Mission San Xavier: Icons and details

For all the vivid ornateness of the Mission San Xavier del Bac in Tucson, there were features that bespoke its 200+ year history.

Handless Icon



Fading Mural Paint



Broken Cherub


Pew Bench, worn from devotion




Also, if it wasn't clear from yesterday's comment, the coyote window bars were from the Mission as well.

Mission San Xavier: Coyote Window Bars

You don't see a lot of this style around Chicago! ;-)

Mission San Xavier del Bac

Mission San Xavier del Bac was founded by the Jesuit missionary, Father Eusebio Kino, in 1692. The present church was built under the direction of the Franciscans. Construction began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The church continues to serve as the parish for the Tohono O'odham and a shrine chruch for many visitors.

A View from the Top

I am back from my week in Tucson! I stayed in the Marriott Starr Pass resort up in the foothills, which was lovely and posh beyond words. I had a spa treatment, swam every afternoon in the lazy river, ate delicious meals, and oh yeah, went to a conference. :) I didn't actually take a lot of photos, but I did get a few.


This was my view every morning. It was still cool then, but by 7am the temperature started shooting up. It was 105 most afternoons. Yikes!


The view in the late afternoon. That's Tucson in the distance.

Day or Night?

Which looks like it was more fun...

Day?


Or night?


Day?


Or night?


For me, I thought the Pioneer and the Cowboy was more appealing in the day because their theme of old-timey West was so thoroughly done and really kind of cute. The Colorado Belle looked older and creakier in the daytime, but at night the lights gave it a grander aura.

Koi and Ducks

The moat around the Colorado Belle was overrun with koi. The laziest and most well-trained koi I'd ever seen; all you needed to do was hold your empty hand over the rail and hundreds of fish would rush toward you, poking their faces above the water with open mouths, waiting to be fed. The number of coins on the bottom made me wonder how many of them had dimes and pennies in their bellies by mistake! The ducks fought for our attention too, as you can see.

Postcard from Laughlin

The Colorado River in Laughlin Nevada, which I somehow managed to make look prettier than it actually was. :)

The foothills of the Catalina Mountains

Taken during my trip to Tucson a couple of weeks ago. It's my desktop photo of the moment -- feel free to click the photo to go to Flickr and download the largest size for your own desktop!

Approaching Storm

It's monsoon season in Tucson, and so every afternoon it rains, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. You can see the storms off in the distance, rolling over the mountains, heading for the city. Yesterday I was in Saguaro National Park shooting, and I got a closer-up eyeful.



Best viewed in large size.

I did get back to my hotel in time. Good thing, because I didn't bring an umbrella! Who would, to the desert?