Tombstone Territories
RV Resort is 11 miles west of Tombstone on Hwy 82. There was very little
traffic at night on the highway. Whenever we were there, it was always
peaceful. We appreciated their quiet hours from 9pm to 8am.
Everyone at the
campground was very welcoming. They embrace folks for the season and are
quick to give advice and ideas as to what to do in area. Park was filled
with snowbirds just soaking up the sun.
They have 102 40’ x
80’ pull through sites with generous room between sites that also includes landscaped desert flora. Amenities include satellite TV, propane service, ice, laundry
facilities, and clean shower and restroom facilities. They also have a
large recreation room, fully equipped kitchen, enclosed pool/spa and exercise
area.
There are a few
one-mile long walking paths and they have a few dog parks. They have a
variety of indoor and outdoor activities including table tennis, billiards,
shuffleboard, horseshoes, water aerobics and yoga. “You can stay as busy
as you like or just sit back and relax.”
The resort is in a great
location with the historic western town of Tombstone nearby and the Kartchner
caverns 15 minutes northwest.
They do offer free
Wi-fi. However, we had an end site and the signal was so weak it was not usable. We had a weak phone and data signal. We limped
along during our time there. We had to send the blog early one morning before the system got clogged with traffic. We were able to get a satellite TV signal
without an issue.
The campground from a distance
Nearby Towns
Tombstone sits at an elevation of 4,541 feet,
and has a population of about 1,300. As
a tourist town it has a number of “gotcha” shops but we did not see any grocery
stores. There was one gas station.
Sierra Vista is 20 miles to the south. The city, which sits at an elevation of 4,600
feet, and has a population of about 45,000 but the metropolitan area has a
population of upwards of 130,000. “Fort
Huachuca, a U.S. Army post, is located in the northwest part of the city.”
Sierra Vista has five grocery stores including an Oriental Market and a Super Walmart. You should
be able to find any service you need in the medium sized city.
Tucson is 70
miles to the northwest and has just about any supplies and services anyone would
need.
Adventures
Fairbank Town Site
We met our friends
Tom and Ann at the town site early in the morning after they had driven down
from Tucson.
“The historic town of
Fairbank used to be a very important transportation hub. Three railroad
lines pass through Fairbank including the New Mexico and Arizona which
connected Fairbank to Benson and the Mexican Port of Guaymas. In the
1880s at the peak of the silver boom in and around tombstone Fairbanks served
as a central point of entry and exit for miners. In the 1880s at the peak of
the silver boom in and around Tombstone Fairbank served as a central point of
entry and exit for minors prospectors materials and ore”.
“ In 1987 the Bureau
of land management acquired the old Spanish land grant that Fairbank was built
upon. It is now a portal into the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation
Area and is open every day for public visitation.”
The four of us and
their dog Twoey, walked the Fairbank loop trail to the cemetery and the grand
central mill. As we walked, Tom and Ann
told us about places they had explored in the area.
The railroad town of Fairbank
Ann and Tom at the cemetery
Trying to decipher a grave marking
Ann and Tom examining a prickly tree that bites!
Then we crossed the
highway and walked to the Little Boquillas Ranch. We followed the old rail trail for a
ways. They used old ore slag for the rail
bed. Tom was fascinated with finding large,
colorful pieces of slag.
The abandoned ranch
stirs your imagination as to how life was back in the late 1800s and early
1900s. The ranch has passed through many hands over years including William
Randall Hearst and Kern County Land and Cattle Company. It was as large as 36,000 acres
at one time.
We explored a number
of remaining buildings including the smokehouse. We walked the road back rather than the old
rail bed.
As we waved goodbye
to Tom and Ann, we said we’d see them again at Lake Powell to fish!
Ann, Twoey and Arleen walking down ore slag railroad bed
Whitewater Draw State Wildlife Area
The Whitewater
Wildlife Area was 45 minutes to the east near Elfrida.
“This Important Bird
Area, is dominated by a ephemeral lake, patchy marshlands, and semi-arid
grasslands. Approximately 600 acres (1448 hectares) are the wetland. There are
two small patches of riparian habitat. It was acquired by Arizona Game and Fish
Department in 1997”.
“Many people visit
Whitewater Draw each winter to experience the memorable sights and sounds of
more than 20,000 sandhill cranes. These
birds spend the night standing in the Whitewater Draw’s shallow waters to evade
predators, and then fly out each morning to feed and socialize in the
surrounding area. They return to
Whitewater Draw in the afternoon and evening.
Based on research we
had done, we were there before noon. It
was easy to pick out the large picnic overhang area where the parking area is in
the flat farm and draw area.
We were able to watch
thousands of the cranes return. The
noise they make as they jockey for position coming in for landings is incredible.
We know we were
fortunate to see them on the east side of the area and near the viewing
platform. A fellow bird watcher told us
when she had been there before they were all over on the other shore of pond. Also, they’ll soon be headed north to nesting
grounds.
We joined a couple
dozen other folks who all had binoculars, camera with large lenses and tripods.
Other birds use the
area too. A couple of great horned owl use the picnic overhang area as a
roosting spot. We saw a variety of ducks that we have never seen before.
There was also a flock of Snowgeese but they were on the other side of
the riparian area.
Duck butts always make me laugh! Here a few pair of Northern Shovelers are feeding!
Variety of birds: Cinnamon Teal, Green Wing Teal, Coot, Pintail
Red Tailed Hawk giving us the evil eye
Could be a young Vermillion Flycatcher...
Great Horned Owl flirting with us
On the way back, we
stopped in Tombstone. We were immediately
transported to the old west as we walked down the old boardwalk along the dirt
Allen Street. Cowboys in their long dusters
encouraged us to sign up for the last Okay Corral performance of the day.
Instead we went for a
late lunch at the highly rated Big
Nose Kate's Saloon. They brag that they
are the best cowboy bar in the west! And the
food was very good.
It was a fun lunch as we were entertained by Raleigh Jay
Croghan as he sang his favorite Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings
songs. Other folks were dressing in
cowboy and saloon waitress garb and posing for photos on the old piano.
We’d return to Tombstone in a few days.
Chiricahua National Monument,
“Wonderland of Rocks”
This little gem is located in the Chiricahua Mountains of
southeastern Arizona. “The monument was established on April 18, 1924, to
protect its extensive hoodoos and balancing rocks.”
“The monument preserves the remains of an immense volcanic
eruption that shook the region about 27 million years ago. The thick,
white-hot ash spewed forth from the nearby Turkey Creek Caldera, cooled and
hardened into rhyolitic tuff, laying down almost 2,000 feet of highly siliceous,
dark volcanic ash and pumice. The volcanic material eventually eroded into the
natural rock formations of the present monument.”
It was a long 75 mile drive from the campground. It
meant three hours of driving for a day trip. However, all our local
friends had insisted that we needed to go. It was well worth the effort.
As we drove we
marveled at the number of pecan tree orchards that are everywhere a creek
runs out of the mountains and can be used for irrigation. As soon as
we arrived in the park area, we started to climb in elevation, out of the
surrounding flat land.
The flora started to change and as we gazed up at the
surrounding ridges, we could see hoodoos everywhere.
First, we stopped at the Visitor center to get a sticker and
stamp. Plus, we discussed the trail conditions with the friendly ranger for a
few minutes. She said the Heart of the Rocks Loop was her favorite in the park.
There was one of two
ways to get the loop. We could leave
from the Visitor center or we could drive around on Bonita Canyon Drive and
park at the Echo Canyon parking area.
Either way, the hike would be about the same distance - roughly 7 miles.
We decided to leave
from the Visitor Center and hike through the Rhyolite Canyon to get here. We thought it might be quieter. We were right! We saw one lady out for a quick three mile
hike and that was all on that section of the trail.
Rhyolite trail starts
out in the creek bed and the flora was amazing and so different on the moist,
dark canyon floor. The red Ponderosa
Pine bark really stood out.
Rhyolite Canyon
Manzanita along upper canyon against hoodoos.
Alligator Juniper against hoodoos.
The trail slowly
climbed out of the canyon to the Sarah Deming Trail. All along here, we ogled at the hoodoos and
rock formations on the ridges on the other side of the canyon and in front of
us.
At the Sarah Deming
Trail, the real work began as the rocky trail climbed 880 feet in 1.6
miles. We greeted and thanked a number
of trail crews working in this area.
True to national park standard, it was a great trail for being in such a
rocky area.
We stopped to take
many picture breaks. It was breathtaking
in every direction.
Finally we arrived at
the turn for the Heart of the Rocks loop.
Here we followed the trail up and were squeezed between some massive
boulders. Now we were eye to eye with a
field of hoodoos.
Everywhere we looked
was a balancing rock! Normally, and area
will have one! We couldn’t count the
number of odd rock formations here!
Someone had already
named a few of them for us including the Punch and Judy and a Duck on a
Rock. But our favorite was Thor’s
Hammer.
Thor's Hammer
So many balancing rocks!
Finally, we followed
the trail back to the Visitor Center. We
have to agree with everyone that told us we had to go. It is an incredible and special place.
Tombstone
We returned to Tombstone a few days later. We walked down Allen Street window shopping in a variety of western ware stores.
We made our way to the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park and stepped into the past. "Built in the shape of a Roman Cross, the two-story 1882 Victorian structure once housed the Cochise County offices of the sheriff, recorder, treasurer, the jail, courtrooms, and the board of supervisors. Today, the old courthouse is a 12,000 square-foot museum filled with memorabilia of those who tamed the territory."
"Huge rooms inside the old courthouse feature exhibits chronicling Tombstone's colorful history, from Geronimo and the silver mining days to the O.K. Corral gun battle, and the stories of Tombstone's unique but no less notorious citizens."
Next, we had dinner
at Café Margarita. Like other buildings,
Café Margarita has a history. It was formerly the Russ house and was run by Nellie
Cashman “The Angel of Tombstone”
back in the day. Even though they also
serve Italian food, Shawn had a huge plate of Nachos and I had quesadilla with
fresh guacamole and a prickly pear margarita.
It was a nice quiet dinner while Mariachi music played softly in
the background.
We ate early because we
had scheduled a “Gunfighter Ghost Tour”
at 6pm.
We met Laura the tour guide and another couple in front of the Visitor Center. Each couple got an infrared laser and an EMF meter to help us detect paranormal activity as we moved around Tombstone in the dusk.
We only visited the outside of the buildings that reputedly are the 10 most haunted spots in Tombstone. Laura told stories behind the Courthouse hangings, John Heath and the Bisbee Massacre, China Mary's opium den in Hop Town, the Tombstone General Hospital where patient's died excruciating deaths, and the killing in front of the OK Corral and a few more.
Laura is very knowledgeable about Tombstone’s history and was very entertaining. Did we detect any paranormal activity? Shawn and I are skeptical.
The infrared laser did detect lower temps but it was dusk and we understand how objects of different materials can retain heat as compared to the rapidly cooling desert air. The EMF meters did go off… and we could not explain that… so…
Ghost hunt meeting at dusk
Checking out an EMF reading
There is a lot more that we could explore in Tombstone and the surrounding area. We may return some winter for a few weeks.
Next…
After Tombstone we spent a few days in City of Rocks and Oliver
Lee State Parks in New Mexico and in Socorro and Bernalillo, New Mexico.
We'll have the blogs out for our final stops over the next few weeks. Finally, we will have finale blog that summarizes the nine years of travel.
Parting Shots
Tombstone after sunset
Rough Looking Outlaw!
Beer Keg Urinals in Tombstone - Repurpose?
(256,000)
