Fairbanks, AZ, a Ghost Town

Sunny was embarrassed when she saw this photo with her and some of her toys (She is the one on the left.) The only way we could appease her was take a ride. Not far from Tombstone, we found Fairbank - once a thriving mining and railroad town and now a ghost town preserved by the US Bureau of Land Management. Tombstone was not connected to the railroad until 1903 so passengers into and out of Tombstone rode in a stagecoach to Fairbank to enter or exit the train. The community continued until the early 1940s. The last class in the schoolhouse was held about 1944 (the year before I started school). The school, a home, the mercantile building and stables remain somewhat intact but most of the rest is now gone. There was an outhouse remaining and it had the best seat in the house. There is a foundation near the mercantile building that once was for the railroad station. There is a storm coming this way to bring rain to the valleys and possible heavy snow in the mountains. The wind was howling and the clouds at the mountain tops were beautiful.

Cochise Stronghold

We drive over to Cochise County in the Dragoon Mountains and saw one of the most spectacular sights we have ever seen - Cochise's Stronghold. When Cochise was on the run he and his band of merry men hid in the mountains high over a large canyon and had complete control for a long time over the soldiers that were chasing him. On the way there, just past Dragoon, we saw another dust storm starting and a dust devil forming. We are very happy to report that we were probably a couple of miles away at the time and it was not coming our direction. The canyon is rocky, hilly and full of thorns and cacti. The walls are gigantic rocks going up seemingly forever. Tactically, this was a perfect spot to draw an enemy into. The canyon goes into the mountains for approximately 20 miles, with a US Forest Service dry camping campground at the end of the road/canyon. The campground is beautiful and surrounded on three sides by high rock walls. We saw why Cochise used this area for his stronghold. He had a ready-made place to camp serviced by the US Forest Service at the end of the canyon and it even included primitive restrooms. What military commander could ask for more? Carol tried to tell me that the campground was not here in the late 1800s but, who knows for sure, huh? Carol, Sunny and I ate our lunch at a picnic table in this CG. The high walls were difficult to see through the leaves of the trees but there are there. It is eerie to try to think what the soldiers saw when they entered the canyon and made their way through it. Besides the rugged terrain, snakes and other predators, there was a formidable enemy, Cochise! Must have been terrifying! I have run out of words to describe the sights we saw today. One rock formation on top of the canyon even looks like an Indian Chief with his feather bonnet! The raw, rugged beauty of the canyon were simply awesome! Oh, and we found another Roadside America attraction - a Dinosaur guarding a McDonalds in Benson, AZ. How cool is this?

Gammons Gulch

Our campground has a cactus garden that includes bleached steer skulls and also some very interesting cacti. We were very disappointed a short time back when we went to Brackettville, TX, hoping to see the movie set for the movie The Alamo and discovered that it is no longer open to the public. Today that was made up for in spades! On the way there, we saw some great mountain scenes. We also saw some of Carol's favorites, tumbleweed. This countryside is so raw and beautiful - high desert surrounded by mountains. We discovered Gammons Gulch on www.roadsideamerica.com in Pomerene, AZ. This is in the middle of the high desert north of Benson. The owner has bought old buildings and artifacts and brought them here and constructed some more. Jay Gammons proudly leads tours of the facility and keeps the information coming in a very entertaining manner. He is in the process of building a new saloon that will be aged to look original. Some of the buildings are actually the originals. Many of the items in and aroundthe buildings actually came from Tombstone and other actual Wild West sites. There is a building that, with a cross on top, is a church and without it is a schoolhouse. Their website is http://www.gammonsgulch.com/ . If you are ever in this part of the country, this is a don't miss attraction.

Tombstone, AZ

Been seeing Tombstone in the movies and reading about it in books for years, now, and finally got to go there today! Wow! What a fun town this is. The mountains that we are surrounded by are beautiful and we never tire of looking at them. This beauty is on the way to Tombstone. The Tombstone Epitaph must have broken many great stories that have gone down in the lore of the west. The Emporium is just one of many establishments that are still around, alive and kicking (selling). The streets of Tombstone are closed to vehicular traffic and the only method of transportation, other than foot, is by stagecoach. The infamous OK Corral is here. The street has marshals and dance hall girls mixing with tourists and gunmen. Wonder if this guy is Black Bart? The two marshals were talking in the center of the street and were approached by several women. Startled, one of the marshals put his had on his revolver and spun around, only to warn the lady not to come up on him like that again or she may be shot. Big Nose Kate was Doc Holiday's girl friend and had a saloon across the street from the OK Corral. It still is in operation and we got a great lunch from there. It was so good that we could easily return! On the way back home, we stopped by a monastery and saw this beautiful garden. The real star of the day in Tombstone, though, was Sunny. many of the tourists and merchants wanted to pet her and ask questions about greyhounds. She was in her glory. She is already asking where we are going tomorrow!

Sierra Blanca, TX to Deming, NM to St David, AZ

Yesterday we traveled from Sierra Blanca, TX to Deming, NM. We camped under the Sierra Blanca, which is Spanish for White Mountain. Driving from Sierra Blanca to Deming was the first time in a long time we have driven any distance on an Interstate. We much prefer state and local roads for the sights to flying by on the Interstates. We love driving in areas with 50s and 60s temperatures and looking at the snow tipped mountains. The rest areas in these states are really special, the ones that are not closed anyway. They have roofs over picnic tables, Tepees, desert cacti planted in gardens, just a lot of different ways to show their state off. We have driven daily for the last three days now and are going to kick back tonight and tomorrow before seeing what the high deserts and mountains around here look like. We were going to be here for two weeks but now are leaving Monday and will be spending two weeks in the desert just west of Tucson. Sunny is traveling even better now than she has earlier in this trip. She is more comfortable in the rear of this new bigger truck. When we arrive at a new campground, she can't wait to get out and see what new sights, smells and new friends she can make. She enters the Montana as soon as the slides are out and immediately inspects it from front to rear, finally jumping on HER couch and waiting for us to finish our set up. Our position in the campground is in a dark area and there are not many lights in the entire area so I am really looking forward to seeing how many stars will be visible tonight in this thin, crisp, mountain air.