Tubac, AZ

Never heard of Tubac before Trish said that she wanted to visit the Tubac Presidio Historical Park - which is what we did yesterday.  It was a Spanish fort dating back to 1752; nearby are 4 missions with the same vintage.  The Spanish always gave people a choice: convert or die.  The carrot and stick approach, using the ultimate stick.  Who can forget the good old days of The Spanish Inquisition?

The town of Tubac, again a place I didn't know existed, boasts dozens of studios, galleries and artsy-craftsy shops with lots of very attractive paintings, sculptures and such.  Quite a delightful find.  Pix below are of just a couple of shops that had lots of stuff displayed outside.

After returning from Tubac, Trish, Doug and Jan drove to the town of Patagonia; I opted out.  They returned much sooner than expected, reporting that Patagonia was a big disappointment.  We'd heard that it was a really neat place with lots of artists in residence but the reality was much different - shabby, hippyesque, blah.  Opting out was a lucky choice.

Today, we head out for our 2nd stop, Tombstone.  We'll be there 2 nights, will see the Tombstone sights this afternoon and do a daytrip to Bisbee tomorrow.  Bisbee's rep is similar to Patagonia's, hope it's not another bust.