The blast of the shotgun was deafening. The smoke obscured the street. There in the dust was the fallen gunfighter. This was just another day on the streets of Tombstone, Arizona during Helldorado days, a celebration of the famous town's history. The whole distance between Phoenix and Tombstone will allow you to see and feel the history of the old west.
Travelling south from Phoenix you cruise along the interstate through the wide open spaces of the Sonoran desert. Soon you pass the town of Casa Grande. This is the site of a national monument containing the "Great House", a part of the larger compound of the ancient Sonoran Desert people. This is a great place to learn about native culture in this part of Arizona going back hundreds of years. Further south about 50 miles north of Tucson, is the distinctive outline of Picacho Peak, the site of westernmost battle of the Civil War.
The Battle of Picacho Pass was an engagement of the Civil War on April 15, 1862. It was fought between a Union cavalry patrol from California and a party of Confederate pickets from Tucson. Every March, Picacho Peak State Park hosts a re-enactment of the Civil War battles of Arizona and New Mexico, including the battle of Picacho Pass. This state park is also a wonderful location to see spring wildflowers that bloom in the desert after a wet winter. Golden Mexican poppies dot the hillsides among the giant Saguaro cacti during these super blooms.
The skyline of Tucson soon appears and this vibrant city has a host of things to see and do. A visit to Saguaro National Park will let you see one of the largest concentrations of the majestic tall Saguaro Cactus, the symbol of the American Southwest.
Near the park is one my favorite places to visit.The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.Here you can see a variety species of plants and animals that inhabit the Sonoran Desert. It is rated as one of the best museums in the southwest as it combines a zoo, botanical garden, natural history museum and even an aquarium to teach you about the diverse Sonoran environment.
This is my favorite place to see hummingbirds.These speedy and beautiful birds are in an aviary that allows you to see them up close as they perch only inches away. I love to photograph these beautiful birds and this aviary gives you the chance to see several different types.During the breeding season you may see a mother feeding her young in a nest among the bushes. Other exhibits allow you to see Raptors in flight, Butterflies, Mountain Lions and Coyotes as well the large variety of desert flora.
San Xavier del Bac is nearby and another of Tucson's must see sites.This beautiful mission is one of the best preserved you will see.The chapel is still in use and gives you the feel of going back in time.The church was built in the 1780s when this part of Arizona was still part of New Spain.The church widely considered to be one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States and is on the national register of historic buildings.
At Tucson, the Interstate bends to the east as you head toward Benson and the turnoff for "the town that was too tough to die", Tombstone.
As you arrive on the outskirts of town, your first glimpse into the history of this western icon is Boot Hill.This famous cemetery still contains the graves of the outlaws that died back in 1881 in the famous gunfight. It is also a national historic site.You can wander among the graves reading the interesting and in some cases entertaining descriptions of its former residents on the wooden markers.
Tombstone looks like most small towns in rural America but it has a unique flavor and flair due to the wild history of this old mining boom town.This is really on display when it celebrates that past during Helldorado days in late October. Helldorado, a nickname for Tombstone was created by a disgruntled miner who wrote a letter in July, 1881 to the Tombstone Nugget newspaper. This festival of the town's history started in 1929 and continues each October.You pass the O.K. Corral, site of modern reenactments of that famous duel, as you approach the center of festivities on Allen Street.
Allen Street is a recreation of its old west predecessor and still features original buildings like the Bird Cage Theatre and Big Nose Kate's Saloon which was once the Grand Hotel. Wyatt Earp slept there they say.Helldorado days is like seeing the old west come alive.Reenactors dressed in the garb of the Old West prowl the streets among the tourists and pose for pictures.Every 15 minutes or so some new entertainment or new activity appears on the dusty street.
You can take a stagecoach ride and get a history lesson, have lunch at the original wooden bar of the Grand Hotel in Big Nose Kate's and put your elbows where Doc Holiday might have, or wander the old western replica town nearby. The gunfights with the noise and smoke made me feel I was watching the real thing from over a hundred and thirty years ago.I felt this celebration was one of the best "old west" experiences you can have.Tombstone also has a variety of celebrations thorough out the year.In the spring you can visit during Vigilante Days, Wild West Days or Wyatt Earp Days and get similar experiences like going to Helldorado!
If you haven't had enough history yet, continue another 25 miles south to the old mining town of Bisbee.This quaint town is nestled in the mountains and will be several degrees cooler than Tucson.It has wonderful old buildings built on the hillsides. The Copper Queen mine tour will give you a great insight into the era when mining was king in Arizona.
This road trip of about 200 miles allows you to visit sites that cover the history of the southwest from the times of the ancient Native Americans through the period of Spanish and Mexican rule to the American civil war and the old west boom towns.You will see the Sonoran desert with its wonderful giant Saguaro and wide open landscapes under a cloudless azure blue sky.
Saddle up!
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