Tumacacori Mortuary chapel and Mission 11-5-09In November I visited Tumacacori National Historic Park for the very first time with my friend Sherri. You can read part one by clicking here. I found this place satisfying on so many levels. Not only is it beautiful and peaceful but it also has excellent birding, hiking and photography opportunities. Located along the Anza Trail, one can hike along the Santa Cruz River through mesquite bosques and desert scrub. The original De Anza Trail went from Mexico to California. Parts of the trail have been restored but currently it is still fragmented. Last week I showed you some of the exterior of the mission. Today we have a tour of the interior and the convento.
Mission Interior looking towards main entrance and former choir loft.
Adobe walls and carved wooden door.
Alter Area 11-5-09(click here to see what it used to look like.)
Sanctuary Dome 11-5-09
Detail of pillar (click to enlarge)
Sanctuary dome seen against a brilliant November skyfrom the convento area.
The convento was not a convent in the traditional sense but rather a collection of buildings attached to the Mission used for various purposes.
Interior of convento 11-5-09
Kiva fireplace in convento 11-5-09Tumacacori Questions
Whose feet have walked on these floors?
What meals have been cooked in this place?
How many prayers have risen like smoke
in blue Arizona skies
or stormy gray Monsoons?
How much death has happened here,
How much death has happened here,
and how much life?
I pass by today
I pass by today
I walk with ease over this sacred ground
without fear of attack
or hunger
but I wonder
with each dusty step I take,
who was here before me?
and that's...
11 comments:
It is so easy for our imagination to soar in places like this. Who did walk here before us? What were their lives like?
I can't remember what I said about this last week, so maybe I'm repeating myself, but this place is MADE for pictures. Thanks so much for sharing it!
bobbie, you always understand.
Louise, you are so right! I took so many pics and I like them so much that I can't help sharing!
A wonderful place to explore Kathie. It is places like that where we feel the connection to those who have gone before, that invariably stir the poet in us.
A lovely thoughtful post.
I can feel those dusty footsteps...
I'm glad you found my blog so that I could discover yours! I also lived in Arizona for four year and that is where I lived when I started birding five years ago. I look forward to following your blog! Birds! Poetry! Art! even Architecture! Cool!
Such a fantastic place! And your photos are so terrific, Kathie! Like Bobbie, I feel that a place like this just turns your imagination loose and you can't help but wonder about the people that walked here and their lives!
Enjoy your week!
Sylvia
Hi Kathie,
A wonderful look at an ancient site! I liked the questions and have often asked similar ones in reverence when visiting places that hold memories of ages past.
Arija, so can I!
Robert, I am so glad you came by. As you can see, I have already added you to my blog roll! I have been bird watching for a long time but only started "birding" about 10 years ago and only started eBirding 2 years ago! I was so excited to find someone else who promotes eBird so much! Welcome to my blog! I look forward to visiting with you again!
sylvia, thank you!
Barb, I think this kind of place stirs these types of questions in most thoughtful people.
Those beautiful textures! I wold love to lean my cheek against those smooth pink walls...
And Kathie, thank you so much for you warm words about my blog, and the break I'm taking from it. I can't say when I'll take it up again, but I am definitely not going to stop coming here, you always delight and inspire!
Something I have noticed out there Kathie, those skies always seem to be such a brighter and richer blue than what we get here. Your photos are always glorious.
Deborah, those pink walls are so amazing! I was transfixed by the colors, textures and history!
I am excited for you about your move. Have you read Mrs. Mike? You might like that story if you are moving to Alberta.
Thank you for all your visits here and all of your encouragement. I will miss you. I always smile when I see you Icon on my comments! Your blog always made me think!
Denise, coming from the east coast, I have noticed the same thing, and I think it is because we are higher in elevation. I find the air/sky has a different quality when you get closer to the sun. I could feel it when I lived in Northern Maine too, which is much colder than here but still, higher than CT in elevation.
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