will be shorter wings to the left and right.
    This first photo is of the left wing.

 

 

 

 

    Turning around I took this shot of the left wing (or arm of the cross).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A tall photo of the main altar as well as the ornate carvings and statuary above it.

 

 


 

 

 

 

    Turning around again I took a photo of the Choir Loft. [My sister Jane, who sings in 2 Catholic Church choirs would do more than chide me if I skipped this shot. :-)>]

 

 

 

 

    I walked halfway to the heavy front doors, turned, and captured this view of the front of the church. (In previous photos I shot over my fellow tourists.)

 

 

 

 

    The arched overhead vault of Mission San Xavier del Bac.
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Links:

Sa 25 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

Su 26 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Xavier Mission - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

M 27 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

T 28 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

W 29 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp - Tucson - Gilbert Ray [Pima] County CG

Th 1 Mar Actual Route: Gilbert Ray CG - Tucson - Green Valley Walmart

F 2 Mar Actual Route: Green Valley Walmart - Tumacacori Mission - Rio Rico - Nogales - Patagonia Lake State Park

Sa 3 Mar Actual Route: Patagonia Lake SP - Sonoita - Huachuca City - Sierra Vista - Quail Ridge RV Park

Su 4 Mar Actual Route: Quail Ridge RV Park - Huachuca City - Sierra Vista - Huachuca City - Corte del Rey RV Park

M 5 Mar Route: Corte del Rey RV Park - Sierra Vista - Bisbee - Douglas - Douglas Walmart

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Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Picacho to Tucson

Gilbert Ray County [Pima] Park, AZ


    Here's a view of a very singular landmark: Picacho Peak (elev: 3374'). This photo was taken from the corner of Picacho Highway and Shay Road. The Picacho Peak [Arizona] State Park handout/brochure notes that "the unique shape has been used as a landmark by travelers since prehistoric times; one of the first written records was in the 1700s by the [Juan Bautista DeAnza] Expedition as it passed through the area."

    The mountains picture here are on the east side of I-10 and are called the Picacho Mountains. While the peak on the right in the shadows appears to be the highest, that's an optical delusion; the microwave antennas are on the highest peak in the sunlight.
    I dry-camped just to the left of the road sign; however, I first walked down the road to read the white sign, fearing it might say "No Overnight Parking/Camping." Instead, it admonished "No Illegal Dumping." Perhaps because of the trash, I noticed more flies here than anywhere else so far in Arizona.

    After spending nearly a day at Picacho Peak State Park, where I met a fellow from Tucson who was also in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and had been at Ft. Monmouth, NJ, six years after I was there (he's six years younger), and taking a shower in the best shower I've seen in 15 months of traveling at any state, county, or city park/campground, I headed for Tucson on I-10.
    Here's a shot of Picacho Peak from the south -- as the semis whiz by at 75mph. Just north of here Picacho Pass at 1800' is easily missed; don't think there is any sign, but I was looking for a place to pull over and take the above photo.

    When I arrived at the northern outskirts of Tucson, the first McDonalds I stopped at did not have WiFi; presumably it's one of their older outlets. I continued south until I hit Ajo Way and used the Mission Road Tucson Branch Library.
    After two nights at Justin's Diamond-J RV Park on San Joaquin Road ($9/night to dry-camp) I ordered four new tires at a Walmart Supercenter and headed north from Ajo Way on Kinney Road toward Saguaro National Park; while examining the maps I notice a campground called Gilbert Ray -- a Pima County CG where limited hookups (electricity only) are $20.
    Because I got behind a slow-moving horse-drawn bus/stage, I pulled over and took the photo above of Tucson Mountain.

    A look to the SSW. Most of the vegetation you see has survived because of it main defense: spines or thorns. If there are no ways to eat the plants in spite of the spines, their successors will continue. The plants with "whimpy spines" disappeared through evolution, leaving plants that stick it to you if you get too close!
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Links

Th 23 Feb Actual Route: Justin's D-J RV Park - Tucson - Gilbert Ray County Campground

F 24 Feb Actual Route: Gilbert Ray CG - Tucson - Green Valley - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

Sa 25 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/V Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

Su 26 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/V Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Xavier Mission - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

M 27 Feb Route: San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp

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Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Anza-Borrego State Park to Salton City

Picacho Peak State Park, AZ


    As some of you who have been following where I traveled have noticed, I have yet to post photos of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the Salton Sea, and Joshua Tree National Park. Here's the first of several posts from an Arizona State Park, Picacho Peak State Park -- named for a rather unique peak which is unlike most others I've seen.
    The photo above is of the trail to the first station in a 7-station Nature Walk in the Powder Wash of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The reflection from the sand the night before, Sa 4 Feb, outisde of my camper was reminiscent of a low-power fluorescent light under a nearly full moon.

    Because the San Andreas Fault breaks into several smaller faults in this area, note the difference in the rocks in the photo to the right. The brochure, which I returned to Station #1 to save our dead-beat state some money, mentioned that if you were sitting on a rock near the Monterey Bay, it may well have been here 250,000 years ago.

 

    One of the bigger caves in the area. (I didn't inspect the floor of the cave for any bones, but it's likely there were some there.)

 

 

    California State Historical Marker #695, Los Puertecitos -- a spot not too far from Octotillo Wells. Because it's not very legible, here's a transcription.
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Juan Bautista De Anza's expedition marched through this little pass December 18, 1775, on its way to strengthen Spanish colonization in California. Many of the 240 members of the party were recruited from Mexico to be the first residents of the San Francisco. They had camped the preceding night somewhere in the wide flats just east of this monument.
....
California Registered Historical Landmark No. 695?
....
Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with Cuyama?a Parlor No. 298, Native Sons of the Golden West, January 31, 1959.

    At first I thought the smoke was caused by a military exercise (with a plane or tank), but I later learned that once a crop (alfalfa?) is harvested, the dry stubble is burned off rather than plowed under. (There's another smoke plume to the left of the bigger one.)

    A first glimpse of the Salton Sea behind the juntion of CA78 and CA86 north from Westmoreland. While I've seen a couple of different negative elevations for the Salton Sea, here's what Tom Steinstra, Outdoor Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about the Salton Sea in his book West Coast RV Camping. "[The] Salton Sea is a vast, shallow, and unique lake, the center of a 360-square-mile basin and one of the world's inland seas. [The] Salton Sea was created in 1905 when a dike broke, and in turn, the basin was flooded with saltwater. The lake is 35 miles long, but it has an average depth of just 15 feet." Elevation: -235'.

 

 

    Panning left, one sees a helipcopter at about 2 o'clock of the trees in the center of the photo.

 

 

 

    Looking north from the corner of Seaview Dr, where the Salton City RV Park is located, and Salton Sea Rd. Despite spending several days on or driving along this large body of water, I only saw one boat -- a sail boat apparently launched just above or at the Salton City Marina.

 

 

 

    Panning right and looking northeast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Looking east.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Looking southeast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Looking generally south-southeast. (The Salton Sea runs NW to SE.

 

 

 

    From near the high point in CA86 north of Salton City, a view of an orange grove on the northwest edge of the Sea. Was on my way to a Riverside County Park: Lake Cahuilla. Reason: avoiding the high prices of most RV parks along west (rich) side of the Coachella Valley. Dry-camped for $15.
    The cities from LaQuinta to Palm Springs form the high rent district while parts of the towns of Indio and Coachella are older and, in some places, somewhat run-down.

    Finally, a boon-dock just off of the Cottonwood Springs Road, the southern entrance to Joshua Tree Natl Park. Because I did not check the park web site from the Palm Springs Library, where I looked up an obituary for a relative, Pansy Estes Reynolds, I drove to the Cottonwood Campground for naught. Should have realized that RVs such as the one behind my truck camper were waiting for the Cottonwood CG to open on 17 Feb. Oh well -- the price was right!
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Links

Th 16 Feb Actual Route: Yuma, AZ, Walmart - Wellton

F 17 Feb Actual Route: Wellton - Dateland - Gila Bend - Butterfield Trail Dry Camp

Sa 18 Feb Actual Route: Butterfield Trail Dry Camp - Gila Bend - Casa Grande

Su 19 Feb Actual Route: Casa Grande - Eloy - Picacho Hwy/Shay Rd Dry-Camp

M 20 Feb Actual Route: Picacho Hwy Dry-Camp - Eloy - Picacho Peak State Park

T 21 Feb Actual Route: Picacho Peak State Park - Tucson - So AZ VA Hospital - Justin's Diamond-J RV Park

W 22 Feb Actual Route: Justin's D-J RV Park - Tucson - Justin's Diamond-J RV Park

Th 23 Feb Actual Route: Justin's D-J RV Park - Tucson - Saguaro Natl Pk - Gilbert Ray County Campground

F 24 Feb Actual Route: Gilbert Ray CG - Tucson - Green Valley - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Bopp Rd Dry-Camp

Sa 25 Feb Actual Route: San Joaquin Rd/Old Ajo Hwy Dry-Camp - Tucson - San Joaquin Rd/Bopp Rd Dry-Camp

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Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

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Friday, February 17, 2012

Butterfield Trail Dry-Camp Near Gila Bend

Casa Grande, AZ


    Sunset from the end of a dead-end road off of the Butterfield Trail exit from I-8 near Gila Bend, AZ; while I was headed for a commercial RV park on Butterfield Trail I joined the 5th Wheeler & Class A RVs which were already parked. [Even though Gila Bend is quite a ways from the Mexican border, there was a sign cautioning that smuggling or illegal trafficking might be encountered further down the gravel road.]

 

 

    A short while after taking the about photo of the sunset I noticed that the sky to the west was rather orange-red.

 

 

 

 

    Some Sun-Dried Beef Jerkey!! :-)>
    Note that the ribs are missing. Perhaps the coyotes had a BBQ.
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Links:

Th 16 Feb Actual Route: Yuma, AZ, Walmart - Wellton

F 17 Feb Actual Route: Wellton - Dateland - Gila Bend - Butterfield Trail Dry Camp

Sa 18 Feb Actual Route: Butterfield Trail Dry Camp - Gila Bend - Casa Grande

Su 19 Feb Actual Route: Casa Grande - Eloy - Picacho Hwy/Shay Rd Dry-Camp

M 20 Feb Actual Route: Picacho Hwy Dry-Camp - Eloy - Picacho Peak State Park

T 21 Feb Route: Picacho Peak State Park - Tucson - So AZ VA Hospital

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Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

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Monday, February 13, 2012

Two Obituaries & a Death Certificate

Calipatria, CA

    Desiderio Binsacca was a pioneer in the region near the Soledad Mission in Monterey County. With only his year of death to go on, I was able to locate the following obituary more quickly in the The Salinas Californian by assuming that he died in the same month in which he was born -- September.
    (The English equivalent of Desiderio is David.)
....
Desiderio "Dave" BINSACA
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Death Notice
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Friday September 28, 1934 Salinas Index-Journal, p. 2
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BINSACCA -- At his home in the Mission district, near Soledad, September 27, 1934, Desiderio Binsacca, aged 84 years of age.
    The funeral cortege will leave from the late residence in the Mission district on Sunday morning, September 30, 1934, at 9:30 o'clock; thence to the Soledad Catholic church, where mass will be celebrated for the repose of his soul at 10 o'clock. Graveside services will be under the auspices of the Foresters' of America. Burial in Soledad cemetery. Friends are respectfully invited to attend the services. (Fuor's? funeral service).
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Obituary
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Friday September 28, 1934 Salinas Index-Journal, p. 10
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Funeral Sunday For Binsacca at Soledad
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    Desiderio Binsacca, pioneer risident of the Mission district, died yesterday at his home, at the age of 84 years. He had made his home in the Mission district for about 50 years, engaging in farming until his retirement from active business life. He is survived by six daughters and six sons.
    Funeral services will be held from the family home at 9:30 o'clock Sunday morning, followed by mass at the Soledad Catholic church at 10 o'clock. Interment will be in Soledad cemetery, with graveside services under the auspices of the Foresters' America.
....
Pansy Ida Estes REYNOLDS
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Obituary
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Wesnesday 8 December 1976 The Desert Sun [Palm Springs, CA], p. A2
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    Graveside services will be held Thursday for Pansy I. Reynolds, 82, 1090 Marshal Way, who died Monday morning in Desert Hospital.
    A native of New Mexico, she had lived in California for 40 years, and had been a local resident for three months.
    Mrs. Reynolds was a member of the Eastern Star, Glendale Chapter, and the San Bernardino Chapter of the Order of White Shrine of Jerusalem.
    She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Charles Cook of Palm Springs; two sons, Alexander Reynolds of White City, Ore., and Harry Reynolds of Los Angeles; and a brother, Green Estes of Mesa, Ariz.
    Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino.
....
    The following is a transcription of Orange County Death Certificate #3000 02923 for Velma Dunlap Lemmon, likely the third wife of my great-uncle George Calvin Lemmon.
....
Name of Deceased: Velma Dunlap Lemmon
Date: 4-10-1976 Time: 12:50 p.m.
Sex: Female Race: Cau Birthplace: Arkansas
DOB: 2 Aug 1902 Age: 73
Father: Mose Dunlap, Arkansas
Mother: Maude Langham, Arkansas
Citizen of USA SS#: 547 16 3159 Widowed
Homemaker for c50 yrs Self-employed in Own Home
Place of Death: Fullerton Community Hospital, 100 E. Valley View
Fullerton, Orange County, Lived in CA for 42 yrs
Res: 510 North Raymond Ave, Fullerton, Orange County, CA
Informant: Mrs. Irene Hanna [dau], 734 S. Walnut, Brea, CA 92621
Coroner's Investigation conducted
Burial, 13 Apr 1976, Memory Garden Mem Pk, Brea
Funeral Director: McAulay & Wallace.
Cause of Death: Memothorax; Fractured ribs, spine (T-11) & pelvis
Trauma caused by an accident in the 1300 block of E. Chapman, Fullerton
Time: 11;10 a.m.
Decedent, a pedestrian, struck by auto.
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Links (My two will be updated as time permits):

  • Desiderio's Binsacca's page on the 1957 SCHS Faculty & Staff web site
  • Pansy Estes Reynolds' page on the Adams Family of Parke County, IN, World Connect site
  • George C. Lemmon's page on the Hugh Lemmon & Descendants website

Sa 11 Feb Actual Route: Wiest Lake - Brawley - Wiest Lake

Su 12 Actual Feb Route: Wiest Lake

M 13 Feb Actual Route: Wiest Lake - Calipatria - Red Hill Marina

T 14 Feb Actual Route: Red Hill Marina - Calipatria - Brawley - El Centro - Vaction Inn RV Park

W 15 Feb Actual Route: Vaction Inn RV Park - Calexico - Yuma, AZ, Walmart

Th 16 Feb Actual Route: Yuma, AZ, Walmart - Wellton

F 17 Feb Actual Route: Wellton - Dateland - Gila Bend - Butterfield Trail Dry Camp

Sa 18 Feb Actual Route: Butterfield Trail Dry Camp - Gila Bend - Casa Grande

Su 19 Feb Route: Casa Grande - Eloy - Marana - Catalina State Park

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Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

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Friday, February 10, 2012

San Diego Mission

The Rock Coffee Shop & Cafe*, Brawley, CA

    The sign to the right says it all -- the San Diego Mission (Mission San Diego de Alcala) was the first, on 16 July 1769, of the 21 Spanish Missions in California; the last was the Sonoma Mission, which was founded on 4 July 1823.


 

 

    As you can see from the sign, the San Diego Mission is still used for masses. Not shown are the Tow-Away warnings, which are needed because Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Padres is less than a mile to the west on Friars Rd/Mission Gorge Rd.

 

 

    A plaque to Luis Jayme, who on 5 November 1775 greeted indians bent on mayhem with his usual greeting, "Love God, my children." The first California martyr, his remains are in the sanctuary of the mission.

 

 

 

    I'm not sure whether this is the 5th building on this site or the 5th building in San Diego. The grates on the wall to the right contain scuptures of some of the other missions as well as key figures at those missions.

 

 

 

    Good thing I didn't park my camper on this level or it would have obscured some to the porch or veranda under the tiled roof, which is clearly visible over these passenger cars.

 

 

 

    California State Historical Landmark #242 names the Founding Fathers of the first mission: Junipero Serra, Juan Viscaino, and Fernando Perron; it also notes that the mission was moved from Presidio Hill to the present location in August 1774.

 

 

 

    A replica of the bicentennial plaque presented to Father Serra's hometown, Petra De Mallorca, Spain, in 1969.

 

 

 

 

    Bet you didn't know there was an organization of female descendants of those who served in the War of 1812.

 

 

 

 

 

    The padres who used El Camino Real would be surprised indeed that what was essentially a rural wagon road is now more often than not a 4-lane street or freeway in heavily-urbanized areas of California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A close-up of the mission's bell tower, where, if memory serves, one bell cast in 1825 is still in use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Another look at the bell tower. [Note the moon at about 1 o'clock above the mission.]

 

 

 

 

    I don't know how many other missions have schools run by various groups of sisters, but my hometown of Santa Cruz has an elementary school called Holy Cross still operating next to the replica of the mission there.

 

 

 

    A recounting of the construction at the mission as well as an explanation of the statues in the niches along the front corridor: they are replicas of the nine missions which Father Serra founded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A view of the mission's door through what are clearly drought-tolerant plants. [Click 1 or 2 times to zoom in on the insignia above the door.]

 

 

 

 

 

    Note the gnarled pepper tree on the right, towering above an exhibit of some indian handiwork -- and more drought-tolerant plants. [OK, so they're cacti!]

 

 

 

 

    Somewhat younger pepper trees surrounding a fountain in the inner court-yard.

 

 

 

 

 

    While I can't immediately recall any of the other 11 missions I've photographed with second stories, there is clearly a second story here at the San Diego Mission.

 

 

 

    Unfortunately, this was the last shot I could take without downloading all of the photos to my laptop. If memory serves, it's a sculpture of the Thirteen Station? of the Cross. [See Links below.]
...

 

[* Since the Brawley, CA, Library has no WiFi I talked one of the fellows into letting me use their WiFi even though I did not buy anything. (Incidentally, the word "Rock" in their name does not come from a type of music but rather from a Biblical quotation from Matthew 7:25.)]

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Links:

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T 7 Feb Actual Route: Lake Cahuilla Park - Rancho Mirage - Palm Springs - Joshua Tree Natl Pk - Cottonwood CG [CLOSED] - Cottonwood Sprs Rd

W 8 Feb Actual Route: Cottonwood Sprs Rd - Indio - Mecca - Salton Sea Rec Area (Corvina Beach)

Th 9 Feb Actual Route: Corvina Beach (Salton Sea) - Bombay Beach - Red Hill Marina

F 10 Feb Actual Route: Red Hill Marina - Calipatria - Brawley - Wiest Lake County Park

Sa 11 Feb Actual Route: Wiest Lake - Brawley - Wiest Lake

Su 12 Actual Feb Route: Wiest Lake

M 13 Feb Actual Route: Wiest Lake - Calipatria - Red Hill Marina

T 14 Feb Route: Red Hill Marina - Calipatria - Brawley - El Centro

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Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life or Woodalls for including links to their free campground lookups.

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