Tubac Things to Do Tips by matcrazy1

Elaborate ironwork and design

I found this gate to adobe building of La Pinata boutique an ironwork of exceptional beauty. I've got to know that it is mostly wrought ironwork that means handmade, forged by a blacksmith using an anvil. It had to cost a lot.

The gate is forced with decorative, bright blue, horizontal bean with boutique's yellow advertisement put above. There are pottery lamps hang on its both sides. The beautiful design of adobe building includes two colorful pots with cacti put on the ground. There are more beautiful ironworks in front of La Pinata: a round table and four iron chairs (picture 5) as well as flat metal structures depicting marching pre-historic people (picture 3-4). I found it very enjoyable and the whole design of La Pinata outdoor space beautiful :-). See my pictures.

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Address: 18 Tubac Rd., Tubac, Arizona

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. La Pinata shop is in southern part of the village, at 18 Tubac Road.

Phone: +1 (520) 398 2060

Lizards in art and alive

Apart from the most common Kokopelli I could easily find a lizard used as a motif for artists in Tubac. The artistic lizards sold as gifts and decorative items in Tubac were to be supposed to follow rock carvings of Native Americans in the Southwest. Later on during my trip I saw original lizard petroglyphs as well as alive lizards in northern and northeastern Arizona, in Utah and New Mexico. However they were never as colorful as those sold in Tubac and their tail was always straight. I have also never seen petroglyphs depicting a lizard with a spiral tail.

I didn't see any alive lizards in Tubac. But numerous metal, colorful lizards sold in local touristy shops encouraged me to ask at the tourist information whether there are any lizards dangerous for people in the area. The very friendly lady showed me pictures of the two species of venomous lizards and told that both are rare in Arizona. These species are called the Gila monster and Mexican beaded lizard. Gila monster's venom though not deadly, can inflict extremely painful and powerful bites. The beaded lizard, though even less common in Arizona, is more dangerous. As I noticed in the picture both venomous lizards are large and must be slow. The lizards I spotted in the Southwest were small, very fast thus difficult to take a picture.

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You could be the next dino discoverer!

There are a few ironworks put on Tubac Road 22 in front of the Chile Pepper. The most interesting are metal skeletons of two fighting dinosaurus. They really lived in that area about 100 million years ago. The Sonorasaurus was discovered in 1994, by an undergraduate student close to Tubac (in Sonoita). It was 51 foot long, 27 feet high. and 35-ton dinosaur. You could be the next dino discoverer! The Latin name of newly discovered dinosaur species often includes the name of its discoverer. What about "Tyrannosaurus matcrazi"? Happy digging and hunting!!! :-)

That two metal skeletons in Tubac were much smaller. A few days later I was in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. I saw pictures of Chindesaurus that was discovered there in 1984. The 6 - 12 feet long dinosaur had two long rear legs for jumping and two much shorter front limbs. I think the metal artwork in Tubac may depict just Chindesaurus.

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Address: Tubac Road 22, Tubac, Arizona 85646

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. the Chile Pepper (shop, ice-cream, cafe) is in southern part of the village, at 22 Tubac Road.

Blue Warrior

I called this strange and mysterious, blue, metal artwork, "Blue Warrior." It stands on the main Tubac Road, close to the Chile Pepper (shop, ice-cream, cafe). Pay attention to its massive postument. Well, desert areas are usually not only hot at daytime (and often cold at night) but very windy as well.

At first I thought that the Blue Warrior design is copied from a pre-historic petroglyph (rock carving) made by American Natives. Well, some of them form his trunk. But Native Americans of what is the USA now didn't use kite shields. Well, round shields were used by natives of Central America (Mexico) as I know. Head of the Blue Warrior reminds me some devils' heads I saw in the Museum of Devils in Kaunas, Lithuania. My conclusion is that an artist mixed different cultures to make the Blue Warrior. Anyway, I found the Blue Warrior exotic and interesting.

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Address: Tubac Road 22, Tubac, Arizona 85646

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. the Chile Pepper (shop, ice-cream, cafe) is in southern part of the village, at 22 Tubac Road.

Phone: +1 (520) 398 2921

Hopi art

I could easily find some sort of very interesting silver jewelry and very beautiful pottery in numerous Indian shops of Tubac including Old Presidio Traders shop of probably the best choice. They were usually signed as Hopi jewelry and Hopi pottery. I had to ask a shop keeper who Hopi were, a tribe of artists?

I got to know that Hopi tribe lived in northeastern Arizona and I thought to see them later during my trip. It seems that in times of cars and electricity (that costs) Hopi tribe, unlike many other American Natives, has switched to cash economy earning money from traditional crafts, particularly the carving and sale of Kachina dolls, highly crafted low fire pottery, and other traditional crafts such as silversmithing. Well, Hopi artists are very expensive :-(. Details in my shopping tips.

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Address: 27 Tubac Rd., Tubac, Arizona 85646

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. Old Presidio Traders is in southern part of the village, on southern side of Tubac Road.

Other Contact: +1 (520) 398 9333

Phone: +1 (866) 773 7434 (FREE)

This car changed rural America

I've found this red, old automobile among Mexican pottery put on the ground. It was part of the outdoor display of the Country Shop. This light pickup truck - Chevrolet 3100 - was number one in sales among all pickups in the USA during every year from 1950 till 1955. I liked a lot its old, aerodynamic and smooth body as well as its windshield cut into two pieces. In the front, the grille features a horizontal design and the car has funny recessed headlamps. I asked at the shop about this automobile but its owner was off. I surely wanted to ask how much the Chevy was :-).

3100-series Chevy pickups were equipped with 6-cylinder 90 horse power engine and 3 gear, surely automatic (it's the USA), transmission. Standard equipment included a heater and a defroster, a luxury in those days. The cab was enough large to seat three adult people.

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Address: 30 Will Rogers Lane, Tubac, Arizona 85646

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. The Country Shop shop is in southern part of the village, turn northwards from Tubac Road close to its eastern end.

Other Contact: Fax: +1 (520) 398 2633

Phone: +1 (520) 398 2121

Give local jelly (jam) a try

In a few Tubac's gourmet food stores and eateries I found jars with exotic for me names:
1. Mesquite Bean Jelly
2. Jalapeno Mint Jelly
3. Pear Cactus Jelly

The jars didn't look fancy but I gave a try to Pear Cactus Jelly which cost some $5. Well, it was jam, not jelly. I've got to know in Tubac that they call jam jelly in the USA. The word "jam" is supposed to be reserved for connection with traffic, although for sure not in this empty part of southern Arizona. Anyway, Pear Cactus Jelly produced by Gerry Schultz tasted great, I loved it. Later on I was looking for that jelly in chain food stories including Wal-Mart and others and I didn't find any.

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Address: Tubac, Arizona 85646

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. Follow the link below to find gourmet food stores in Tubac.

I liked Kokopelli a lot :-)

Strolling around Tubac I could easily find a lot of pottery and metal figures depicting a humpbacked flute player (see my pictures). I had never seen anything like that before but at first sight I liked a lot that enjoyable and mysterious flute player and I even bought one to decorate my home :-). Later on I saw this motif on prehistoric petroglyphs (rock carvings) and in many gift shops throughout New Mexico and Arizona.

I didn't know who that mysterious flute player was and had to ask at a boutique. I've got to know that this humpbacked flute player is called Kokopelli. What a name! Kokopelli is a prehistoric fertility deity. It's depicted hundreds of times in rock art, some of it over a thousand years old, located in numerous sites in southwestern United States deserts and mountains where different Native American people lived, including Hohokam and Pima people who lived in Tubac area. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.

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Website: http://www.acaciart.com/stories/archive10.html

Simple and inexpensive pottery

I didn't go to Tubac to do any shopping. My budget at the beginning of very long drive around almost half of the country was too low to do any unnecessary shoppings. I didn't want to buy any pottery as it's uncomfortable for transportation in both a car and plane. Apart from that a very beautiful Hopi pottery I saw in Tubac cost a fortune.

But in quite many pottery shops I easily found some inexpensive and simple pottery I liked a lot. Just look at the pots in my pictures. They cost from some $10 to $25, depends on size. I like especially not glazed pots of globe-like shape. That potery was mostly advertised as Mexican pottery.

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Address: Tubac, Arizona 85646

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. Look for pottery in Tubac shops listed here.

Other Contact: assistance@tubacaz.com

Phone: +1 (520) 398 2704

Leather in Native American art

I could easily find a lot of various Native American items made of skin in a few American Indian boutiques in Tubac. I mean traditional American Indian leather bags and pouches, knife sheaves, mittens and gloves, puzzle pouches (once used to play a game), leather moccasins (footwear), deer, elk, moose and other skins used for clothing, leather wall hangings (used for decorative and/or spiritual purposes as fetishes) etc. etc.

I liked some wall hangings but most of all thin deer skin decorated with simple Native American patterns painted on it (see my picture 1-2). I also liked some quality leather bags (see pictures 3-5).

Native Americans used to be profesionals in what is called tanning now that is the process of converting putrescible skin into non-putrescible leather.

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Address: Tubac, Arizona 85646

Directions: Take free map from Tubac - Santa Cruz Visitor Center located at the entrance to Tubac. Look for American Indian art in Tubac shops listed here.

Other Contact: assistance@tubacaz.com

Phone: +1 (520) 398 2704

Website: http://www.nativetech.org/clothing