Picture taken at the Arizona State Museum,Tucson

© 2014 Honoré Dupuis

The Pueblo models: I write on being inspired by Rose B Simpson and Freyr Marie, who, sadly, I could only meet in dream.

The museum in Tucson, Sonora, Pueblo artists

The museum in Tucson, on the campus of Arizona University, is a place of spirituality. It contains, among others, the school of optical engineering, at whose entrance one can admire many ancient lenses, and astronomical instruments. The museum himself is a poem to the art and marvels of the South West, the cañons, the flora and fauna of the desert.

a Chevy named Maria, repainted in Santa Clara

There I met, in picture, Rose B Simpson and her friend Freyr Marie, and a Chevy named Maria. A glimpse into the modernity (?) of an ancient culture, that of the New Mexico people and their brothers and sisters the Hopis. We were lucky enough to be able to walk the cañons and travel in Northern Arizona.

Tucson is half way between a remote past, that of the ancient people and culture of the pre-Columbian history, and modern day US, inheritor of the Spanish conquest and legacy, a town in the Sonoran desert.

divine presence

A visit to a local church was proof to me, spiritual evidence, of the immanence of the divine presence in the desert.

“The Sonoran Desert as currently defined covers approximately 100,000 square miles (260,000 sq. km.) and includes most of the southern half of Arizona, southeastern California, most of the Baja California peninsula, the islands of the Gulf of California, and much of the state of Sonora, Mexico. It is lush in comparison to most other deserts. Two visually dominant life forms of plants distinguish the Sonoran Desert from the other North American deserts: legume trees and columnar cacti. It also supports many other life forms encompassing a rich spectrum of some 2,000 species of plants.

The amount and seasonality of rainfall are defining characteristics of the Sonoran Desert. Much of the area has a biseasonal rainfall pattern, though even during the rainy seasons most days are sunny. From December to March frontal storms from North Pacific Ocean occasionally bring widespread, gentle rain to the northwestern areas. From July to mid-September, the summer monsoon brings surges of wet tropical air and frequent but localized violent thunderstorms.

The Sonoran Desert prominently differs from the other three North American Deserts in having mild winters; most of the area rarely experiences frost. About half of the biota is tropical in origin, with life cycles attuned to the brief summer rainy season. The winter rains, when ample, produce huge populations of annuals (which comprise half of the species in our flora)…

This northeastern section, mostly in south-central Arizona and northern Sonora, is the highest and coldest subdivision of the Sonoran Desert. The terrain contains numerous mountain ranges, and the valleys are narrower than in the Lower Colorado River Valley subdivision. Trees are common on rocky slopes as well as drainages, and saguaros are found everywhere but on the valley floors. This community is also called the saguaro-palo verde forest. It is the only subdivision that experiences frequent hard winter frosts, so many species of the lower elevation and more southerly subdivisions cannot survive here. Nevertheless it is a rich area. The small range that is the Desert Museum’s home, the Tucson Mountains, has a flora of more than 630 taxa.

An ever-increasing number of biologists is concluding that the Arizona Upland’s climate, vegetation density, and biodiversity resemble thornscrub more than desert. Don’t be surprised if this subdivision is reclassified as thornscrub in the future.

Tucson is the only major city located in Arizona Upland. Residents who moved to this city from temperate climates often complain about the lack of seasons. Actually Arizona Upland has five seasons, which, though more subtle than the traditional temperate four, are distinct if one learns what to look for:” (source)