Jack and Peggy Visit Arizona #2

Jack and Peggy wanted more. More Arizona sites, more scenery, more South Western towns. So we took off to the east.

They are both history buffs and the Amerind Foudation, near Dragoon, is perfect if you like Native American pots,  silver jewlery, Hopi katsina dolls and lots of early artifacts from our area.

The Foundation is in Texas Canyon.

It's surrounded by incredible rock formations that locals call "dinosaur poop".

Amerind is a beautiful set of pink buildings in a desert area of grasslands, oaks, yuccas and tall flowing grass. It's a pretty special place.

We spent two-plus hours looking at and reading about all the Native American crafts, artifacts and art collected and preserved by William Shirley Fulton.

That left our brains full so we set off for the "Town Too Tough to Die" - pure tourist bait - Tombstone, Arizona.

We began walking through the old town but were talked into taking a tour on an old time bus by a lanky man in black. He sat on a bench and gave us a taste of the history of the olden days - but just a taste before he suggested we take the tour. He was a good salesman.

During the ride, our driver gave us lots of Tombstone history and we saw, among other sites,

Wyatt Earp's house

Big Nose Kate's saloon

(She was Doc Holliday's girlfriend)

The old Courthouse, now a museum

and Boot Hill 

What fun!

Our final stop for the day was Bisbee. It's an old mining town that has had many revivals. Lots of folks think of an old hippy town when they think of Bisbee. It may be that but it's more. The town has been listed as one of America's best places to live by the AARP publication "Modern Maturity".  Quirky is a word that was used in the publication. That's a good description for this community built on the side of hills.

When we arrived, we drove down Tombstone Canyon Road to give our guests a feel for the area. We stopped at the Bisbee Courthouse, a fine example of an Art Deco courthouse, and walked through the building.

These are the main doors of the courthouse.

Bisbee has some fine restaurants but we arrived at an odd time - about 3:30 p.m. and several restaruants weren't serving until 5 p.m. However one of my favorites, Santiago's Mexican Restaurant, was open. It's located just east of the Copper Queen and has wonderful food.

The corn chips were delicate, not greasy but full of flavor. The salsa was a traditional  cooked salsa with wonderul heat, not too little, not too much. I had spinach enchiladas with red sauce and a topping that was a treat - a wonderful pesto that included pumpkin seeds. It was yummy!

After our meal - we were stuffed - we walked down the main street of the old part of town. The weather was perfect and the crowds had already departed.  It was a great time to gawk in the windows of the art galleries and the jewelry and craft stores.

Before we left, we drove by the old copper mine and looked down into the Lavender Pit. It's impressive, made me feel  pretty insignificant. Lots of history in that old mine.

 

Our day was complete and we drove back home, Jack and Peggy once again happy with their travels. Our next sightseeing trip will be to two of my favorite places in the world. I can't wait to tell you about them.