A priest, his burro, gorgeous cacti, and a dusty dirt trail, we felt like we were following along on his journey to the Mission de San Francisco de Borja. Was he excited? Scared? Hopeful? We crested the brow of the last hill and there was the mission. What was he thinking as he approached the mission? Did the Indigenous population welcome him? What was his stay like? Did he do good or harm?
Julio met us at the gate. Three generations of his family have been slowly restoring the mission for decades. In broken Spanish and English he gave us a tour of his life’s work. It was worth the 25 mile drive over bumps, ruts and water holes.
