Description
Saturday, May 9, 9am-5pm: Among Sky Islands: Ranching, Mining and Movie-Making
BCA is pleased to collaborate with the Pimeria Alta Historical Society in an exclusive day tour, including a hosted lunch at the historic San Iganicio del Babacomari Ranch. Don't miss this special opportunity for private, docent led tours of the Patagonia Museum, the Bowman Stradling Museum in Sonoita, the vast San Rafael Valley, and the Lochiel Schoolhouse. This is a limited offering, based on "first come, first served" by on-line registration required.
Join us for a full day of traveling across Santa Cruz County, learning about the living history of the diverse communities and ranchlands that built and enhanced the history of this place.
The BCA van and driver, Anne (BCA Tours Coordinator), will pick you up at the parking lot on Morley Avenue between the Post Office and the Historic Courthouse at 8:45 am, Saturday 9th May. We will head up to The Patagonia Museum, located at the historic Patagonia Schoolhouse, where we'll be met by German Quiroga, the board President and eminent historian of the area. German's maternal ancestors settled in Lochiel, AZ (where we will end the day) around 1880 and his paternal ancestors moved to Patagonia in 1898. We'll spend an hour there viewing the museum's great collections and hearing an amusing history of the area. Next we'll head up to the Bowman Stradling History Center at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Sonoita. We'll be met there by a local docent who will tell us the story of that wonderful "museum". You'll be getting hungry by 11:30 so we'll venture on to the San Ignacio del Babacomari Ranch in Elgin for a hearty ranchero "lonche" at the headquarters hacienda built in the 1930's. Not to let any grass grow under our feet ... we will journey onward to the magnificent San Rafael Valley. We'll travel the Canelo Pass road and stop at the summit to appreciate the expansive native grasslands and the head of the Santa Cruz River. We'll traverse across the valley marveling at the pristine beauty of the wide open landscape, dotted with elegant cottonwoods & sycamores as they line the Santa Cruz River. We end our day at the townsite of Lochiel and visit the Lochiel Schoolhouse where once again German Quiroga will meet us to tell stories of his family's life there beginning in the 1880's. From there we will head up and over the Patagonia Mountains on the Duquesne Road which comes out at The Little Red School House on the Patagonia-Nogales Highway (Hwy 82).
That's a full day of adventure and hearing tall tales of the lore of Santa Cruz County with some surprises along the way!
Please bring plenty of water and perhaps some snacks to munch on along the way. Wear comfortable walking shoes for casual walking in the ranchlands and rocky roads (certainly not required, and not more than 1/4 mile).
Tour fee: $175 includes transportation, guides, lunch.
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