It rained this morning… RAIN! it’s raining in the desert! It’s just an off and on drizzle, but it’s enough for the whole place to smell of the creosote bush. We decided to check out one of the missions nearby. We went to the San Xavier Mission just south of Tucson on the San Xavier Indian Reservation. This was built a the end of the 1700’s and it still holding mass regularly. The “Titoi- The Man in the Maze” is a symbol in the Tohono O’odham tribe. “It’s the story of every human being, traveling though life as though a maze, taking in many turns while growing stronger and wiser as death, the dark center of the maze, comes closer.” The Mission is under restoration and really beautiful. The other missions, Tubac and Tumacacori are much further south and there are few roads going west towards our next destination. We didn’t see the others, but if we’re in the area again, we’ll try to see them. Next stop, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
At Organ Pipe Cactus NM we found a free BLM campground and stopped in. The camp host has stopped registering people for the season. He said when it’s 120 degrees out here, the BLM is not real concerned about how long people are staying. We asked about a site with shade and he told us about the “Crazy Woman Campsite”. A woman lived here in the desert for many years, building a stone oven, flagstone walk and several garden areas. It’s under a huge ironwood tree, giving lot’s of shade next to an arroyo, a dry creek wash. A beautiful, free campsite.