HIKE OF THE MONTH

and paint on glass. The park's biggest celebration, La Fiesta de Tumacacori, takes place in early December and attracts thousands with period costumes, traditional entertainment and foods.

Park policy calls for preservation, not restoration, so Tumacacori remains remarkably original. “The church's roof, which had disappeared, was replaced in 1927,” said Garate. “The floor, which had been destroyed by treasure-hunters, and the front door were also replaced. The huge pediment on the church facade had fallen off, and that was put back on. Except for those things, and some shoring up of walls and coats of white plaster to protect against moisture damage, Tumacacori is original.” Today's church, with some still-visible paintings, a beautiful but underfunded and therefore unfinished bell tower, granary, and priests' quarters, dates from 1800. But the mission's story really began in 1691 with the arrival of Jesuit missionary-explorer Eusebio Francisco Kino at the old village of Tumacacori. Kino established the mission at Tumacacori, as well as the one at Guevavi (Calabazas came later), but didn't erect a church building. Decades later, after the Pima Revolt of 1751 resulted in the establishment of a military presidio at nearby Tubac, congregants worshipped in a modest church. When Spain's Charles III expelled Jesuits from New Spain in 1767-68, the mission came under the mantle of the Franciscans, who built the present church. But a plague of troubles lay ahead: not enough money, continuing Apache attacks and fallout from the politics of Spain, Mexico and the United States (the Mexican War). Even extreme weather played a role. In December 1848, Tumacacori lay abandoned.

The missions became part of the U.S. with the 1853 Gadsden Purchase, a national monument in 1908 and a national historical park in 1990.

The mission's guidebook, which explains numbered stops, is helpful to those who take self-guided rather than ranger-led tours. And there's plenty to see.

For example, in the visitors center, a huge window frames a view of the church. Later, I came upon a vantage looking at the church from the east side that affords another stunning through-the-bell-tower view.

Egyptian-style designs grace the church facade, courtesy of Moorish Spain. Just inside the front door, a big crack caused by the earthquake of 1887 runs down the wall of the 75-foot nave. The sanctuary, which never lost its protective roof, holds the best-preserved paintings. The sacristy's blackened ceiling was caused by post-abandonment travelers starting wood fires to warm themselves.

Relatively recent graves around the circular Mortuary Chapel include a child's tiny blue crypt added in 1916, the last burial at the mission. Everyone stops there. Garate explained that although incomplete records show 625 burials on the grounds, mission-era graves are no longer visible.

At the end of a solo or group tour, a visitor might sit in a secluded spot and imagine the sights and sounds of the mission when it bustled with activity. Perhaps the bells in the tower might even ring out, continuing Tumacacori's still-unfinished story.

{hike of the month} A 'Friendly' Rattlesnake Adds Its Welcome to Carr Peak Trail

As WE HIKED UP CARR PEAK TRAIL in the Huachuca Mountains' Miller Peak Wilderness, my mind was on wildflowers, butterflies and birds. But it seemed that everyone we met only wanted to talk about the rattlesnake. Photographer Marty Cordano and I started out from Reef Campground, hiking through an area that was burned in 1977. It was heartening, after all the recent fires in Arizona, to see how this forest is recovering. The mountainside is blanketed with oaks and small conifer trees, and the meadow grasses were sprinkled with wildflowers. Bright yellow sunflowers predominated, accented by red penstemons, pale-blue asters, wild pink geraniums, scarlet cinquefoils, purple verbena and orange splashes of Indian paintbrush.

Our 5.75-mile round-trip hike to Carr Peak, at about 9,200 feet the second-highest peak in the Huachucas, gains 1,800 feet in elevation.

As we followed the trail, Marty pointed out a bandtailed pigeon, as big as its urban relatives, perched on a pine snag. Yellow butterfliesdainty sulphurs and a large two-tailed swallowtail-fluttered among the flowers. We were surprised to see a sphinx moth, usually a nighttime insect, sipping nectar with the butterflies.We met two hikers, John Walrath and his 17year-old son Aaron, from Tucson. They told us about a black-tailed rattlesnake farther up the trail, near the grove of aspen trees where I was hoping to find columbines.Around the next bend we met a couple from England. They warned us to watch out for the rattlesnake. More hikers, a group of three, told us "the snake's tail is in the trail but the rest of it's under a bush. It's easy to get around it" they said. "Just look where the grass has been tramped down."At the aspen grove, we both found what we were looking for. The handsomely patterned blacktailed rattlesnake posed obliginglyfor Marty, and I was elated to see the delicate yellow columbines lining the pathway through a tunnel of young aspen trees.

Beyond the aspens, the mountainside, dotted with charred trees from the 2002 Oversite Fire, was awash in a riotous display of wildflowers. Between the wild bees gathering pollen, butterflies flitting from flower to flower and tiny green hummingbirds zipping about, it was a busy place.

Two miles from the start of the hike lies the signed junction to Carr Peak. The route switchbacks up between large Douglas fir trees to the bald summit, which offers impressive views of the vast southeastern Arizona landscape.

"Times have changed," Marty remarked as we sat admiring the view. "In years past, people would have killed that snake or at least have been in a panic over it. Everyone we met today seemed not only pleased to have seen it, but wanted to pass the word along to fellow hikers."

It was the last day of August and storm clouds gathered as we retraced our route. The wildflowers' upturned faces seemed to welcome the raindrops and, I suppose, so did the placid snake concealed somewhere among them.

LOCATION: Approximately 80 miles southeast of Tucson.

GETTING THERE: From Tucson, travel southeast on Interstate 10 to Exit 302. Turn south onto State Route 90 and travel through Sierra Vista to State Route 92. Turn right and drive south for 7 miles to Carr Canyon Road, marked Forest Service Road 368 on some maps; turn right on Carr Canyon Road and drive 6.5 miles to the Reef Campground. Park at the trailhead, across the road from the campground.

TRAVEL ADVISORY: A high-clearance vehicle is preferred for travel on the dirt road to the trailhead.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Coronado National Forest, Sierra Vista Ranger District, (520) 378-0311.