7-16-17

I was up by 6:30, the family followed and we were out the door by 8:00. We stopped for gas and then jumped on I-10 and headed east, then south on I-19. I-19 in Arizona runs from Tucson to Nogales and was finished in the 1970's. At that time there was a push for America to convert to metric units and all of the signs were put up with those units on them. Everything was in Kilometers or meters except for the speed limit. There were plans in the decade between 2000 and 2010 to change all of the signs but cost and complaints from businesses that would have to change their directions put an end to that plan. As far as we know, this is the only interstate in America in metric units. 

We arrived 10 minutes before the opening of Tumacacori National Historic site and watched the numerous ants on the sidewalk. This site marks the highlights the Jesuit and Franciscan missions that spread Christianity across the southwest and was built in the 1750's. Crazy to think that we have something in America so much older than our Revolutionary sites.  Father Kino was the missionary that was here and is still revered by people of both native and Spanish heritage in the US and Mexico today. The grounds were lovely and we walked around visiting every wayside because the weather was actually nice. A breezy and cool 81 degrees. 

Afterward, we drove to Tombstone. While the town and buildings are historic, it has also taken on a tourist trap kind of feel so I have mixed feelings about our visit. The acting in the reenactment was AWFUL. That mixed with the fruity drink that was spilt on my butt by the idiot lady behind me left me feeling disappointed in Tombstone. However, balancing the great lunch we had at Big Nose Kate's Saloon and the live music made it an overall good experience. While we were eating lunch it poured rain and left the streets running like rivers so it was nice to be dry and still get the rain. It was the first time Lorelei and I have seen rain in nearly two months. Apparently it is monsoon season in Arizona and rain here is an interesting experience. You have to watch where you are, especially near washes and in Canyons as evidenced by the terrible tragedy of 9 people dying at a swimming spot north of where we are. It's not something we are used to having to pay attention to. 

Since we were early to finish at Tombstone, we drove down to Coronado National Memorial. We planned to go on Monday morning but we got there with time to finish a junior ranger, have a very informative conversation with the park ranger and we got to survey the border with Mexico from the park. It was weird to see a wall - it's a really tall fence with some kind of cloth covering over the top few feet. We then headed to the hotel to relax and hang out.