To Tubac and Back

 

Saturday, November 3, 2012 – To Tubac and Back

Saturday morning, and it’s time for road trip #2.  Elliott is taking the day off from playing tourist, but Gale and I head down the highway, route 19 south, to Tubac.  The open road stretches out in front of us and the mountains rise up on either side.  I am so far from home in a place that looks so unfamiliar to me that I feel like we’re in a road trip movie, like Thelma and Louise.  Tubac is about 45 miles from Tucson.  When we first arrive, I’m confused.  As we walk down the unpaved street searching for the center of town, I see a few shops and galleries and a handful of people but nothing resembling a real town.  “Is this all there is?” Gale and I wonder.  It’s like someone has taken a block of Alexandria’s Old Town and dropped it down in the middle of the desert.   

"Downtown" Tubac

Fortunately, it doesn’t take us long to locate the Presidio, the site of a weekend fiber arts festival we are hoping to visit.  There are several cars in the parking lot – a good sign.  The local fiber arts community is out in full force.  The festival itself is small in scale (as is everything in Tubac) but full of interesting information, people, products, and four-legged creatures, namely alpacas, llamas, sheep, and angora rabbits.  We meet an alpaca farmer who encourages us to go into the pen to pet the furry animals, and we learn about some unusual sources of fiber, including soybean plants.  

A friendly alpaca

A frisky llama

Of course, we want to have a culinary adventure as well.  I’m not a big fan of Mexican food, but since I’m near the border, I think I should give the local fare a try.  Around noon, we find Elvira’s, a well-known Mexican restaurant nestled among the shops.  Elaborately decorated with all sorts of glass ornaments dangling from the ceiling, Elvira’s offers authentic Mexican cuisine, which is vastly superior to the Tex-Mex variety that is prevalent back at home.  We choose two dishes: an amazingly delicious hazelnut mole and an equally scrumptious poblano chile stuffed with squash blossoms, cheese and roasted corn with a chipotle sauce.  At Elvira’s in Tubac, I learn to love real Mexican food.

Elvira's Mexican restaurant

Hazelnut mole

Stuffed poblano chile

My other impression of Tubac is visual – color, color and more color.  Exuberantly colored decoration is everywhere, in shops, on exterior walls, in courtyards, around every corner.  From the tiny ceramic flower pots to the whimsical animal sculptures to the ubiquitous crosses, Mexican handicrafts are joyfully bright.  I’m not filling my suitcase with the actual objects, but I’m storing away all the mental images to bring me sunshine on gloomy winter days. 

We almost have another kind of adventure on the way back to Tucson.  Shortly after leaving Tubac, we arrive at a border checkpoint.  After we slow to a mandatory stop, the border agents wave us through.  I’m a bit disappointed that we aren’t questioned and searched, but I guess profiling is alive and well in Arizona.  

Clouds rolling in as we get ready to leave Tubac