Huachuca City, Arizona and area

March 2, 2016

We left Silver City, NM for Huachuca City, AZ this morning. Got out of the campground at around 9:30 and had a pretty drive to AZ. Got to the campground at around 1, set up camp, and went to the office to get some pamphlets on things to do in the area. This campground is $10/night with full hookups (pay per kwh for electric)...$76/for the week plus whatever we use for electric. What a bargain!! Went for a walk around the campground after lunch and found the two club houses where they hold events. Spent the afternoon planning things to do for the week. Sat outside at night and looked at the beautiful sky.

 Enjoying the view of the Huachuca mountains

March 3, 2016

Went for a hike this morning in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area where we visited the remnants of the famous Gird Silver Mill. The trail we took also lead to 600 year-old petroglyphs. The hike was only 2.5 miles, but the afternoon heated up to over 90 degrees so it was a rough hike with no shade. Along the trail, what you might think is garbage, old rusted tin cans, remnants of machinery, and building supplies, they tell you not to remove as this is part of the history of the area.  The Buffalo soldiers (African-Americans) were based at nearby Fort Huachuca and trained in the area before being deployed overseas during WWII. The soldiers used the ghost town just across the river, Charleston, for urban door to door training before heading to Italy to fight the Germans.  The trash is from both the earlier mill workers and the soldiers, the Apache only left pictures on the rocks.

 600-year-old petroglyphs

After the hike, we headed to Fairbank, another ghost town along the San Pedro River that was originally built in 1881 as the nearest railroad stop to Tombstone. Fairbank is one of the area’s most complete ghost towns including a post office, general store, small homes, and a one room school house (which now serves as the museum/gift shop). We had packed a lunch before we left the campground so we ate at one of the picnic tables in the ghost town. After lunch we walked around and looked in all of the buildings (that they allowed access to) and then took some of the hikes on the property. 

 Fairbank School House

 Fairbank Ghost Town

 Double seat outhouse

 Fairbank Post Office and Mercantile Co.

Close up of the old Post Office building with mail slot in the wall

Mercantile and small house on the left

We hiked to the San Pedro River (2/3 mile) where we must have scared away a bobcat since his wet paw prints were still visible on the sandy bank of the river. Also hiked to the old train depot and the water tanks and pump house. Kinda creepy looking and filled with guano. 

Fairbank railroad siding, the right of way would make a great rail trail

San Pedro River

We walked back to the ghost town then hiked out to the cemetery (another 2 miles) and climbed the hill to view the graves. After all the hiking in the heat of the Arizona sun, we couldn’t wait to get back to the jeep and take off the hiking boots.

 The Fairbank Cemetery sat up on a hill about a mile from the town

 Grave site

Grave site

Went back to the campground and made dinner, sat outside watching tv (there was only one station, NBC) til about 9 then headed inside because it was getting cold out (90’s in the day…50’s at night).

March 4, 2016

Went to the Sierra Vista Visitors Center today to pick up some additional information about the area. Then went to Walmart to buy some groceries. Headed back to the RV to drop off the groceries and eat lunch. Then off to Parker Canyon Lake to kayak. We left the campground at around 1 and headed for Fort Huachuca, a nearby army base that offers a shortcut out the west gate to the Coronado National Forest. Unfortunately, there was a graduation happening on base so there was a long line of people trying to get on base. So we took the long way to the lake. We arrived at around 2:30. The lake was beautiful and the area was very pretty. We wish we could’ve camped here. The only problem is it’s very far from anything and has a size limit. We hugged the coast of the entire lake and stayed until the sun set.

 Parker Canyon Lake

 Perfect day for kayaking

The landscape was beautiful...

...so was the water (a little chilly tho)

 Two turtles sunbathing

 A spillway cut in the canyon wall made for a nice place to stop and eat a snack

 Stayed on the lake until the sunset

It was a beauty!

March 5, 2016

Decided to tour the base at Fort Huachuca since they have a museum and the history of the fort is very impressive, however it took some time to get past the gate. Since Fort Huachuca is still an active military installation, we had to fill out an application which included a background check and were then issued photo IDs. We were then allowed to wander the base at will. 

Awesome photo IDs for walking around the base

We went to the museum and learned the story of how the base was started in 1877 with a temporary camp and later became a permanent fort in 1882. The fort was the headquarters of the 4^th Cavalry patrols and Indian scouts that hounded Geronimo in 1886, resulting in his eventual surrender to Gen. Nelson A. Miles. We also learned about the Buffalo Soldiers, Indian Wars and the Korean Conflict.

Fort Huachuca

Looking across the parade field at the officer's housing

"Eyes of the Army"

March 6, 2016

We packed a lunch and went for a hike in Brown Canyon this morning. We started our hike at the Brown Canyon Ranch so we toured the ranch house first. The 4-room ranch house at the mouth of the canyon dates from the early 20^th century. The property includes the house, a storeroom, outhouse, corrals, water system, and a pond.

Brown Canyon Ranch House

Brown Canyon Ranch, Huachuca Mountains in back

 Kitchen and living room through the doorway

Kitchen

After touring the property, we set off on our hike at around 11:30. We hiked the Brown Canyon Trail…about a two-hour hike each way with around  800ft of elevation gain, following the stream which at times would disappear into the ground and then reappear. 

 Beginning of hike

The remains of another property in the mountain. Believe this is an old stove and oven in the foreground.

We stopped for a lunch break along the stream at about the midway point. The dessert is just starting to bloom and some of the cactus plants looked really pretty with yellow and red blooms.

 Lunch break

Cactus in bloom

Headed back to the rv at around 4 and grilled some burgers for dinner.

March 7, 2016

We spent the afternoon and evening in Tombstone today. There’s a cool little touristy downtown area with saloons, museums, gun fight re-enactments, etc. We walked down Allen Street (the pedestrian only main street today and one of the most notorious streets of the Old West). The downtown definitely transports you into a different world; with stage coaches, gunmen, and colorful characters. 

 Stage coach rolling down the main road as we arrived in town.

 The Earps are ready for a gun fight at the O.K. Corral

One lone cowboy ready to take on the Earps and Holliday.  Allen Street has fun shops and restaurants

And some entertainment along the way.

We signed up for a nighttime ghost tour of the Bird Cage Theatre. Then went to Big Nose Kate’s Saloon for a beer. The saloon was once the Grand Hotel which was built in 1881. 

Dave standing in front of the Bird Cage Theatre.

Big Nose Kate's Saloon

 Inside Big Nose Kate's

After that we headed to the Tombstone Courthouse that was built in 1882 in the shape of a Roman cross. The building once housed the offices of the sheriff, recorder, treasurer, board of supervisors, jail, and courtrooms, and the gallows in the yard where 7 men were hanged. Now a museum run by the state parks department, the courthouse has exhibits that show how the mining town grew over the years and how the residents lived.

Wendy in front of Tombstone Courthouse

Original furnishings in the courthouse include the two doors at the rear, 

the judge's bench, some of the wooden chairs and the prisoner's dock.

We went to the Boot Hill Graveyard after that because it was the only thing open after 5 and it was 5:15. Once we got there we had about 15 minutes to walk around as they were closing soon as well. But it was an interesting cemetery. It apparently got its name from the number of men who died with their boots on. As the grave markers proclaim, most tenants were either shot, killed, or murdered.  Not sure what the difference is, probably based on who your friends were or weren’t.

 Dave in Boot Hill Graveyard

Will DeLoge was killed playing cards

Another interesting grave marker

 A lot of people died or were killed between 1881 and 1884. John Heath was not hanged at the courthouse, but by an angry mob from Bisbee.  He was the mastermind of a robbery gone bad (3 murdered) in Bisbee and was the only member not sentenced to swing. His five accomplices were hanged about a week later at the courthouse, and lie at Boot Hill nearby their leader's grave.

We had passed an American Legion downtown so we headed to that to get a beer and to see if anyone had recommendations for a place we could go for dinner. It just so happened that they were having their monthly potluck tonight and we were invited to join them. So we said sure! We met some nice people who were very happy we stopped in. They told us about some fun places to visit and some places to avoid. Always nice to talk to the locals. Wish more Legions were open as we travel across the U.S., but it seems a lot of them only open occasionally for a special event. So a woman in charge of the buffet explained how the pot luck works…the deal is, if you bring something you eat for free; if not, you pay $4…so we paid and hoped for the best. Well, it was worth the $8 and then some! The food was delicious and there was plenty of it!! The main event was corned beef, cabbage and potatoes in honor of St. Patty’s day. But there was also beef stew (the woman who made it gave us the recipe), mac and cheese, chili, a fajita bar, corn casserole, all kinds of breads and muffins. And a huge table of desserts with brownies, cookies, pies and cakes. We spent a whopping $16 at the Legion for five beers and dinner. And we were stuffed when we left there for our ghost tour.

We met up with our tour group at 7:45 and the tour began at 8. The Bird Cage Theatre was a theater, saloon, gambling parlor and brothel that operated from 1881-1889. Because it’s made of cement and not wood, it is one of the few structures in Tombstone that survived the two fires of the early 1880’s. The Bird Cage Theater closed its doors in 1889 after the mines flooded with the owners planning to return as soon as the mines were pumped out, but neither ever happened. Everything inside was left in place and the doors weren’t reopened again until 1934.  Everything is exactly as it was in 1889 which makes it a really cool place to visit.

The bar, including the mirror, posters, wall paper, fixtures, curtains, etc. are the way they were the day the doors were shut…along with the big painting of Fatima (a belly dancer) on the other side of the saloon. Our tour guide showed us the 6 bullet holes and knife slash in the painting. There are bullet holes throughout the Theatre (over 140 of them). 

 The original bar in the Bird Cage Theatre. You can see the bullet hole from a 45 pistol in the second column of the bar (where the stain is worn away).  They say the bullet is still in there.

 The painting of Fatima, a belly dancer who entertained at the Bird Cage,

has six bullet holes and a knife slash in it.

 Some of the bullet holes in the ceiling

 The Stage and door leading to the basement gambling parlor

 The "bird cages" to the right of the bar

The "bird cages" to the left of the bar

View from the stage toward the back of the theatre. The back wall wasn't there in the original theatre.

There were fourteen cages or boxes on two balconies on either side of the main hall. These boxes, also known as cribs, featured drapes that patrons could draw while entertained by prostitutes. The boxes only cost $25 for the night (about $1000 today)

She said 26 people lost their lives in gun or knife fights inside the place. The Theatre was open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The tour took us through the saloon, into the theater, behind the stage, and into the basement. In the basement, a poker room was the site of the longest-running poker game in history. You needed a $1000 buy in! Played continuously 24-hours a day for 8 years, 5 months, and 3 days. Some of the participants were Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Diamond Jim Brady, and George Hearst. 

 Poker table in the basement

At the end of the tour, we sat in a circle on the stage in the dark. Our guide had put four EMF meters on a table in the center of the circle and we listened and watched for any paranormal activity. We were allowed to ask questions of the “ghosts” to see if anything would spark some sort of response. The meters did light up a few times and we heard a bang near an old bathtub in the room, but that was about it. We did have a blast on the tour and learned a lot about the characters who made the Old West wild. It was worth the trip to Tombstone!

Off to Eloy, Arizona! We'll try to post again before the wedding on March 19th.