Showing posts with label Roadrunner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roadrunner. Show all posts

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Tumacacori | Arizona | National Historical Park


This mission is located on Route 19 not far from the U.S./Mexican border at Nogales, Arizona.  I have passed it a few times, and wanted to visit - but not with my 5th wheel attached.  I had the opportunity to visit it with a friend last week - and I learned how to pronounce the name!  It's pronounced "Toom ah kahk ah ree" - my own phonetics.


The next two photos are close up of the bell tower and the front of the mission entrance, which you can see has been eroded through time and environmental pressures.  The bell tower itself was never finished.



Inside, the walls have also eroded, but they are very thick, as you will see in some of these photos.



The altar area has a domed ceiling, shown below, and you can see how thick the walls are by the windows in that area.





A food storage building is shown below, they had to be able to store food during the winter season for the residents.


The priests lived in the building shown in the photos below.




And my favorite bird, the roadrunner, is watching over things.


Although this sunset was not at the mission, there have been some very nice ones since I've been back in Arizona.


Thursday, January 22, 2015

Road Runner Alert!


I have been known to be impulsive, and today was one of those days.  As I was coming into the RV Park where I've been staying, I noticed a road runner walking along.  They walk because they prefer it and can reach top speeds of 15 MPH - by that time, they're running - fast!  This guy was wandering around aimlessly, so I pulled the truck over, put on my flashers and grabbed my camera.  I got out as quietly as I could and started stalking him. 


By the time he went in someone's yard, I decided I'd better not follow.  There were a couple people out for their daily walk and as I walked back to my truck I figured I should let them know what was going on.  Obviously, they hadn't seen the bird.  When I told them it was a road runner alert, they grinned and told me they were wondering what I was doing, leaving my truck and walking around with my camera.
 

Such a cool critter!   I just love these little birds.  And this is why I always have my camera with me.