Ghost Town Trail: A road trip through Southeastern Arizona from Gleeson to Courtland to Pearce to Cochise.
These were all mining boomtowns in the early decades of the 20th century. While each had its own distinct character, they all succumbed to the same fate. When their mines played out, the inhabitants left for better pickings.
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 readingTucson was the capitol of the Confederate Territory of Arizona between March 20, 1862, when the flag of the Confederate States of America was raised over Tucson and May 20, when the Union Calvary of the California Volunteers drove the last Confederate soldiers out of the City.
During that short period, 50 miles NW of Tucson, an engagement was fought between a Union cavalry patrol and a party of Confederate pickets from Tucson. Every year in March, dedicated men & women from all over come together at Picacho Peak State Park to reenact the western-most battle of the American Civil War: the Battle of Picacho Peak.
Continue readingMescal Arizona is a faux Old West town 50 miles east of Tucson that was built as a movie set. A lot of Westerns were filmed here, including Quick & The Dead …
Continue readingThere are several routes to the top of Mt. Wasson in the Tucson Mountains. This is a pictorial story of Sweetwater and Kings Canyon trails.
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