Page 96 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

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pocket, and the picnic area cultural heritage of the upper decorative blankets, furniture,
near Pinkley Peak. A variety Santa Cruz Valley, is held on the and crafts are good value.
of hiking trails in the park mission grounds. People used to shop on both
range in difficulty from paved, sides of the border, but the
wheelchair-accessible paths to P Tubac Presidio State US government has issued
wilderness walks. A visitor center Historic Park warnings over crossing into
offers exhibits on the park’s flora 1 Burruel St. Tel (520) 398­2252. Open Mexico, as ongoing drug wars
and fauna, as well as maps and 9am–5pm daily. Closed Dec 25. & have made border towns
camping permits, and there are 7 8 ∑ tubacpresidiopark.com potentially dangerous, and
guided walks available in winter. P Tumacácori National visitors are at risk of theft.
Be aware that the park is a Mission church at Tumacácori National Historical Park If you cross over into Mexico,
good two-and-a-half- to three- Historical Park 1891 East Frontage Rd. Tel (520) 377­ you are advised to leave your
Boats and watersports in the picturesque setting of Lake Yuma hour drive from Tucson one 5060. Open 9am–5pm daily. Closed car on the US side, where
way. If you want to explore this next hundred years, Tubac Thanksgiving, Dec 25. & 7 8 attendants mind the parking
6 Yuma pipe is rare in the United States, environment in any detail, plan declined. Today, the town is a ∑ nps.gov/tuma lots, and to walk across the
growing almost exclusively in to camp overnight. Ajo, 34 miles small but thriving art colony, border. Not only is parking
Road map A4. * 93,400. £ Amtrak,
281 S. Gila St. @ Greyhound, 1245 S. this large and remote area of (55 km) to the north, has motels with attractive shops, galleries, 9 Nogales extremely difficult, but cars
Castle Dome Ave. n Yuma Convention land along the Mexican border and services. and restaurants lining the with US license plates are likely
and Visitors’ Bureau, 201 N. 4th Ave. in southwest Arizona. Many streets around the plaza. Road map C5. * 20,400. @ @ targets for thieves. It can also
(928) 783-0071, (800) 293-0071.  other plant and animal species Tubac’s historical remains are n 123 W. Kino Park (520) 287­3685. take 2–3 hours to go through
∑ visityuma.com flourish in this unspoiled desert 8 Tubac displayed at the Tubac Presidio Open 9am–5pm Mon–Fri. customs by car. Visas are
wilderness, although a lot of Road map C5. * 1,200. n Tubac State Historic Park, which ∑ thenogaleschamber.org required only for those traveling
Yuma occupies a strategic animals, such as snakes, Visitor Center at Presidio State Historic encompasses the foundations farther south than the town and
position at the confluence of jackrabbits, and kangaroo rats, Park, 1 Burreuel Rd (520) 398-2704. of the original presidio in an Nogales is really two towns for stays of more than 72
the Colorado and Gila rivers. emerge only in the cool of the Open 9am–5pm Mon–Fri. underground display, as well as that straddle the US hours. US and Canadian
Though it was noted by Spanish night. Other cacti such as the ∑ tubacaz.com several historic buildings. Also border with Mexico, at citizens should
explorers in the 16th century, it saguaro, the Engelmann prickly here, the Presidio Museum the end of Mexico’s carry a passport
was not until the 1850s that the pear, and the teddybear cholla The Royal Presidio (fortress) of contains artifacts covering over Pacific Highway. This for identification, as
town rose to prominence, when are best seen in early summer San Ignacio de Tubac was built one hundred years of Tubac’s is a busy port of drivers’ licenses may
the river crossing became the for their glorious displays of in 1752 to protect the local history, including painted entry, handling huge not be sufficient proof
gateway to California for floral color. Spanish-owned ranches and altarpieces and colonial furniture. amounts of freight, of citizenship. Foreign
thousands of gold seekers. There are two popular scenic mines, as well as the nearby including many of the Mexican pottery found nationals should make
Fort Yuma, built in 1849, also drives through the park: the missions of Tumacácori and Environs winter fruit and in Nogales sure their visa status
boosted steamboat traffic 21-mile (34-km) Ajo Mountain San Xavier del Bac, from attacks Just 3 miles (5 km) south of vegetables sold in enables them to
along the Colorado River. Drive and the longer 37-mile by local Pima natives. Tubac was town lies Tumacácori National North America. The town re­enter the US; those on the
Today, Yuma’s hot and sunny (60-km) Puerto Blanco Drive. also the first stopover on the Historical Park with the attracts large numbers of Visa Waiver Program (see p276)
winter climate makes it a popular The Ajo Mountain Drive takes famous overland expedition to beautiful ruined mission. The visitors in search of bargains – should have no problem.
winter destination for travelers two hours and winds through colonize the San Francisco Bay present church was built in
and winter residents escaping startling desert landscapes in area in 1776. The trek was led by around 1800 upon the ruins Astronomy in Southern Arizona
colder climes. Two state historic the foothills of the mountains. the fort’s captain, Juan Bautista of the original 1691 mission
parks highlight its rich history: The Puerto Blanco Drive leads de Anza (see p28). Following his established by Jesuit priest, Southern Arizona’s dry air and dark, clear nights have made it an
Yuma Quartermaster Depot, to a half-hour trail into Red return, the garrison moved Father Eusebio Kino (see p44). international center for astronomy. Within a 75­mile (120­km) radius
along the Colorado, looks at river Tanks Tinaja, a natural water north to Tucson, and, for the The Mission was abandoned in of Tucson, there is a cluster of prestigious observatories located in
transportation and army life in 1848, and today its weather­ the mountains, including the Kitt Peak National Observatory, with
the later 1800s, while Yuma beaten ocher façade together its large telescopes, and the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory,
Territorial Prison re-creates with its brick columns, arched both of which can be toured (reservations required). Mount Graham
conditions at the state’s main entry, and carved wooden door International Observatory features some of the world’s most
prison facility from 1876–1909. is an evocative reminder of advanced telescope technology. Opportunities for star­gazing are
former times. The cavernous exceptional, but, even without high­powered equipment, anyone
7 Organ Pipe interior is wonderfully atmos­ can enjoy the countless constellations in the night skies.
Cactus National pheric, with patches of exposed
adobe brick and faded murals
Monument on the sanctuary walls. A small
museum provides an excellent
Road map B5. Tel (520) 387-6849.
Open daily; visitor center 8am– 5pm. background on the mission
Closed Thanksgiving, Dec 25. & 7 builders and native Pima
8  ∑ nps.gov/orpi Indians. Weekend craft
demonstrations, including
The organ pipe is a Sonoran tortilla­making, basketry, and
desert species of cactus, which Mexican pottery, are held
is a cousin to the saguaro (see October through April. During
p90) but with multiple arms the first weekend in December,
branching up from the base, as La Fiesta de Tumacácori (see Observatories in the mountains of southern Arizona
its name suggests. The organ Rare cacti at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument p39), which celebrates the
For hotels and restaurants see pp237–8 and pp249–51

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm