Spelunking The Most Beautiful Cave In The World

 

All roads in Arizona lead to Tucson – at least for me. I lucked out again and got a site at Catalina State Park which is nestled up against the Catalina Mountains. I had been hearing for years about the Mt Lemon scenic drive which goes up the backside of the Catalinas. Scenic drive is right. You start off in the desert and within an hour you have ascended almost 8000 feet into pine country. In fact, at the top of Mt Lemon, there is a ski resort. The ski resort and the restaurants were all closed up on top, but the drive itself was worth it. Half of the time you are driving along, looking down out of the passenger side at certain death , the cliffs are so high. The other half of the drive, you are nestled up tight against the cliff walls that rise up hundreds of feet. I must mention that I also got to see my Cousin Ann one more time which was, as always, most enjoyable.

Those gorgeous Catalinas

See the road way down there wrapping around the HooDoo?

I must mention that I also got to see my Cousin Ann one more time which was, as always, most enjoyable.

The first night after I left Tucson, I made it as far as Deming, New Mexico. I spent the night at a rest stop along the interstate. This rest stop was rather unique in that they had places for campers to spend the night that were pullouts away from the general rest stop busyness that rest stops are. Not only that, but each pullout had a little shelter that housed a picnic table. It felt like having an extra room.

Boy, Texas is big. My son told me that if you drive from El Paso, the westernmost city in Texas to the Pacific Ocean, crossing three states and ending up at the Pacific Ocean that it will take about the same amount of time as driving straight across the great state of Texas from El Paso to Houston in the east. Crazy.

After driving for several days (it seemed longer than that), I ended up at the Caverns of Sonora in Sonora Texas. It is a National Natural Landmark and they had RV sites where we could camp. It was literally a five minute walk from my campsite to the cave's entrance. I had to laugh when I read a quote about the cave - “This is the most indescribably beautiful cave in the world, its beauty cannot be exaggerated, not even by a Texan” It might not be the most beautiful cave in the world, but it comes pretty darn close. Of course my pictures do not do it justice. 

Peafowl Krewe

Bossman and his Minions
It was so windy there that he had trouble walking with that big tail of his.
It kept blowing him off course.

Bacon Ribbons
Seriously that is what they called these types of formations

This was sort of spooky - coming around a corner and having a face leering at you.

This is a clear pool of water with a green bottom.  
Before the cave was protected,people would throw pennies in the pool
which turned the pool bottom green

Signs, Sinners and The Bestest of Relatives

 

As I said in a previous post, the reason I was coming to Tucson was to see Cousin Ann. She is a very special person in my life. Ann and my mother grew up together and it is so much fun to hear the stories of the 'old days'. Let's just say that these girls might not have been as prim and proper as they seemed when I was growing up. I would go over to see Ann every day while I was in Tucson. I was not allowed to go into her apartment because of Covid, but she lived on the ground floor with a veranda. Ann sat on one side of the veranda and I sat on the other side properly attired with masks. They also took my temperature every day before I could see her. I think seeing Cousin Ann was the highlight of my Tucson time.

Cousin Ann
she would hate that I put her picture in the blog
but I just think you can see what a strong, sharp woman she is from the picture.  

Cousin Ann recommended this book and loaned me a copy.  It only takes about 15 minutes to read but it is so wonderful, so gentle.  Next time I can get mail, I will be ordering me a copy.  No matter what page you open the book, there are words that you need to hear.

Since I've been to Tucson several times, I was looking for something a little different to do this time. I found the Ignite Sign Museum. I think I was expecting it to be a Neon sign museum, but they had signs of all sorts. The museum is in a large warehouse filled with displays. They also had a large outdoor area where they displayed signs to big too be inside. They had a short little movie about neon and argon where they talked about the history of neon but also about how they get colors which I found interesting.

The Vice Corner

Remember the old Arby signs?
One of the first dates I ever went on was to Arby's with one of these signs.  

Even better than the sign museum was a little religious shrine called El Tiradito or the Wishing Shrine.

Only Shrine in the United States dedicated to a sinner

Here is the sordid story (source: Wikipedia)

But the sins of this 18-year-old ranch hand, who was often seen frequenting Tucson downtown during the 1870s, while he was employed on his father-in-law's sheep ranch, north of the town, were sins of his heart, mind, and his actions with a married woman, who was no less than his own mother-in-law. El Tiradito is a story of the west, a curse, and a love triangle. Juan Oliveras was in love with his mother-in-law. El Tiradito, also known as the Wishing Shrine, is the burial site of the lovesick Oliveras. Juan, his young wife, and his wife's father, all lived on the father-in-law's large sheep ranch. Juan had become infatuated with his mother-in-law, who lived in her husband's large main home in Tucson.

One day Juan went into town to secretly visit his beautiful mother-in-law. That same day, his rancher father-in-law also went into town on business and surprised his wife and son-in-law having sex in the rancher's own bed. After many strong words and accusations, a violent fight ensued. Juan got free and fled out the front door yelling for help. But his enraged ax-wielding father-in-law soon caught up to the young man and began attacking him, hitting him repeatedly with the sharp axe blade until Juan died in a large pool of his own blood in the dirt street. The blood-spattered father-in-law fled, and, knowing he would hang for the murder if he was caught, saddled up his best horse and quickly made his escape in a 60-mile ride down to Sonora Mexico before the Tucson Marshals could arrest him.

The rancher's wife was so despondent that she committed suicide. She was found hanging from her balcony that night by a passing freight wagon. The murderer made it to Sonora México, but within days he attempted to return to his Tucson area ranch to herd his animals down to Sonora. Riding his horse on the trail north, up to Tucson, near Tubac he was attacked by a band of Apache Indian raiders. They scalped him, stabbed him, shot him repeatedly, took his guns, took his horse, took his clothes, and tied him naked to a large saguaro cactus along the Nogales to Tucson wagon trail, to die. By morning the southbound stagecoach going from Tucson down to Nogales came upon the gruesome sight of the barely recognizable dead man. His body was cut down from the giant saguaro cactus, wrapped up in a canvass tarp, and lashed down on the back freight area of the stagecoach, which continued on its scheduled run down to Nogales, Sonora, where the body was buried.

Despite pleas to the Tucson Catholic Church officials from some of the barrio's residents, the Catholic Church refused Juan Oliveras burial on church-sanctioned or owned cemeteries due to the adulterous nature of the young man's sins with the married woman while he himself was also already married to another woman. Instead, Juan was buried on the exact spot where his body was thrown by his enraged father-in-law after he had hacked him to death with the axe. That act gave the present site its name, El Tiradito, ('The Little Throwaway'... 'The Castaway.')

Soon, the weight of the multiple tragedies of the deaths of both of her parents and her spouse, as well as the betrayal by her husband and mother drove Juan's own young widow to desperation and beyond. Pregnant with Juan's child, and now living mostly alone on the nearly abandoned ranch north of Tucson, that had belonged to her dead parents; she untied the bucket from the rope going down into the ranch's deep water well. The beautiful widow tied the rope snugly around her neck, climbed onto the large rocks surrounding the well, and jumped down into it, snapping her neck instantly. Neighboring ranchers found her limp body almost a week later when they visited the ranch to ask her if she wanted any help to move into Tucson. Her body was buried right there on the ranch next to a large old mesquite tree that remains to this day.

The 'Curse of The Wishing Shrine' centers predominately on its visitors' motives for their visit, and their own lives. It is said that if one visits with a clear open heart that forgives, they will pass, and they may even get their wish fulfilled. For others, it may just be the beginning of history repeating itself, depending on what they themselves bring to the shrine. Also, it is said that if you light a candle at the shrine and it remains burning all night long without going out by sunrise, your wish may be granted, depending on your motivations.[2]

My birthday occurred during the week I spent in Tucson. I decided that, as a birthday present to myself, I would get my RV washed and waxed. I had been trying to do it a little section at a time, but it was going so slow and it was so tedious. So I splurged and it was wonderful. After all the dust storms I had been thru, plus the northern bugs that I had to drive thru to get south, the camper really needed it. When they came to do an estimate, I asked them if they would wash and wax my truck also. No problem. Then I told them it was my birthday and did he have a birthday discount. He did!!! I don't think he really did, but I kept bringing it up so I think he finally gave in just to keep me quiet.

Angel doing his magic - yes, his name was actually Angel

Aren't they pretty?

Teddy Bears and Luddites

Out to lunch with Ann at Cafe Torino. We sat at a table outside which was a real treat, it being February and all.

I had a DVD with me that contained old family movies from the twenties and thirties. There were movies of Ann as a baby and I wanted to show them to her. Ann is a Luddite, someone who does not embrace modern technology. She has no computer, refuses to get one and also does not have a DVD player. Shocking!!! Actually I admire her for sticking to her values and not caving in to pressure. We had to go to the public library and try to use their computers. For some reason, we couldn't get it to work. I was bummed because I was looking forward to viewing it with her so she could tell me more of the “old” stories.

We said goodbye, I will miss Ann – she is really a very cool lady.

Ok, now I want to show you a picture of a Teddy Bear Cactus.

Isn't It Pretty?

And here is one of those little buds that jump out and attack you

Nasty Little Suckers

San Xavier del Bac

It is another Mission Day. There is a mission in Tucson that is considered a Tucson showcase. A National Historic Landmark, Mission San Xavier del Bac. It was founded by the same Jesuit priest, Father Kino, that founded Tumacacori mission that I saw a few days ago, but Lordy, what a difference. There have been many many bucks spent on restoring this particular mission and it shows. It is beautiful. Again I lucked out and got there just as a tour was starting. You get so much more out of a place when you hear from the experts who know their subject. The mission is done in a High Baroque style which as the guide put it, a triumphant, extravagant, almost theatrical (and at times) melodramatic style. Basically, it is gilded gaudiness. Let there be no surface left unadorned. I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.

The mission builders ran out of money before they could get the dome on the right side tower completed

The Altar

When the Jesuits were arrested the Franciscans took over the mission.  St. Francis is their patron saint.  There was a statue of St.Francis lying there and according to legend, if you made a wish and then lifted the head of this supine sculpture up, your wish would be granted.  I saw a lot of people coming in and lifting St. Francis' head up.  There was one couple, who stood in front of St. Francis, kissed and smiled at each other and then the guy started lifting St. Francis' head up, over and over.  Almost like he was doing reps or something. I wonder what that couple was wishing for.

St Francis

I Hate The Friggin' Desert (well, maybe)

I picked up Cousin Ann and we headed out to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. This isn't what you think of when you think Museum – it is more like a zoo or a botanical garden. Keep in mind, my cousin Ann is 89 years old. I asked her if she wanted a wheelchair or an electric scooter or a stroller :-) and she said didn't need one, she was a good walker and she was. Amazing how good she is at getting around.

What the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is, is a large open air showcase of Arizona flora and fauna. We went into a hummingbird aviary, underground to watch animals that were normally active at night sleeping, watched desert big horn sheep bounce around on their rocks, watched an otter and a beaver swim underwater and into a desert bird aviary. There was a docent in front of the Bighorns and he had a ram's horn and skull that we could cold. I don't know how those rams are able to keep their heads up in polite society, the horns are so heavy. They must have incredible neck muscles.

Ducks in the Desert?

Mrs. Desert Bighorn

When Ann got tired, we headed back to the RV so she could meet Miko. I made her dinner (I'm slowly learning to compensate for not having a microwave) and then I took her home back over the mountain. Sunset was incredible as usual. On the way back over the mountain, it was completely dark. The good thing about that was that I couldn't see the drop offs and cliffs on the side of the road.

When I got home, I had to take Miko out for her nightly walk. It was pitch black out so I took my little flashlight with me so I could see where the blacktop was so I wouldn't fall off of the road again. Miko goes off to the side to do her business, I go to pick it up. Miko is in the middle of the road and has stopped dead in the middle. She won't move. I put the flashlight on her and right on her chest, under her front leg is a huge cactus clump, thorns and all. They have these cactus down here called Teddy Bear Cholla. They are really pretty, they are soft and really cuddly looking until you realize that they are covered with a ton of nasty spines. They are also called Jumping Cactus because if you brush against them, a large segment will attach itself to you and cause untold pain. This is what Miko had attached to her. The spines were embedded in her skin.

She lay down in the middle of the road and I tried to pull the cactus out but every time I did, she screamed. It was killing me to cause her this pain. Every time I tried to pull a spine out, it would attach to me and I can tell you, it was painful. Miko was so good, laying there in the middle of the road hoping that I could help her. Because of where this cactus was, there was no way she could walk. 

I was beginning to lose it – I couldn't get the cactus dislodged, we were in the middle of the campground road in the dark. We were about 100 feet from the nearest RV which just so happened to be the camp host. They had just rolled into the campground that day, I don't think they had officially started working yet. I told Miko to Stay (a task that we had hardly worked on before) and ran over and started banging on their door, all the while yelling at Miko to stay. The hosts opened their door, I asked them to help, told them my dog had gotten into cholla and bring tweezers. I ran back to Miko and bless her heart, she had not moved at all. I can't tell you how proud I was of her.

The hosts came out and said that they had just learned that day about how to get cholla out of fur. You take a comb, put it next to the dog's skin and pop the cactus bud off. I was a little skeptical because I had tried to pull the cactus out already with my fingers and all it had done was cause Miko pain. We had nothing left to lose, I couldn't pick Miko up to get her off the road so I told them to go for it.

It was amazing how quickly that cholla popped off of Miko. She did not yelp once and she laid still for the whole operation. She lay there for a moment, then she got up, shook herself and then she walked over to the host and started licking his hands as though she was saying thank you. I felt around in the area where the cactus had been and could not feel any more stickers.

I cannot tell you how grateful I am to these camp hosts. I don't know what we would have done if they had not been there and also if they had not just learned what to do in a situation like this. When I got back to the RV, I just grabbed Miko and cried. 

The desert is really pretty in a sort of alien sort of way, but there are so many things out here that will hurt you. Things to think about – does warm weather, beautiful sunsets, lazy days outweigh vegetation that is out to get you?

Valentines Day in Miniature or The Desert is a Dangerous Place Part II

I'm pretty excited because today I am going to get together with my 2^nd cousin Ann. Ann is a special person to me. I knew of her when I was growing up, but never knew her. That changed several years ago when I accompanied my mother down to Tucson because she wanted to visit her cousin. I don't know what happened, but I just connected with Ann. It was like we had been close family members forever. I really wish she lived closer to me so I could spend more time with her.

I picked her up at her senior apartment and we were off to the Mini Time Museum of Miniatures. This museum contains over 275 little houses and room boxes. Some of these houses were totally amazing in the amount of detail. There were tiny little tapestries that had been woven. Little tiny gold edged plates, little toy soldiers only a quarter inch tall. I thought that this museum would be entertaining in a bizarre sort of way – sort of like the largest ball of twine, something along that line. But, this was way beyond that – it was almost awe-inspiring. What was interesting to me was that there were several men in the museum and I would over hear them saying things like “how did they do that” or “this is incredible”. You would think that all of these doll houses would not be so fascinating. There were many different houses/rooms from around the world. There was also an area called “The Enchanted Realm” where they had fantasy rooms – miniature mice, fairies, elves, dragons.

One exhibit that was interesting was one where they made life size replicas of famous diamonds, such as the Hope diamond. They would talk about the history of the diamond, how it was cut, the affect it had on various historical figures. They had miniatures of the people who were associated with the diamond.

Ann took me out to lunch to a restaurant called Relish. She had a grilled three cheese sandwich which was to die for, I had a chicken wrap which had cilantro sour cream in it. Excellent.

When I got back to home, I took Miko for her nightly walk. The sun was setting, beautiful sunset as usual. There is a paved road through the campground, I'm walking along, it is getting dark and I fall off of the road. What? An inch difference between the blacktop and the desert and Bam, I go do a face plant – well, actually a palm plant. Both of my palms got really scrapped up. What a clutz.

Racing The Wind

Woke up at the crack of dawn and checked wind speeds. It was only about 15 mph but the forecast for each hour had the wind moving up into the howl status. Tucson was only an hour and a half away, I decided to go for it. Especially since the wind was coming out of the east which would give me a nice tail wind.

My destination is the Gilbert Ray Campground on the west side of Tucson. It is part of Tucson Mountain Park and butts up next to part of the Saguaro National Park. I plan to stay here a week. I will only have an electrical hookup, so I made sure my fresh water tank was full and my waste tanks were empty. I should have no problem making it a week. I'm excited because I will be seeing my cousin Ann for part of the time here.

The desert here is very strange. It looks a lot like the desert I've been going through but there are all these Saguaros here. They are the tall cacti that are like tall pillars with arms growing out of them. They dot the mountain sides and it is just sort of a foreign landscape for me. I like this campground – nobody is too close to me and the views are great. Again, the stars are amazing.

View out the driver's side of my Site at Gilbert Ray Campground

View out the passenger side of my site at Gilbert Ray