Mt. Graham: A Cool Summer Getaway.
Looking for a cool summer getaway? Consider Mt. Graham (elevation 10, 720) and the alpine forest atop the Pinaleño Mountains, about a 3 hour drive east of Tucson.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Scenic Back Roads N RoadTrips
A Day At The San Pedro River
6:30 AM. Early yesterday, I met LuAnne at Murray Springs. As the PR gal for Cochise County she knows a lot about the San Pedro River Valley in general and birding in these parts in particular. We hiked the 0.3 mile loop at the Clovis archeological site and checked out the half dozen interpretive signs [...]
Continue readingIn Search of Cliff Dwellings in Turkey Creek Canyon
In March I shared with you our adventure to the West Entrance of Aravaipa Canyon. From Tucson, it took us about 2 hours to get there, the last several miles on a very windy but decent dirt road. The following week we drove to the East Entrance. That adventure took us about 3 hour just [...]
Continue readingOur Lady Of The Sierras
There is much to do just a little south and east of Sierra Vista, such as hiking and bird watching along the San Pedro River; visiting ghost towns, such as Fairbank and Clovis sites, such as Murray Springs; and climbing the 600′ to this shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Continue readingCarr & Ramsey Canyons: A Day Trip From Tucson!
On a pleasant Sunday in early May, 2013, Ms. Karen, my mother-in-law Judy, and I traveled from Tucson to Carr & Ramsey Canyons south of Sierra Vista. Our principle goal was to attend a 2 PM performance by Dolan Ellis, the Official Arizona State Balladeer at the Arizona Folklore Preserve. Along the way we enjoyed several beautiful places that most folks don’t even know about.
Continue readingTucson To Oracle State Park Via Redington Pass
Another Sunday drive. This time Neighbor Roy, Ms. Karen, and I were off to Oracle State Park via Redington Pass east of Tucson. Access to Redington Pass is easy. Just go east on Tanque Verde. Eventually, the pavement ends and the worst road in Southern Arizona begins. Even the high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicles [...]
Continue readingSonoita To Garden Canyon Petroglyphs at Ft. Huachuca: A Day Trip From Tucson.
In early April 2013, I wanted to drive the back road to Ft. Huachuca from Sonoita to view the Garden Canyon petroglyphs.
Continue readingTombstone Jeep Tours: A Day In The Old West.
Take one of the many Tombstone jeep tours offered by Into The West Jeep Tours and Mark and his crew will transport you back in time to the Old West of Cochise, Geronimo, Johnny Ringo, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday.
Continue readingA Day In Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County is still sparsely populated and remains an excellent destination for bird and wildlife photographers, hikers, ghost town hunters, kayakers, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Continue readingGuided Hike to Charleston Ruins
For all you Ghost Town fanatics. On Sunday, January 27, 2013, the Friends of San Pedro River conducted a Members-only guided hike to Charleston Ruins. Charleston was a town on the west bank of the San Pedro River, directly across from Millville, which processed ore from Tombstone. When the mines in Tombstone were flooded with water, the towns met their demise. Docent Richard Bauer and local author John D. Rose guide the hikes. Mr. Bauer is an expert on local history, while Mr. Rose has recently published two books (available at San Pedro House and Fairbank Schoolhouse) on the history of the San Pedro River Valley and is an authority on Tombstone, Charleston, and other early settlements along the river. Charleston was perhaps the wildest of the local ghost towns. This easy hike is just over four miles, takes around three hours, and entails one river crossing. Non-members can join … Continue reading
Fairbank AZ: Ghost Town
Fairbank is a Southern Arizona ghost town, and one of the best preserved, thanks to numerous conservation efforts. It’s located in the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area about 10 miles west of Tombstone. Here conservation efforts have saved the San Pedro River, a haven for dozens of species of critters and birds.
Continue readingThe Coronado Expedition: 1540-42.
The story of the Coronado Expeditions is one of bravery, perseverance, high adventure, faith, and incredible greed. Between hiking trails and scenic back roads, we can retrace their historic route.
Continue readingFrugal RVing
Klondyke Arizona: (Almost) Ghost Town
Klondyke is a near-ghost town in western Graham County. In the second decade of the 21st century, the only roads out there are still unpaved. The Klondyke cemetery is just southeast of town. There you will find the graves of the Thomas Jefferson “Jeff” Power and his family. Few know the sad story of these [...]
Continue readingFlorence, AZ: The Death of Tom Mix
In 1929, Wyatt Earp died in Los Angeles, nearly broke. For years, he had tried unsuccessfully to sell his life story to Hollywood producers. At his funeral, one of his pallbearers was Tom Mix, the rich, famous, and handsome star of silent westerns. Eleven years later, his movie career in decline, Mix died in a car accident 20 miles south of Florence.
Continue readingMuleshoe Ranch Preserve: Great Southern Arizona Bird Watching
Muleshoe Ranch, a preserve of the Nature Conservancy, is one of the five best conservation areas for bird watching in Southern Arizona. Over 200 species of birds either live here year-round or pause here along the streams on their seasonal migration.
Continue readingKentucky Camp, AZ: A Ghost Town With Accommodations!
More than a hundred years ago, Kentucky Camp was the headquarters for the Santa Rita Water & Mining Company, which was formed to extract placer deposits from the Greaterville Mining District in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains 9 miles NW of Sonoita.
Continue readingMescal AZ: A Pictorial
I had been waiting months to return to Mesca AZl and photograph the old western movie set with dramatic monsoon clouds.
Continue readingNotes From The Oregon Coast To The Chiricahua Mountains
Ms. Karen & I are traveling along the Oregon Coast. Here it’s cool & a little foggy at times. We visited my Mom’s ashes on a high bluff overlooking Cape Perpetua, then headed north to Newport. ***************** On another note, Paul Bovee sent me some photos from his outpost in the Chircahua Mountains. Paul is [...]
Continue reading3 Great Southern Arizona Getaways & 3 Staycation Ideas For Tucson Locals
Two & three-day getaway mini-vacations for Tucson locals around Southern Arizona. Tucsonans know that 7 months out of the year we live in paradise. We seldom have a desire to leave town between October and April. So these recommended getaways & staycations are geared toward the hot summer months, May through September.
Southern Arizona mini-vacations are only a bit complicated because you folks in Sierra Vista may want to spend a few days in Tucson to see a play or concert or enjoy our terrific museums. By contrast, you Tucsonans may want a weekend in and near Sierra Vista to hike Ramsey Canyon or explore the San Pedro River Valley.
Continue readingGleeson Ghost Town & Rattlesnake Oddities
Our April 2012 road trip took us first to the ghost town of Gleeson (yes, that’s how they spelled it). After a look around at some of the ruins, we headed west toward Tombstone on a dirt road for just a few miles until we saw the sign for Rattlesnake Crafts, one of Southern Arizona’s stranger places. John & Sandy Weber make and sell wallets, belts, and other items out of rattlesnake skins. They also have a significant collection of gems and Old West artifacts.
Continue readingThings To Do In Graham Country: Roper Lake, Dankworth Ponds, & Discovery Park
The area near Safford has several worthwhile things to see and do: Roper Lake State Park, Dankworth Ponds, and Discovery Park. Just to the west of Safford is 10,000 foot-high Mt. Graham. At the top are some of the most powerful telescopes on earth. The road to Mt. Graham is about as steep, narrow, and windy as you’re likely to find in the United States. There’s a nice picnic area about 8 miles up this road from Rt. 191 a few miles south of Safford.
Continue readingRoad Trip – Day 3- Morning; Clifton, Morenci’, & Black Hills Country Byway
On the third and final day of our Southeastern Arizona adventure, we started early. Deborah Mendelsohn, our Simpson Hotel B&B innkeeper in Duncan, had prepared a delicious take-along breakfast for us the night before. Normally, we would have slept in and enjoyed breakfast with her and the other guests, but we had a lot of [...]
Continue readingRoad Trip – Day 2 – Evening; Coronado Vineyards & Historic Simpson Hotel
Days One/Recap This is a continuation of my post about our April 2012 three-day tour of Southeast Arizona. On day-one, we visited the ghost towns of Pearce, Courtland, and Gleason east of Tombstone with a short side trip to Rattlesnake Crafts & Rocks. Then we continued south to the Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas, then [...]
Continue readingIn The Middle of Nowhere: Rattlesnake Crafts & Rocks!
One of the stranger places we visited on our tour of Southeastern Arizona is John & Sandy’s Rattlesnake Crafts & Rocks. John makes wallets, belts, and other useful items and souvenirs out of rattlesnake skins and sells them out of an old trailer. He also collects a lot of stuff others have discarded as junk. Here you will find literally tons of Old West artifacts lovingly horded for decades and on display for your amusement. Old signs, bottles, tools, boots, lanterns, you-name-it.
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