Tucson by way of Center of the World

The family comes voluntarily wherever I ask them to go. Often they don't know where that is. They have no idea what's in store for them. On this trip they thought the goal was to stay at the nice hotel with the swimming pool. But the actual destination came the next morning with a trip to Colossal Cave outside of Tucson.

We did over 1,000 miles that short weekend, starting with a visit to Plank Road. I wouldn't expect anyone to know what this is unless you lived in these parts or have an interest in old highways. This highway is old and precedes Old US 80 by 20 years. It was built at the turn of the century to allow automobile passage over the sand dunes between Yuma, Arizona and El Centro, California. They called it the Plank Road because it was made completely of wood. Only a portion of it is left and preserved for the few visitors who venture here.

Not much further east we came to Felicita aka Center of the World. Whether Jacques Andre Istel really thought this lonely spot in Imperial Valley was the center of the world or not is questionable. I've heard it both ways. Either way he bought land and tried to build a city he called Felicity after his wife Felicia. There are residents living there which is the reason we were barred from going in which was disappointing. I wanted to see the stairs to nowhere and the pyramid that marks the exact center of the world. We respected their sign to keep out and kept going.

At Tucson we stayed at the upscale Embassy Suites Tucson Paloma Village thanks to Priceline, and swam into the night. I like the Tucson area and the southwestern style of houses with flat roof and desert landscaping. In the nicer areas the houses are well spaced apart and the natural features of plants and hills provides ample privacy and yardage. Outside of town is a disaster with tract home neighborhoods all looking the same.

The growth of Tucson and urban sprawl has reached right up to Colossal Cave. Last time I was here it was out in the middle of nowhere. Now you hang a left to the suburbs of Tucson and a right to Colossal Cave. The cave area is being engulfed. But this was our destination and the kids were going to get a treat.

The cave was formerly used by the Hohokam Indians as a shelter and explorations turned up two bodies from this group. The bodies were not touched and the side cave in which they were found was sealed off. Other items were found in the cave telling of the time when it was used as a hideout for bandits. Otherwise there isn't much use for a cave except to give tours and explore. The tour takes about an hour and wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for the work of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) during The Great Depression. I believe they labored for about four years laying the path the tour follows. During that time if one of them wanted to get married, they set up a chapel in one of the side caves.

The Colossal Cave area includes a campground, horseriding, and a museum about the CCC. The kids went on a treasure hunt that led to a little prize at the end and we were given free water. If you look carefully at the pictures of the seguaro you will notice that they are blooming. That flower is the state flower of Arizona.

We left Tucson and headed west through Tohono O'odham reservation country and stopped in at Mission San Xavier del Bac. At over 200 years old the church is still being used and was packed on the Sunday we visited.

If you want to avoid the interstate out of Tucson I recommend Highway 86. This is a rural road that leads to Gila and passes through some great desert country and a small community by the name of Why.