Valley Vista RV Park – Benson, AZ – October 12-18, 2015

We started out our week with a day of rest on Monday, knowing we’d probably be out and about the rest of the week. And…it being a holiday, we didn’t want to contend with hoards of people at the places we wanted to visit.

Tuesday we drove just a few short miles to the Kartchner Caverns State Park, which is just 55 miles southwest of Tucson, near Benson where we’re staying.

Kartchner Caverns boasts of having the longest stalactite formation in the world. The caverns were discovered in 1974 by 2 “cavers”, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts. While exploring, they found a narrow crack in the bottom of a sinkhole; they followed the source of warm, moist air to what ended up being more than 2½ miles of cave passages and caverns, untouched by humans. Realizing the value of their find, they knew they needed to work to preserve the caverns and protect them from vandalism. They kept the location secret from even the owners of the land on which the caverns were found until about 4 years later when they secretly approached the State of Arizona about developing the cave into a state park, to protect their find and allow controlled public access. When they took the head of state parks to the site, and still worried about the find getting out, they blindfolded him, driving a circuitous route to the site to further protect it. The discovery of the cave was finally made public in 1988 when the Kartchners sold the land to the state, in order that it be developed into a park to show the caverns. Prior to its opening in 1999, the state spent $28 million on site development, a high tech system of air-lock doors, misting machines and other equipment designed to preserve the cave.

The two major features of the caverns, currently open to the public, are the Throne Room (which features one of the world’s longest soda straw stalactites, which reaches 21’2” and a high column called Kubla Khan, after the poem), and the Big Room (which contains the world’s most extensive formation of brushite moonmilk; this section is closed from mid-April to mid-October every year to allow returning bats to use it as a nursery roost. Other areas available for viewing are the Mud Flats, Rotunda Room, Strawberry Room, and Cul-de-Sac Passage.

No photographs area allowed within the caverns; one is not allowed to carry anything into the caves, including cameras, cell phones, backpacks, purses, and strollers. Here’s a link to photos of the caverns for you to enjoy.

Inside at Taco Giro

Afterwards we drove to Sierra Vista, AZ for lunch, hoping to find an authentic Mexican restaurant where we could sooth our hunger pangs. We found just that, at Taco Giro, where we noshed on home-made salsa and chips, a beef burrito (made with real pot roast-like beef), chili rellano, and rice and beans. Yum-yum!

The day was getting warmer by the minute; when we walked out of the restaurant the thermometer on the truck was nearing 98 degrees. We made a decision to call it a day.

That is, until we passed a sign for Fairbank Historical Townsite on the way home.

Fairbank, now a “ghost town”, was an Old West railroad town founded in 1882 during the Tombstone silver boom, and from 1882 to 1903, Fairbank was Tombstone’s train depot. (Tombstone is located just a few miles away).  

Famous and some not quite so famous historical characters of Tombstone passed through Fairbank, and it was the site of an attempted train robbery on February 15, 1900. The Burt Alvord gang attempted to rob the express car on the Benson-Nogales train, but were driven off by express manager and former lawman Jeff Milton, despite a serious bullet wound to his arm. The robbery was unsuccessful, and gang member “Three Fingered Jack” Dunlop was mortally wounded, to die later in Tombstone. (We saw his grave marker at Boot Hill last week.)

 

When the Tombstone mines closed after flooding in 1886, Fairbank’s rail depot became increasingly unnecessary as nearby mills shut down. Subsequent droughts drove away area farmers and ranchers, further isolating the town. The later flooding of the San Pedro River in 1890 caused significant property damage, thus diminishing the population even more.

By the mid-1970s Fairbank was all but deserted. The buildings still left onsite are the schoolhouse, the stable and outhouses, 2 houses (one was used as the teacher’s residence) and the commercial building which consisted of a general store, a post office, and a saloon. The Montezuma Hotel, constructed in 1889 was demolished to make way for Highway 82, as was the railway depot and other structures.

We walked ½ mile to the Fairbank cemetery, which was atop a nearby hill and so overgrown with creosote that it was difficult to distinguish grave sites from just piles of rocks.

On the way back to our camper we stopped at the Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David, AZ. In the spring of 1974 a bishop from the Diocese of Tucson made a request for a Christian renewal center to be established in the southeast corner of the diocese. Later that same year they settled on 92 acres in St. David. In December 1974 ground was broken for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. From a small nucleus of about a half dozen people, the church continues to thrive. Adjacent to the church is a small cemetery, now overgrown and in need of care.

Wednesday was another quiet day for us, just hanging around the camper, except for running a few errands.

Thursday we drove to Bisbee, AZ, about 40 miles away. Bisbee was founded as a copper, gold, and silver mining town in 1880, and is home to the Copper Queen Mine as well as the Lavender Pit. (Oh, and it’s also home to Sheriff Joanna Brady from J.A. Jance’s popular fiction series. I have to say that Bisbee is not at all as I envisioned it from reading her books.)

 

Mining in this small town proved successful with the opening of the Copper Queen Mine, and later in open pit mining of lower grade copper was successfully introduced to meet the copper demand during WWI. A high quality turquoise promoted as Bisbee Blue was a by-product of the copper mining. Museum collections worldwide hold collections of mineral specimens from the Bisbee area mines, and include cuprite, aragonite, wulfenite, malachite, azurite, and galena. Here’s an example of azurite found there.

Mining operations were halted in Bisbee in 1975, due to the decrease in the value of copper. However, we thought you’d be interested to see the value of what was mined in this area until the mines closed.

The effort to create “heritage” tourism as another economic base for the town helps compensate for the economic loss due to the end of the mining industry in the area. A mine tour and historic interpretation of a portion of the Copper Queen Mine is part of that effort. Community volunteers cleared tons of fallen rock and re-timbered the old workings. Through a grant from the Economic Development Administration the mine tour project and downtown improvements in Bisbee have come to fruition. Bisbee has become a tourist destination. The Queen Mine Tour was officially opened in 1976. Since then more than a million visitors from all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries have taken the underground mine tour. We did the same. Here's a video of the miner explaining how rock was blasted.

Last week we mentioned that the county seat was moved to from Tombstone in 1929. Population has risen and declined over the years, due to the mining industry. It increased almost 160% between 1950 and 1960 when open-pit mining was undertaken, to almost 10,000 people. However, in the following decade the population declined again. 

In the 1960s Bisbee became a destination for artists and hippies who were fleeing the larger cities of Arizona and California. Even though the Copper Queen Hotel was for sale, offering the deed to any local resident for just $1.00, there were no takers. Then, an artist couple purchased the Copper Queen Hotel in 1970, renovating it and other buildings in downtown Bisbee. In the 1990s, people who were attracted to Bisbee opened coffee houses, myriad restaurants and shops, and live theatre—a thriving cultural scene. Many of the old houses have been renovated, and property values in Bisbee now exceed those of other southeastern Arizona cities. Because the town plan was laid out to a pedestrian scale before the automobile hit the scene, Bisbee is “compact” and walkable. The town’s hilly terrain is exemplified by the old 4-story high school; each floor has a ground level entrance!

One interesting thing to note is that AARP highlighted what they called the most “alive” places to retire in the U.S. Bisbee was runner-up as one of the “quirkiest” towns in America.

 

Friday brought a highlight to our week. Friends from Bay View, our winter destination in Texas, met us in Benson for lunch at the Horse Shoe Café. They were on their way from their summer destination in Idaho to Texas for the winter. What fun! We’ll see them again in about a month.

Friday night brought thunderstorms with rain until the early morning hours on Saturday. Saturday morning I did laundry, meeting a couple from Fernley, Nevada who were also doing their wash. They’re here for another week, heading to Fredericksburg, Texas for the winter. Later in the day, when skies had cleared, Dick took an 85 mile motorcycle ride through the surrounding area. Saturday night brought more thunderstorms and rain. 

Sunday after breakfast we drove to Dragoon, AZ to take in the Cochise Stronghold. We expected there to be a visitor center for more information, but all we saw were the Dragoon Mountains where Cochise and his people lived and hid out. We can certainly understand why he chose this spot, as you can see from the photos. Although Cochise died and was buried here, his grave has never been found.

 

Then, we drove another 40 miles or more to the Chiricahua National Monument. Known as the “wonderland of rocks,” this traditional haunt of Cochise and his Chiricahua Apache band was declared a preserve in 1924. The rock formations are unbelievable, and go on and on for miles. It is not to be missed!

As you drive into the Chiricahua National Monument area you begin climbing a mountain range that rises above surrounding grasslands. Cactus and mesquite are replaced with sycamore, juniper, and oak trees; then cypress, pine and fir join in. The air is fragrant with Douglas Fir. Then, rock pinnacles begin to loom over the road, and your breath is taken away. The Chiricahua Apache called these pinnacles “standing up rocks.”

Eruptions from nearby Turkey Creek Volcano spewed ash over 1,200 square miles. Geologists estimate the Turkey Creek eruption was 1000 times larger than the 1980 Mount Saint Helens eruption in Washington State. The Turkey Creek Volcano blew out 100 cubic miles of material while Mount Saint Helens produced one-tenth of a cubic mile. The super-heated ash particles melted together, then cooled; subsequent uplifting created joints and cracks. After eons of weathering by ice and water, weaker material was washed away leaving behind an endless variety of spires, balanced rocks, and other shapes.

The park comprises almost 12,000 acres; 86% is designated as wilderness. The 8-mile scenic drive from the visitor center to the summit of Massai Point is one of beauty and wonder. From the summit you have a 360° view of mountains, the pinnacles, balanced rocks and other formations in the park. 

We hiked the Massai Nature Trail and the trail to the Echo Canyon Grotto. Whew! We were at almost 7,000’, but we wouldn’t have missed this treasure!

By the time we were through hiking the trails we were famished. Pizza sounded good so we headed back for dinner at G&F Pizza in Benson. We were not disappointed. We ordered the G&F Combo with a thin and crispy crust. Yum-yum!

 

By the time we were done, the sun was setting. The sky was on fire between the heavy rain clouds that threatened the area. Beautiful! We leave you with this photo (taken with my phone).

Until next week, love ‘n’ hugs,

RJ and Gail