We occasionally ask guest writers to pen their experiences in Southern Arizona. In this article, RJ Brenner finds a gem of a gallery; the Endeavor Gallery in Benson, AZ.

Benson, AZ – A whistle blasted behind me. I jumped and instinctively tightened my grip on the steering wheel. Not a hundred yards outside my window, a Southern Pacific Railroad engine streamed past click-clacking along its perfectly parallel iron rails.

Mighty rivers and ‘iron horse’ lines were once the primary means of travel in the US. Now, rivers of concrete crisscross the landscape and Southern Arizona’s panoramic vistas tease and beckon me until I take that road just to see where it leads.

Its horn blaring, I watched the train glide past the historic train station alongside the two-lane 4th Street, a main thoroughfare through town. Located about 45 miles southeast of Tucson, Benson is one of those town’s that it’s easy to spend more time passing through than to spend time in. Known as the gateway to places like Kartchner Caverns State Park, Tombstone, and Bisbee, it’s also the jumping off point for many of the area’s ghost towns and other hidden gems, like Gammon’s Gulch, the Forever Home Donkey Rescue, and the Oasis Sanctuary for exotic birds … but that’s another story.