Getaway

Fed up with seeing doctors and physical therapists, and being tested for this and that, I needed a getaway, so Dennis and I flew to Tucson to visit our grandson and his sweetheart. We soaked up sun and warmth and love, we ate good food, and didn’t worry about a thing.

One morning we drove south of Tucson to visit San Xavier del Bac, a historic mission on the Tohono O’odham San Xavier Indian Reservation. The mission, also known as White Dove of the Desert, was founded in 1692 by a Jesuit missionary named Kino.

Entering the mission I was impressed by the door handle shaped like a rattlesnake.

The mission interior is too highly decorated for my taste, but I loved the ancient door that led into the courtyard.

I was struck by the stark white exterior wall silhouetted against the blue, blue sky.

Most of all, I loved seeing all the prickly plants, many of them in bloom.

I was so entranced by this desert landscape that not once did I think about my upcoming hip joint replacement. That is what a getaway is all about.

Copyright 2014 by Shirley Domer