Ok, let me be straight up with you right from the start – La
Placita Village, in downtown Tucson, Arizona, is not a traditional village in
the old Southwest tradition.
Instead it is delightful collection of adobe,
brick, and wood frame buildings designed to resemble a Mexican marketplace.
When I visited the complex on a blazing hot day in the
middle of September, there were not a lot of people about, which gave me plenty
of time to shoot some video footage, take photographs, and examine each of the
buildings with their wonderful patchwork of vibrant oranges, purples, yellows,
blues, greens and reds.
The village itself is home to the Tucson Visitor Center
where you will find the usual assortment of maps, brochures, and merchandise.
There are numerous buildings housing boutique shops, cafés and restaurants, and
other small establishments, and the Village is within easy walking distance of
several excellent museums, a Convention Center, Music Hall, the Fox Tucson
Theater, and much more.
During the warmer months, free screenings of classic films
are presented on the Village plaza, and other outdoor events are scheduled
throughout the summer months.
Here is a short collage of video footage and photographs of the complex...
I am lucky enough to have a cousin living in Tucson, Arizona, and luckier still to have had the opportunity to visit her and her husband during trips to America in 2010 and again in 2012. On both visits I got to see some of the magnificent scenery around Tucson, as well as other parts of the state; namely Sedona and surrounding areas, The Grand Canyon, and Monument Valley (although Utah rightly lays claim to the heart of Monument Valley).
When I saw the video embedded below on Vimeo recently, I was impressed with it enough to include it here. At a little over two minutes in length, this time lapse video titled My Arizona, was created by Drew Geraci of District 7 Media with the assistance of Andrew Breese and Jason Fudge. While it doesn't appear to show the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley, it does provide a very brief overview of some of some of what you can expect to see in Arizona if you make the journey there. Using a variety of digital cameras the footage was recorded over the course of three days in which the photographs covers some 500 miles. In the process they say, they “…trekked down 3000 foot ravines, exploring hidden water falls, open landscape and the clear night sky.”
Tumacácori National Historical Park is
located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona. The park
protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are
National Historic Landmark sites.
The Spanish Colonial architecture Franciscan
church at San José de Tumacácori (seen in the image above) dates to the late
18th century. The earlier Jesuit missions that were established at Tumacácori
and Guevavi in 1691 are the two oldest missions in southern Arizona.
The third unit, San Cayetano de Calabazas, was established
in 1756. The Guevavi and Calabazas units are not open to the general public and
can only be visited on reserved tours led by park staff. The main unit of the
park, the Tumacácori Mission, has a visitor center and museum and is open to
the public every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving.
More than just adobe, plaster, and wood, these ruins evoke
tales of life and land transformed by cultures meeting and mixing. Father
Kino’s 1691 landmark visit to an O’odham village when he established Mission
Tumacácori was just one event among many. Wave after wave of change has passed
across this realm proving the land and its people are not static.
Operating Hours: 9:00AM-5:00PM daily, except Thanksgiving
and Christmas Day
Entrance Fee: $3.00 per person, age 16 or older, which is
valid for seven days.
Tumacácori Annual Pass: $10.00 (admits pass holder and three
adults. Children under 16 enter free.)
Here's a short photo montage I put together of the main church site:
Welcome to Sedona — "Arizona's Little Hollywood".
Sedona was the location for more than sixty Hollywood productions from the
first years of movie making through to the 1970s.
Aficionado’s of B-Grade Westerns (and a fair smattering of
A-Grade shoot-em-ups), will recognise Sedona’s signature red rocks which
featured prominently in dozens of Hollywood productions including Johnny
Guitar, Angel and the Badman, Desert Fury, Blood on the
Moon, and 3:10 to Yuma. Mind you, in these and many other movies the
locations masqueraded variously as Texas, California, Nevada, and even the Canadian
border territory.
When John Ford’s production of Stagecoach pulled into
town in 1938, it kicked off thirty years of A-picture activity—some forty-four
features through 1973. During those years, many of Hollywood’s biggest names
were photographed in front of Sedona’s signature landscape, including Errol
Flynn and John Wayne, and James Stewart, Robert Mitchum and Elvis Presley―to
name just a handful.
Located up and down both sides of Sedona’s main street are
numerous tributes to the many well known actors and actresses who came to town
to appear in the Westerns that helped make them famous. Each of these memorials features
an image of the actor and a list of all the movies he or she appeared in.
If you are a movie buff, and especially if you like
Westerns, a visit the Sedona Motion Picture Museum (in the town’s main street),
is an absolute must if you want to learn more about this fascinating period in
Sedona and Hollywood history.
By the by, Sedona was named to honor Sedona Arabella Miller
Schnebly (1877–1950), the wife of Theodore Carlton Schnebly, the city's first
postmaster. Sedona, the woman, was apparently celebrated for her hospitality
and industriousness.
I also stopped by Slide Rock State Park. Originally the Homestead of Frank L. Pendley, who arrived in
the canyon in 1907, Slide Rock State Park is a 43-acre historic apple farm
located in Oak Creek Canyon.
Penley’s pioneering innovation saw him create a
unique irrigation system still in use by the park today. The park is named after the famous Slide Rock, a stretch of
slippery creek bottom adjacent to the homestead. Visitors can slide down a
slick natural water chute or wade or relax along the creek.
Native American History
Of course, long before Frank L. Pendley, arrived in the
canyon, and long before Sedona Arabella Miller Schnebly, and the many Hollywood A-listers turned up, the first documented human presence in the Sedona area
dated back to between 11500 to 9000 B.C., which by any measure makes these modern
visitors (especially myself), Johnny-come-lately’s.
However, even native tribes were supplanted and replaced by
a succession of other native peoples over these thousands of years. Paleo-Indians by the
Sinagua people, who were in turn replaced by the Yavapai and Apache peoples. Thankfully, descendants of the
Yavapai and the Apache are still with us today. Despite being forcibly removed
from the Verde Valley in 1876, to the San Carlos Indian Reservation, 180 miles
(290 km) southeast, about 200 Yavapai and Apache people returned to the Verde
Valley in 1900. Today their descendants comprise the culturally distinct―but
single political entity―now living in the Yavapai-Apache Nation.
Friday 19,
October, 2012 was the day I ‘died and went to heaven’, and here are the photos
to prove it. Ok, so my idea of heaven may be different from yours, but I will
take Monument Valley’s stunning landscape any day, over some mythical landscape
in the hereafter.
…
The area is part of the Colorado Plateau. The elevation of
the valley floor ranges from 5,000 to 6,000 feet (1,500 to 1,800 m) above sea
level. The floor is largely siltstone or sand derived from it, most of which
was left behind by the rivers that once carved out the valley. The vivid red
colour comes from iron oxide exposed in the weathered siltstone, while the
darker, blue-gray rocks in the valley get their colour from manganese oxide.
…
A very modest $5.00 will get you entry into the park,
where the adventurous can embark on a 17-mile (27 km) dirt road route that
passes some of the largest and most spectacular land formations.
The buttes are clearly stratified, and reveal three main
layers. The lowest layer is known as the Organ Rock Shale, the middle is de
Chelly Sandstone, and the top layer is the Moenkopi Formation.
My travel
journal entry for Friday 19, October, 2012 begins:
Today
I died and went to heaven - and I have the photos to prove it.
Yes, that was the
day I fulfilled a life-long ambition to visit Monument Valley. The valley spans
the Arizona/Utah border, with the most iconic buttes and mesas on the Utah
side. It was everything I expected it to be and more. Even in the middle of the
day the setting was larger than life, with massive red monoliths dominating the
landscape.
I had been driving my Dodge rental car up from Flagstaff,
Arizona for several hours, watching as the landscape slowly changed from pine
forested open country to vast expanses of dry desert covered in the valley's
distinctive vivid red―a colour which is produced from iron oxide exposed in the
siltstone covering the valley floor. In many respects the colour of the earth
reminded me of the rich reds and ochres of the Australian outback, especially
in an area often referred to as the ‘red centre’.
Welcoming billboard on the Arizona/Utah state line
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning
valley of the rocks) is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a
cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above
the valley floor. It is located on the Arizona-Utah state line near the Four
Corners area. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation
Reservation, and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163. [Wikipedia…]
The American director, John Ford used the location for a
number of his best known films, including his now classic 1939 movie, Stagecoach, and The Searchers,
while the latest Hollywood film to feature scenes shot in the valley is The
Lone Ranger, which coincidentally
opens today in the cinema complex a few minutes walk from where I sit writing
this.
One of the massive outcrops in Monument Valley
To my surprise, the cost to enter the park was a very modest
$5.00. Once inside the park visitors can drive on a 17-mile (27 km) dirt road
(a 2-3 hour trip) that passes some of the largest and most spectacular land
formations. Guided tours are also available, as are horse rides and overnight
camping trips. Apparently, hot air balloon flights are also available between
May 1 through October 31, although I did not see any during my visit.
Sadly, my day trip to Monument Valley was over way too soon.
The eleven hour round trip outing left me tired but exhilarated, and wanting
much more. Far from removing the valley from my ‘bucket list’, the area remains
among the top ten locations on the planet I want to visit or return to. When I
do return to Monument Valley, I want to make the Navajo Tribal Park a major
part of my experience, and I figure the only way to do that properly is find
accommodations inside the Tribal Park.
Thankfully this is easily done following the construction of
The View Hotel, located right inside
Monument Valley.
The View Hotel is the only hotel
located inside Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park adjacent to the Monument
Valley Tribal Park Visitors Center. Each of the hotel’s 95 rooms features a
private balcony with unobstructed views of the valley floor, and the massive
sandstone monuments that tower out of the stunning landscape.
Just writing and thinking about my visit, makes me want to
pack my bag and catch the next flight to Los Angeles! But patience is the order
of the day, at least until next year. Then all being well, I will make my
return to the valley of my dreams.
Montezuma Castle
National Monument is located in Arizona, approximately 140 km (87 mi) north of
Phoenix, and about 80 km (50 mi) south of Flagstaff. I wrote more about my
visit to the monument here, so for my Friday Photos feature today I thought I would post some more images
from that amazing site.
Click images to view full sized
...
The Native Community
Numerous information panels provide
interesting historical and cultural facts about the cliff-dwellings, and the
surrounding landscape.
Mysterious Departures
The five-story stone and mortar dwellings
contained 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people.
View of brickwork and roof supports
Neither part of the monument's name is
correct. More like a prehistoric high rise apartment complex than a castle, the
site was abandoned by the Sinagua 100 years before Montezuma was born.
MontezumaCastleNational Monument
No access to the ruins themselves has been
allowed since 1950 due to extensive damage of the dwelling, and the unstable
nature of the limestone cliff face.
Diorama of cliff dwellings
This architecturally correct diorama gives
visitors an idea of the internal layout of cliff-dwellings.
Diorama of cliff dwellings
MontezumaCastleNational Monument was one of four original sites designated National Monuments by
President Theodore Roosevelt in December 1906. The Monument was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in October, 1966.
During my 2012 visit to the United States, I spent five nights in
Flagstaff, Arizona, which I used as my base while I explored some of the
surrounding country. During my stay, one of the locations I happened upon―as I
headed somewhat randomly, south―was the Montezuma Castle National Monument, a
short distance off Interstate 17. Phoenix is approximately 140 km (87 mi) south
of the monument, and Flagstaff, is about 80 km (50 mi) north.
I had never heard of the monument before my visit, nor
therefore, had I seen images of the site. To say I was awestruck by the size
and scale of what turns out to be some of the best preserved cliff-dwellings in
the American Southwest, is an understatement.
The cliff-dwellings at Montezuma Castle were built and used
by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people around 700 AD. The Sinagua were northern
cousins of the Hohokam, and the site was occupied from approximately 1125 to
1400 AD, with peak occupation thought to be around 1300 AD. By the way, when
European Americans discovered the cliff-dwellings in the 1860s, they named them
for the Mexican Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, due to mistaken belief that the
emperor had been connected to their construction. In fact, neither part of the
monument's name is correct. The site was abandoned by the Sinagua 100 years
before Montezuma was born, and the dwellings were not a castle. The building
was more like a prehistoric high rise apartment complex.
Exactly why the Sinagua abandoned the cliff-dwellings is not
known, but warfare, drought, and clashes with the newly arrived Yavapai people
have been suggested. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms
and once housed about 50 people. Nearby are the remnants of Tuzigoot (Apache for
“Crooked Water”), a Singuan Village built on the summit of a ridge. Tuzigoot
was two stories high, with 77 ground floor rooms that were accessible via
ladders through roof openings. Unfortunately, little of this site has remained.
Montezuma Castle information panel
Due to its isolated location, only about 350,000 tourists
visit the site each year. Access to the ruins themselves has not been allowed
since 1950 due to extensive damage of the dwelling, and the unstable nature of
the limestone cliff face. However, there is a paved trail that leads from the
visitor centre and skirts the base of the cliff containing the ruins, from
which excellent views of the dwellings can be seen. In addition, numerous
information panels (like the one seen at right) provide
interesting historical and cultural facts about the cliff-dwellings, and the
surrounding landscape.
The dwellings and the surrounding area were declared a U.S.
National Monument on December 8, 1906 as a result of the American Antiquities
Act, signed earlier in June of the same year. It was one of the four original
sites designated National Monuments by President Theodore Roosevelt. The
National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on
October 15, 1966.
If you are visiting Montezuma Castle, allow time to visit
Montezuma Well several miles away. The well is a limestone sink created by the
collapse of a large underground cavern, which is fed by permanent springs.
There are also ruins located here from large pueblos to one-room houses.
What You Need To Know
> Operating Hours & Seasons
Open Daily: 8:00 AM-7:00 PM in summer, and 8 AM-5 PM in
winter.
Closed on Christmas Day.
Phone: (928) 567-3322
Model depicting internal layout of cliff-dwellings
Montezuma Castle Entrance Fees
Adults (16 and over): $5.00 (good for seven days)
Children (under 16): FREE. Entrance fees for Montezuma Castle are collected inside the
park Visitor Center during normal business hours.
Passes are available at a discounted rate of $8.00 for both
Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments.
~ I visited the Philabaum Glass Gallery and Studio during my stay in Tucson, Arizona last
September. Tom Philabaum has been producing stunning works of art in glass for
more than thirty years. He built his first glassblowing studio in 1975 in
downtown Tucson, and opened a gallery in 1982. The current gallery and studio
was opened in 1985, and not only features Tom Philabaum’s work, but the work of
many other talented glass artists.
Visitors to the gallery are able to enter the studio
attached to the main gallery, and watch as the glassblowers work their magic on
the molten glass. This is not the place to go into a detailed description of
glassblowing, and any way, I know next to nothing about the processes involved.
However, it was exciting to watch these skilled craftspeople at work, and to
spend time examining the truly stunning works in glass available for sale in
the gallery and shop.
Tom Philabaum was the recipient of the 1998 Arizona
Governor’s Art Award for Artist of the Year. And in May 2000, the Community
Foundation for Southern Arizona awarded him the prestigious $25,000 Arizona
Arts Award in recognition of significant contribution to the growth and
development of the arts in Arizona.
Glass artists at work at Philabaum Glass
Also in 2000, Tom began teaching nationally accredited
classes at Philabaum Glass, giving birth to the Sonoran Art Foundation,
co-founded by Tom and David Klein, which is now known as the Sonoran Glass School.
Tucson Glass Festival
In 2010, Tom Philabaum collaborated with the Sonoran Glass
School to organize and host the first Tucson Glass Festival, presenting live
demonstrations with visiting artists and exhibitions in galleries and museums
throughout Tucson. The festival is currently underway in Tucson with the final
events set for April 20.
I was delighted to be able to visit the gallery and studio
during my stay in Tucson, and I recommend it highly if you are planning a stop
in the city.
Here is a brief video compilation I have put together
following my visit:
Instrumental I'm In Pieces courtesy of MJW RECORDS…
Image: The Grand Canyon in the early morning light
The Grand Canyon. The name seems to say it all. However, nothing really prepares you for the size, scale, and grandeur of this true natural wonder of the world. The canyon has always been high on my list of places to visit, and I was delighted to have had the opportunity to spend two nights there this past September. Let me say at the outset though, that in my opinion a day and a half is nowhere near enough to soak in the atmosphere and power of this massive national park. Having said that, it is probably more time than most people seem to spend there. But more of that later.
Located in Arizona, Grand CanyonNational Park is one of the United States' oldest national parks. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon itself, a massive gorge of the Colorado River. Covering some 1900 square miles (4927 km2), the 280-mile long, one-mile deep canyon ranges in width from 10 to 18 miles across. The first European to see it (in 1540) was the Spanish explorer García López de Cárdenas, a conquistador attached to Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's expedition into New Mexico, and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States. Coronado had hoped to conquer the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.
In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Canyon a national monument under the Antiquities Act. Congress declared the Canyon a national park in 1919, three years after the National Park Service was formed, and in 1979, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site.
On my first evening at the canyon I spent several hours at Yavapai Point taking in the sunset, and simply marveling at the powerful forces that – over a period of 17 million years – have shaped the massive chasm stretching off into the fading light. On Saturday morning, after watching the mule riders ready themselves for their journey down the BrightAngelTrail, I then spent another four hours or so soaking up the views.
…
Image: Mule riders descend the BrightAngelTrail deep into the heart of the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is home to 70 species of mammals, 250 species of birds, 25 species of reptiles and five species of amphibians. Somewhere out there in the blue haze also were up to 172 wild California condors, either soaring high above the canyon floor or perched in aeries looking for their next meals.
Once on the brink of extinction due to poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction, the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, ZionNational Park, and western coastal mountains of California and northern Baja California. In 1987 all remaining 22 wild condors were caught and moved to San DiegoWildAnimalPark and the Los Angeles Zoo. Numbers have risen steadily through captive breeding and, beginning in 1991, condors have been reintroduced into the wild. As of August 2010, there are 384 condors known to be living, including 188 in the wild.
The quiet observer will see numerous squirrels and kangaroo rats, lizards, a wide variety of birdlife and the delightful mule deer.
…
Image: A mule deer keeps cautious watch as it grazes near the Grand CanyonVillage
An average of twelve thousand people a day visit the Grand Canyon, and most of these head for the South Rim and the Grand CanyonVillage. Maybe it was because I was visiting well after peak tourist season, but if there where 12,000 visitors there during my stay – I didn’t see them. Many visitors arrive by bus on day tours arranged by any number of tour companies. At most, these visitors get a couple of hours to ‘see’ the canyon. From my observations, at least ninety percent of these visitors where simple intent on standing as close to the rim as possible while friends or family members took photographs of them blocking views of the canyon itself. Having ticked the Grand Canyon off their lists of places to visit, they then rushed off to buy souvenirs, eat and drink and make restroom stops before heading off in their coaches once again.
Here’s a typical(?) tour outline:
THE ULTIMATE GRAND CANYON TOUR
Enjoy first class Comfort in our luxury Coach or Van while we take you to all the must do’s of the Grand Canyon. This full day tour includes 1st class service throughout with a 1st Class Helicopter flight over the canyon, National Geographic IMAX showing, hot lunch, south rim Indian ruins, Desert View and Yavapai indoor - outdoor overlooks, Grand Canyon flight museum, Grand Canyons El Trevor, Mules, Train Depot, and Village.
The good people at Grand Canyon Old West Jeep Tours - from whose site I took the above information - have even created a video outlining the full day tour.
...
Whew! That’s a pretty action packed day from what I can see, and little time is set aside for deep appreciation of one of the greatest natural phenomena on the planet. Clearly, if you are interested in spending even an hour or two contemplating life, death, nature, the environment and such like, you will not want to join this or similar tours.
Not that I am suggesting all the locations included in the one day tour outlined above are not worth a visit. I’m sure they are. It’s just that personally, I prefer to see them at a much slower pace which allows plenty of time for quiet reflection and deep appreciation – as this quote from John Muir’s* 1902 booklet, The Grand Cañon Of The Colorado attests:
In a dry, hot, monotonous forested plateau, seemingly boundless, you come suddenly and without warning upon the abrupt edge of a gigantic sunken landscape of the wildest, most multitudinous features, and those features, sharp and angular, are made out of flat beds of limestone and sandstone forming a spiry, jagged, gloriously colored mountain-range countersunk in a level gray plain. It is a hard job to sketch it even in scrawniest outline; and try as I may, not in the least sparing myself, I cannot tell the hundredth part of the wonders of its features—the side-cañons, gorges, alcoves, cloisters, and amphitheaters of vast sweep and depth, carved in its magnificent walls; the throng of great architectural rocks it contains resembling castles, cathedrals, temples, and palaces, towered and spired and painted, some of them nearly a mile high, yet beneath one's feet. All this, however, is less difficult than to give any idea of the impression of wild, primeval beauty and power one receives in merely gazing from its brink. The view down the gulf of color and over the rim of its wonderful wall, more than any other view I know, leads us to think of our earth as a star with stars swimming in light, every radiant spire pointing the way to the heavens. ~John Muir, The Grand Cañon Of The Colorado (1902)
With John Muir’s words ringing in my head, I headed out again into the late afternoon sun to spend another three hours sitting on various boulders overlooking the Canyon, and marveling at the forces of nature that have shaped this world renowned site.
I also marveled at the stupidity of some visitors who despite the dangers, insisted on standing on the most dangerous points they could find in order to shoot the most dramatic photographs they could get.
…Image: Pushing the boundaries of sense and safety this couple climb onto an exposed rocky outcrop looking for the perfect photo op
There is much to do during a visit to the Grand Canyon apart from stand on the rim for a photo opportunity. You could hike all or part of the 13 mile Rim Trail that takes you past many spectacular viewing canyon points. You could join the mule riders for the full day journey to the canyon floor. However, you will need to book up to a year in advance if you want to ride the mule train. If you can’t wait that long, there is a year round program of exhibits and educational programs including daily lectures and films about the geological history of the Canyon and the Colorado River. Visitors can also choose from a variety of Park Service-sponsored walks and talks to enhance their Canyon experience. The visitor's center also hosts programs that focus on endangered wildlife in the Canyon and preservation of the Canyon's historical and natural resources. Finally, various other walks and talks hosted by the Park Service are listed in the park newspaper, The Guide, available at the entrance station, and at other locations.
It is almost impossible to pick a favourite moment out of all the great experiences I had during American trip. While New York tends to overwhelm the senses, the Grand Canyon overwhelms the soul and should be on everyone’s ‘bucket list’ – you know, that list of things you’ve always wanted to do before you ‘kick the bucket’!
Again, let me reiterate that two nights and a day and a half are nowhere near enough to fully take in the Grand Canyon. Instead of crossing the canyon off my list of places to visit, I have left it firmly in place since I have every intention of returning for a longer, more appreciative stay.
…
Image: Where’s my hat?
…
*John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. Read more here…
Image: Saguaro cactus rising high over the desert floor
If you ever hear me complaining about the occasional Adelaide heat wave again, please feel free to remind me about my stay in Tucson, Arizona, where the average summer temperatures are in the 100 plus degrees range – and not just for three or four days at a time, but often for weeks at a time. Apart from that, the heat, like South Australia’s summer heatwaves, is very dry and contains almost no humidity, which is a great relief.
I have come to Tucson to catch up with my American cousin, Maria and her husband, George, who have been living here for some 20 years.
As we left the airport at 10.00PM, just after my flight touched down from New Orleans (via Denver), my attention was immediately drawn to the giant saguaro cacti in the airport car park. These amazing plants can grow up to 50 feet in height, and can live up to 200 years.
Image: San Xavier Mission
Having introduced me to their friend (another George), my very gracious and accommodating hosts have given me a great introduction to Tucson, the surrounding mountains, and numerous National Parks in the vicinity of the city. One of the highlights was a visit to the National Historic Landmark, San Xavier Mission. The Mission was founded in 1692, although construction of the current church only began in 1783.
Only? Did I write, “only began”?
What was I thinking? The First Fleet hadn’t even set sail for Australia in 1783! By the time Captain Philip reached Sydney Cove in 1788, the building program for the San Xavier Mission was already five years old and would continue until 1797.
The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with the most amazing statuary and painted murals. Despite its age and designation as a historic landmark, it is still used as a working church, where Catholic Masses are held on a regular basis.
Image: One of the many amazing sculptures adorning the San Xavier Mission
Little is known about the people who decorated the interior of the church. It is thought that the artwork was most likely created by artists from Queretero in New Spain (now Mexico). The sculpture was created in workshops and carried by donkey through the Pimeria Alta to the Mission.
The San Xavier Mission is only about nine miles south of Tucson, just off of Interstate 19, and should be on every visitors list of places to see when visiting Tucson. As it is, some 200,000 visitors from all over the world come to see what is widely considered the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States.
Surprisingly, there is no admission charge to visit the Mission, although there are donation boxes situated within the church which every visitor should contribute to.
~ On my next trip to the United States, I am heading south to see one of the greatest iconic American landscapes of all: Monument Valley.
The natural formations of Monument Valley, the ones we have seen countless westerns and TV commercials, stand so close that you feel like you can reach out and press your hand to them…the Mittens - left thumb, right thumb, and the third monolith Mitchell's Butte, rising to the right. There is an amazing panorama with colours so vivid that it looks like a Hollywood stage set. The landscape is painted with the colours that that you find in Navajo art and jewellery: a turquoise blue sky, white clouds, and a vast desert rich in reds sprinkled with green and jet black accents.
All this, and more, is said to be the view from a guestroom balcony at the newly opened VIEW Hotel in Monument Valley.This one-of-a-kind hotel is big news for tourists but even bigger news for the Navajo Nation. This is the first hotel ever built on Navajo Tribal Park land, in the very first Tribal Park ever established, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the park.
Ray Russell, Director of Navajo Parks & Recreation, says "The VIEW Hotel is a groundbreaking event for the Navajo Nation. The location was selected because it is adjacent to the Park Visitors Centre which has served tourists for over 50 years. This project is our first step to utilize the tourism resources of the Navajo Nation in a manner similar to the US Department of Interior when they have partnered with the private sector to improve and provide visitor services in National Parks. The workforce constructing the hotel is over 90% Navajo Nation members. The hotel, restaurant and store will eventually provide jobs for over 100 people.”
Jobs in the Navajo are big news. The Navajo Nation (over 27,000 square miles, the size of West Virginia) has a staggering unemployment rate of nearly 50%. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley says “Job creation on Tribal land means economic opportunity but also translates into cultural preservation. When family members can find employment close to their traditional homes they stay connected with their culture and their language. This fosters an environment where traditional ways of the Navajo people can be passed from generation to generation. The VIEW Hotel in Monument Valley will provide opportunity in a very needed region.”
The VIEW Hotel is 100% family owned and operated – Armanda Ortega of the Kiy`anníí (Towering House) Clan welcomes the opportunity to host guests from around the world in a place of beauty and spiritual importance to the Navajo people. “Our hotel is designed with respect for the sacred setting in which it is located – it has been designed to exist in harmony with this unique land. Every guestroom has a view directly facing the Mittens and the exterior of the hotel will be from a colour palate of the red earth that surrounds us.”
The hotel is an environmentally friendly design with a low contour that conforms to the mesa overlooking the valley. The VIEW goes beyond what have become standard eco-friendly building practices using low-flow water devices, extra insulation, windows with energy efficient values, and fluorescent lighting. There are operable windows in public spaces including the soaring two story lobby that allows for natural air flow for energy efficient cooling.
Every guest in the 90 room VIEW Hotel will have a private balcony that faces the famous panorama of the Mittens and the great desert expanse. You can actually see four states from The VIEW which is located adjacent to the Tribal Park Visitors Center in Arizona – the formations in Utah stand to your left, the Mittens are in Arizona directly in front of you, and the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado rise in the distance. The third floor Star View rooms combine the vista of the majestic formations with an unobstructed view of the stars above.
The village itself is home to the Tucson Visitor Center
where you will find the usual assortment of maps, brochures, and merchandise. 
