history, culture, and language of the people of the Gila River Indian Community. It features an ethno Tucson & <'.J Saguaro National Park Phoenix botanical garden, colorful murals, small exhibits, The Anza Trail cuts through a wide swath Casa Grande '\/ Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and displays of the tribe's renowned basketry. of the Sonoran Desert's exotic and arid landscape As the Anza Trail winds west toward One leg of the Anza adventure brings on the outskirts of Phoenix. Here, you'll Yuma, it skirts the Bureau of Land Management's visitors to Tucson and its outskirts, with a stop at \ discover the 487,000-acre Sonoran Desert the famed "white dove of the desert;' Mission Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, an archeological site National Monument, which houses three distinct with hundreds of petroglyph s, symbolic and San Xavier del Bae. With a white dome and tower mountain ranges-the Maricopa, Sand Tank, and artistic rock etchings produced centuries ago by framed by a weathered adobe archway beneath Table Top mountains- as well as three congres indigenous people. cerulean blue skies, San Xavier blends elements sionally designated wilderness areas, significant of the old and new worlds. Beyond the mission, historical and archeological sites, and hiking trails. other scenic stops along the Anza Trail include the Along the trails, ridges and isolated peaks are breathtaking, panoramic views offered by Sentinel separated by vast saguaro-studded bajadas and Peak or "N.' Mountain; the Santa Cruz River Park wide desert washes adorned witl1 cholla, prickly and Saguaro National Park. pear, paloverde, ocotillo, ironwood, and thick About 35 miles northwest of Saguaro stands of stately saguaros. Wildlife hidden amidst National Park, Picacho Peak State Park hosts Civil desert camouflage includes desert bighorn sheep, War re-enactments that commemorate April 15, desert mule deer, coyote, desert tortoise, javelina, 1862, the fateful day the westernmost battle of the and a wide variety of lizards and birds. During wet Civil War was fought. Trails wind up the landmark spring months, hillsides dance in vibrant shades 1,500-foot Picacho Peak, offering views of seas of of yellow as brittlebush blooms. wildflowers that often bloom in spring. Further Descendents of desert dwellers, who north, the enigmatic asa rande (or '·great now live on the Gila River Reserva ti on :i nd :ire house") Ruins National Monument hold the known as the Akimel O'odham, own
The Juan Bautista de Anza <'.J ~ Yuma Nogales & Tubae Folklorico dancer and living National Historic Trail in Arizona history at Tumacdcori National Yuma is a unique hub that stands at the Visitors to Nogales can retrace the famed On October 23, 1775, 39-year-old Juan Historical Park Bautista de Anza and a carefully as cm bled team of confluence of the Colorado and Gila rivers, where migratory path or trade route called El Camino 240 settlers, cowboys, Indian guides, and mul e pack Arizona, California and Mexico meet. The city Real ("The King's Highway") while reliving the once known as Yuma Crossing enchants visitors ers embarked on a dangerous journey. l n a f cat that town's Wild West past at historic landmarks such with its epic history that rivals a spellbinding would be daunting even today, the small colonizing as the neoclassic 1904 Courthouse that stands on expedition led by Anza- the charisma Ii caplain novel, not only of the Anza expedition, but of a hill overlooking Main Street, and the Old City famed Spanish conquistadors and missionaries, of the Presidio of Tubae in Sonora (now south Hall, built in 1914, which now houses the Pimeria ernArizona)- ventured r2oomiles lo Lh c.: north including Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, daring Alta Historical Society. to found a mission and presidio at Lh c port of San trappers like Kit Carson, '49ers en route to the Just 18 miles to the north, the battered yet Francisco. The Viceroy of New Spain chose Anza for California Gold Rush, the Mormon Battalion and Yuma Territorial beautiful towering adobe walls and burnt adobe the treacherous trek at a time when Spain struggled the Butterfield Overland Stage. The quaint charm Prison bell tower of famous Jesuit missionary Father to secure its outposts in northern California from of this once rough-and-tumble river town lives [> Eusebio Francisco Kino's first mission in Arizona, on at Yuma Quartermaster Depot State H istoric Quartermaster San Jose de Tumacacori, capture the history of Russian and English exploration and coloniza- Depot tion. Existing land and sea routes from Mexico had Park, where you can see the exact spot where Spanish missionaries in the "New World:' From proven dangerous and difficult, leaving the Spanish th Anza expedition made its famed crossing of here, you can venture down a 4.5-mile trail along in search of a new overland route for moving set the treacherous Colorado River, examine the the Santa Cruz River through a lush riparian tlers, livestock and supplies up from Sonora. recovered paddle axle of a sunken steamboat, habitat of cottonwoods and mesquite leading to Anza charted the route, carved through and visit Yuma's oldest home- built in 1859 by a Tubae, the oldest Spanish settlement in the state. bone-dry deserts and mountain passes, during his steamboat entrepreneur. In Yuma you can also Beyond the adobe remnants of the Tubae Presidio, first exploratory expedition in 1774, an adventure explore Arizona's most visited state historic park, built in 1752 to protect the nearby Tumacacori historians compare to the famed Lewis and Clark the Territorial Prison, which once locked up the mission and settlers, the surrounding 12-acre Southwest's most notorious outlaws, or the state park includes a museum, one of the oldest Expedition. Not only did he succeed in finding a /J. Tumacdcori National Historical Park safe and predictable route to San Francisco, but he Century House Museum, the former home of territorial schoolhouses, and the hand press forged friendly ties with the Yuma people, who pioneer merchant Eugene Francis Sanguinetti, used to print the first newspaper in Arizona. A with colorful gardens of brilliant red and fuchsia today prefer the name Quechan, at the confluence re-enactment of the expedition's passage through of the Gila and Colorado rivers-a relationship bougainvillea, fragrant lemon trees, and aviaries Tubae takes place annually in October during the of exotic and talking birds. that would prove invaluable in the 1775 AnzaDays. !J. colonizing expedition. Living history follows the Today, we can join Anza and the settlers on trail across the Santa Cruz Antelope Hill, a 575-foot knob of sandstone east river in southern Arizona. their epic journey, retracing their steps along the of Wellton in the outskirts of Yuma, features route now memorialized as the Juan Bautista de enigmatic petroglyphs left behind by ancient I> Anza National Historic Trail. Whether you choose Don Garate, a National to experience Arizona's section of the trail from inhabitants who used stone tools to peck, Park Service ranger, the front seat of your car, on horseback, aboard scratch, and carve art into sandstone. "Desert dons the clothing of1776 These historic route signs indicate the roadway to speak with visitors varnish," the dark patina that forms on rock in /J. a bicycle, or by foot, here's your guide to some of is within the corridor used by the expedition. about the history of the most striking historic landmarks and vistas arid conditions, provided a natural canvas.
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