Gila River Valley photo from: http://www.pbase.com/marc4ucb/image/86607096
South Eastern Arizona is an amazing place; rich in history, beautiful landscapes, and diverse cultures. Geronimo, Cochise, Mangas Coloradas, and the Chiricahua Apaches roamed this part of the state before cavalry forts such as Ft Bowie, Ft Thomas, Ft Grant, and Ft Huachuca were built. Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Billy the Kid all achieved notoriety here in Tombstone and Globe, where silver mining and copper mining had their heydays.
Ft Bowie, AZ photo from: http://usforting.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/fort-bowie-51.jpg
If you enter Arizona on I-10 coming in from New Mexico, one of the first things you’ll notice is the massive Chiricahua Mountains south of the interstate. The remains of an important cavalry fort are in between the mountains and the highway. This is Ft Bowie, which is a national Historic Site maintained by the National Park Service. Geronimo surrendered here in 1886 helping to conclude a bloody chapter in Arizona’s history. Details are available here:
Boot Hill, Tombstone, AZ. photo from: http://silverstateghosttowns.com/tombstone-az.html
As you continue west on I-10, you’ll reach Benson, AZ where Hwy 80 leads off through the desert to the south, heading straight for the modern day “ghost town” of Tombstone. Famous for the Gunfight At The OK Corral between the Earps and Doc Holliday on one side and the Clanton and McLaury Brothers on the other, as well as the Bird Cage Theatre, going through Tombstone is like visiting a real life Western movie set. Details are available here:
As you drive through this lesser traveled portion of “The Silver State”, you’ll see ghost towns, abandoned mines, abandoned railways, beautiful vistas, majestic mountain ranges from the Huachucas along the southern border with Mexico to the White Mountains north of the Gila River. There are the Chiricahua National Monument in far SE AZ just north of Douglas/Bisbee, the Tonto National Forest, the Coronado National Forest, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests,the obervatories on Kitt Peak outside Tucson, on Mt Graham south of Safford, AZ, old Spanish Missions in Tucson, etc etc etc.
What are your favorite places in the southwest? Please drop us a line in the comment box below and tell us about it, we’re always up for something new. And if you find yourself heading off the beaten track, please visit PPL Motorhomes for all your wheel, jack, and tire needs