Hikers pose along the Anza National Historic Trail. (Photo by Ruth Caldwell)
Ruth Caldwell and Bruce Landeck
On a beautiful, mid-November morning, guided by co-leaders Ruth Caldwell and Marc Humphrey, 10 members of the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club enjoyed a peaceful 4.5-mile hike on the Anza National Historic Trail near Tubac. The Anza Trail was established through desert and mountain passes between 1775-76 by 39-year old Juan Bautista de Anza. He and more than 240 settlers, Indian guides, cowboys, and mule-packers ventured through Southern Arizona and California for over 1,200 miles to San Francisco to found a Spanish mission. This mission was the first European settlement on the San Francisco Bay. Juan Bautista de Anza was an accomplished expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician. He was one of the founding fathers of Spanish California and served as Governor of the New Mexico province between 1778 and 1788.
Our gentle hike through this particular section, on a dirt trail, started in Tubac and followed the Santa Cruz River, which runs intermittently through a lush riparian area. This river and surrounding wooded areas provide needed habitat for threatened and endangered species.
Our hike ended at the San José de Tumacácori Mission inside Tumacácori National Historic Park. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities and is one of the oldest national parks in the United States. Father Kino established Tumacácori as a mission in January 1691, one day before Guevavi, making it the oldest mission site in what is now Arizona. For many years, it was a visita, or visiting station, of the mission headquarters at Guevavi. During most of those years, it was located on the east side of the Santa Cruz River and was called San Cayetano de Tumacácori. Services were held in a small adobe structure built by the Pima inhabitants of the village. After the Pima rebellion of 1751, the mission was moved to the present site on the west side of the river and renamed San José de Tumacácori. Here the first actual church edifice was built. At Tumacácori we had the opportunity to wander through the various structures and grounds, including the historic church, which was in use by Jesuit priests as early as 1767.
Following our hike through history and mission visits, we gathered at Wisdom’s Café in Tubac for a super Mexican lunch and then returned to SaddleBrooke. On the hike with co-guides Caldwell and Humphrey were Joanie Broder, Marie Szentirmai, Johanna Paweczyk, Kathleen Bell, Beverly Powell, Kristy Johnson, Janet Wheelock, and Bruce Landeck.