Tubac is tucked off Exit 40 on Interstate Highway 19, the divided highway connecting Tucson with Nogales, Mexico, 18 miles away. Admission to the visitor center at Tubac Presidio State Historic Park is $1. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call 602-398-2252.
Volunteers over age 13 and willing to devote at least four hours of their time to training and unearthing the past are welcome to assist in excavating the ruins of the south barrio.
The Center for Spanish Colonial Archeology has limited simple living accommodations available for serious volunteers. To volunteer or arrange a walking tour contact Barbara Ruppman in Tubac at 602-398-9572, or write Jack Williams, executive director of the archaeology center, at P.O. Box 4026, Tubac, Ariz. 85646.
A free illustrated map of the village can be obtained at many of the shops or by writing the Tubac Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1866, Tubac, Ariz. 85646; 602-398-2704.
Nearby sites
Tumacacori National Monument, in Tumacacori, Ariz., is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $1. For more information call 602-398-2341.
The Smithsonian Institution Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, in the Santa Rita Mountains on Mt. Hopkins, at 8,552 feet, features the only multiple-mirror telescope of its kind in the world.
Guided tours are given Monday, Wednesday and Friday from mid-March through November. A bus takes visitors up 10 miles of steep, one-lane, switchback road, with few guardrails, leading to the summit. It leaves the administration office and visitor center at 9:30 a.m. and returns at 3 p.m.
The fee is $7. Take lunch; soft drinks are available. For tour reservations call 602-670-5707.
Where to stay
The 200-year-old former Otero Ranch, now the Tubac Golf Resort, is one-half mile north of town on Frontage Road. At this 140-acre complex with pool, tennis court and 18-hole golf course, casitas have been converted into two-room suites, with corner fireplaces, Spanish-tiled bath and enclosed garden.
Winter rates through April 15 are $94 to $117 for two. Casitas with kitchens are $13 extra. The smallest rooms, without fireplaces, run $74 to $92. There is a discount for weekly rentals. For more information call 800-848-7893.
A dude ranch, Rancho Santa Cruz, on Frontage Road, one mile south of Tumacacori Mission, is set on 112 acres of cottonwood trees, with pool, tiny bar and ranch-house lounge with fireplace.
Package rates from October to May are $145 for two people, in a two- or three-room Territorial-style suite, with fireplace, that can sleep up to five. The rate includes lodging and all meals. Riding is extra, at $13 an hour. A casita with Continental breakfast is $54.95 for two, or $125 with three meals. For more information call 602-281-8383 or 800-221-5592.
