TUBAC PRESIDIO

I've learned several things on my Summer Vacation. The first is to never again rent a house sight unseen. The second is that a Presidio is a fort.

The Tubac Presidio is one exit north of the mission at Tumacacori and the two were somehow connected, the cavalrymen stationed at the outpost protecting the mission against various Indian revolts and raids. The Tubac Presidio is now a state historic park which contains a dozen stops on a self-guided walking tour.

The day I went, I was the only visitor which I found a little spooky. There's a visitor's center and the man who admitted me admonished me to enjoy myself and take my time. I was already wondering why I had come and told him I'd be gone before he knew it. He truly looked sad.

Basically I went only to the museum, a large group of rooms with many exhibits. The museum was in total darkness inside. As I walked, the lights turned on above the exhibit where I stood - shutting off as I moved on. I could see that if there were many people in the museum the lights would all be on but, since there was only me, every turn I took began and ended in darkness. I started to wonder who or what lurked around the bend. Could I even find my way out?

I couldn't wait to leave.

I skipped the church and schoolhouse, the underground re-created ruin (what if I got trapped?), the captain's house, went again through the visitor's center and found my way out.

A note: Entering and leaving the Presidio, one drives through La Paloma De Tubac, a series of touristy shops on both sides of a dirt road housing what's advertised as "a collection of 10,000 items of folk art". Perhaps it's fun to look in the stores but, the day I went, all the shops but one were closed.