December 6, 2013 Tucson, Arizona

We loved Tucson!  The beautiful mountains in the distance and the tall saguaros were fascinating sights as we pulled into the Mission View RV Resort in Tucson 1-P1030347  which is located on an Indian reservation.  2-P1030350

The weather was a little chillier than we had hoped for, but their was the promise of warmer days to come.

We rode downtown and found some interesting photo opportunities.  3-IMG_20131207_150357

Our last day in Tucson we went to the beautiful Mission San Xavier, a short drive from our campground.  1-P1030352 2-P1030360  Construction of the mission began in 1783 and was completed in 1797.  6-P1030358 4-P1030356 7-P1030359 5-P1030357  At that time Arizona was part of New Spain and became part of Mexico in 1821 following Mexican independence.  The mission became part of the United States in 1854 and became a National Landmark in 1963. It is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona and is still an active church with a K-8 mission school with an enrollment of 135.   3-P1030353

Bill found a county park nearby in the desert –  Tucson Mountain Park which will give us an opportunity to experience camping in the desert, so we decided to leave Mission View and head to the desert.