More than 50 species of cactus live in Saguaro National Park in Tucson. Such an abundance owes life to two rainy seasons in the Sonoran Desert. For years scientists feared saguaros were disappearing, as numbers declined after the freezes in 1937 and 1966. Then experts determined this cactus cannot sustain more than 20 hours of temperatures below 32 degrees. Now elimination of cattle grazing has reduced trampling of young plants, and the saguaro is making a comeback.
We drove the eight-mile Loop Trail. Baby cacti thrived under nurse plants. The interpretive sign said humans had lived here for 11,000 years. When people treated the desert as community, everything thrived. When humans looked at the land as a commodity, species were lost forever.
The 2.8-mile Lime Falls Trail passed old lime kiln furnaces to Lime Falls, where rocks cascaded down the hillsides. Puddles in the wash below showed evidence of recent rain, but the falls were dry.
The Ecology Trail, a quick half-mile walk, provided a sample of all Sonoran Desert flora with explanations of how people need to care for the land. At Javelina Rock we climbed the limestone for the panoramic views.
Andy said, "Get up here. You can scale this one." Climbing up was the only way I could get his picture. Bicyclists predominated on the road; about 30 riders passed below us.
On the other side of town, the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is home to more than 15,000 original oil paintings, watercolors, ceramics and sculptures at the artist's adobe brick home, gallery and chapel.
First published in Arizona Highways, Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia is remembered for his colorful paintings of children with black dots for eyes and mouths. But every inch of Gallery in the Sun contains little artistic surprises from metal flowers to ceramic sun catchers to turquoise jewelry to a studded rock floor and a jewel bedecked metal door.
"If I had money, I'd buy an original," said Andy. The single figure of a child, a two-inch ceramic, cost more than $250.
Mid-afternoon we stopped at Mission San Xavier del Bac, built in the 1700's by the Franciscans. Father Kino founded the mission in the mid-1600's to Christianize the Indians and claim territory for Spain. "Of all the missions we have seen over the years, this one is by far the most beautiful," said Andy. "Look at all the people; it seems early for church on Saturday."
Sure enough. A crowd of a hundred gathered out front, waiting for the bride. It was an American Indian celebration with 12 bridal attendants from the Tohono O'odham tribe. What a special place for a wedding! The magnificent carvings and paintings in the mission church made a beautiful background for a marriage ceremony.
We even climbed the hill to the outdoor cross, browsed in the shops of the newly plastered plaza and stopped at the cemetery with hundreds of graves, all marked by white crosses draped in brilliantly colored flower wreathes. The mission and tribal area have dramatically improved since we visited south of Tucson many years ago. Money from the Del Sol casinos has undoubtedly helped the Tohono O'odham people. Here it appears they are beating the white man at his own game.
Andy said, "Get up here. You can scale this one." Climbing up was the only way I could get his picture. Bicyclists predominated on the road; about 30 riders passed below us.
On the other side of town, the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is home to more than 15,000 original oil paintings, watercolors, ceramics and sculptures at the artist's adobe brick home, gallery and chapel.
First published in Arizona Highways, Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia is remembered for his colorful paintings of children with black dots for eyes and mouths. But every inch of Gallery in the Sun contains little artistic surprises from metal flowers to ceramic sun catchers to turquoise jewelry to a studded rock floor and a jewel bedecked metal door.
"If I had money, I'd buy an original," said Andy. The single figure of a child, a two-inch ceramic, cost more than $250.
"Maybe a wedding?" I suggested.
Sure enough. A crowd of a hundred gathered out front, waiting for the bride. It was an American Indian celebration with 12 bridal attendants from the Tohono O'odham tribe. What a special place for a wedding! The magnificent carvings and paintings in the mission church made a beautiful background for a marriage ceremony.
We even climbed the hill to the outdoor cross, browsed in the shops of the newly plastered plaza and stopped at the cemetery with hundreds of graves, all marked by white crosses draped in brilliantly colored flower wreathes. The mission and tribal area have dramatically improved since we visited south of Tucson many years ago. Money from the Del Sol casinos has undoubtedly helped the Tohono O'odham people. Here it appears they are beating the white man at his own game.
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