Wild Wild West – A Cuppa Cosy

This year for Spring Break we decided to work our way through parts of Arizona. It’s not too far that we couldn’t drive and yet it was far enough that we felt we were in a completely different area (which…to be honest we needed). We started off in Tucson and headed all the way up to Williams and The Grand Canyon before dropping back down to home. It was such a nice trip and it had me wondering if Arizona is a secret oasis that none of us are talking about…or if I was just enamored with the different scenery, the multiple seasons we experienced (in just one week), and the incredible might of Mother Nature’s presence in Arizona. Who knows really.

So, to start with we headed to Saguaro National Park. The Saguaro is the cactus we all think of when we think of cactus. They stand tall, they have arms, and the give the desert vibe that you picture with Arizona/Desert (it is not typically found in the California region of the desert). The Saguaro really only grows in certain locations (all below 3,000 ft) and the Sonoran Desert of Arizona is one of those locations. These absolute monsters of cacti can grow over 40 feet tall and live for a very long time (well over 150 years). They are slow growers, taking almost a decade to even grow to ½ a foot tall. The “arms” do not always grow, however if they do, they don’t tend to start to grow until 70-100 years old and they are grown to increase the fertility of the plant. The cactus itself grows both flowers and fruits and can store and incredibly large amount of water. Considered a keystone species, the actually growing location and process, as well as the impact on the wildlife around it is fascinating (no seriously- I found the way mother nature works and how everything ends up working together absolutely fascinating).

The inside of the Saguaro is akin to a rib cage- though the ribs are similar to hardwood in the composition. They do have a prickly thorn outer covering- the spine. These can grow up to 3 inches long and do some damage. The flowers produced on a Saguaro are white and typically open after sunset and the fruit is a red, is typically ripe in June, and requires a pole to harvest due to how high up it tends to be.

Within the Saguaro National Park, you drive to various stopping locations where you are able to get out and hike trails and see the variety of both Saguaro Cactus and many other variations of desert plants. We spent a good couple hours driving and walking through. There is almost 2 million Saguaro’s within the park, not to mention the wide wide variety of other cactus and plant life. Be careful of wildlife (though we didn’t see any while we were there). It’s truly incredible to see (which is a common theme for this trip overall).

Our second day in the Tucson area was full of history- from completely different timelines. We started the day at The Titan Missile Museum – the only site of the three sites of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program still in existence and open to the public to tour. And that tour is both for the work site and an entirely preserved Intercontinental Ballistic Museum (which we will now call ICBM because typing that out every time…whew). There are actually only two preserved launch sites in the world from the Cold War- the one in Arizona we visited and one in Russia. This was designed by the treaty. Both sites have dummy missiles and other measures to ensure that they are non-operational (and those measures are checked regularly by satellite).

The Titan II was the largest ICBM ever in existence by the U.S. Air Force. It was massive- an absolute weapon of true destruction. Located at 3 separate sites (all spaced out by a certain number of miles and each with its own dedicated Silo and base), these missiles were operational for a total of 24 years. The big innovation of the Titan II was storable propellant, which allowed a faster launch time.

First activated in 1963, the silo sight (Titan II Launch Complex 571-7) was manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The whole idea of this was not only for safety purposes, but also as a deterrent. Both sides had these weapons during the Cold War, and if both sides were continually at the ready to deploy them, then both sides wouldn’t…in theory. We booked the tour that was able to take us down into the silo to see both the bottom side (well more like middle- its massive) of the missile, as well as into the office where the soldiers would sit on shift and deploy the missile if the worst should happen. Please note- this tour they do an example deployment and it’s…something. We learned the measures that would be taken when a new crew came on shift- from the four phone calls that had to be made, the evasion tactics should the soldiers be attacked or followed. No soldier was allowed to be alone within the site due to the potential of spies. It truly was a secure site. We also (as I stated) were able to do a “launch” of a missile, seeing all the steps from start to finish, to see what lights on the various control panels would light up (they are all exactly as they were/would have been while active), and then hear the sounds. It was very enlightening.

Once the silo stood down in 1982, work was started to try and turn it into a museum. This took a lot of work as the missile belonged to the Air Force, but if it was run as a museum, it would be local jurisdiction, not to even begin to mention the treaty between countries and the complicated relationships there. A lot of work was done to the missile in order to make it inoperable and provide assurances that it could not easily (or ever) be repaired and fired. The museum itself opened in 1986.

I will be honest- I was a bit hesitant about heading to this museum- I just didn’t know much. I came away with a whole new level of respect and understanding and awe. I highly recommend visiting it as it’s one of those unique spots that pays homage to a very important part of our recent history.

From the Cold War era, we headed even further back and visited Old Tucson. Let me say- this is an amusement park. It does have some historical value and it is often used as a movie set (there is a building dedicated to shows and movies that were shot there, several of which we all know of); I would actually say it is similar to Tombstone, except it doesn’t have the significance of the history, this is more movie than historical. I don’t know if that makes sense or not. Fun fact- Jersey Shore filmed at Old Tucson- the gender reveal wild west show for Mike Sorrentino’s newest child. Which the actors at Old Tucson talk about.

Anyways, we spent an entire afternoon at the park, catching a gunfight show, a can-can girl dance show, a stagecoach ride, train ride, and more. We literally wandered through the entire park doing EVERYTHING (minus the carnival games). This felt a bit more relaxed than Tombstone- in that you’ll be sure to see a gunfight and the actors, but it isn’t a constant overwhelming event. We also attended the stunts show at the end of the day that the actors put on to teach how they pull of the stunts in the different shows and movies. Easily my favorite as the actors have a lot of fun with audience interaction. Highly recommend!

Finally, on our way out the final morning we stopped into Biosphere 2. Biosphere 2 was built to demonstrate that closed ecological systems could work and thus move the concept of human life in outer space forward. It was built in the late 1980’s, and inhabited in 1991 for 2 years (as a closed environment with no outside involvement), and then a second time for 6 months. During it’s time, it was the subject of A LOT of discussion and controversy. I don’t quite know how to get into all of the nitty gritty as there is SO MUCH and I have a lot of feelings on it (some fascination, some hesitation, some upset). The organization that initially brought about Biosphere 2 ran into a lot of problems, some of which never were acknowledged, and it has now become a location of environmental research, rather than closed environment. Amidst the drama, it became a research facility, transferred to its current home run by the University of Arizona and turned into both a research facility and a museum.

We really enjoyed our morning wandering through the different biospheres, learning not only of their purpose during the closed environment experiment, but also the purpose they serve now, and the research being conducted. I highly recommend stopping by this really unique piece of history and science research.

That wrapped up our time in Tucson- a truly great stop for us!

We went West- to the Wild Wild West. It was exactly as expected- gunfights in the street, saloons and drinks galore, and an experience to be had! Over Labor Day Weekend we went to Tombstone, AZ and spent the weekend reveling in the 1800’s. We saw 6 gunfights, ate at 2 saloons, and wandered back in time for 48 hours.

***Quick note- if you do visit Arizona, please remember that they do not do Daylight Savings Time, so your hours will shift no matter where you travel from. We completely forgot about this! ***

We started our weekend in Bisbee- at the Copper Queen Mine. We initially tried to get lunch at Bisbee Breakfast Café (which looks absolutely delicious), but they were packed, and the wait was a little too long for us to make our tour time. It was a definite bummer as all the food options look delicious. It did give us a chance to wander up and down the main street of what was once upon a time Lowell, AZ. A street very much stopped in history- old cars, antique stores, and beyond.

From there, we just grabbed a snack and headed to Copper Queen Mine for a tour. Copper was initially discovered in Bisbee in the 1820’s by a Lt. Dunn, however production at the mines didn’t begin until 1880. Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company was a subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corporation and became the dominant force in the mining of the area. Mining operations continued until 1975 when the mines closed, leading the mayor of Bisbee (Chuck Eads) to develop the idea of the mine tours. The Mine Tour opened to the public in February 1976.

On the tour, you get a vest, hard hat, and light before heading on the train down into the mine. You are walked through the history of mining in the region, the day to day of a miner, the different tools they would use, and finally you are able to see what they are actually looking for (i.e., what Copper looks like in rocks). It was really fun and educational for the boys. We walked away learning something new (this was our second mine tour).

From there we headed to Tombstone, checking in to our AirBNB, and then headed to Allen St (which is like Main St of Tombstone) with the intention of getting dinner. Now, our AirBNB hosts gave us a heads up, but everything short of food closes at around 5PM. So, if you’re needing anything, wanting to check out any venues, or want to do a little shopping, you’ll need to do it before 5. Not a bad thing, just a warning. I think the only place that stays open “late” is Bird Cage Theatre as they do Ghost Tours a bit later on.

We stopped for dinner at our first Saloon, Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. This is the exact vibe you’re going for in Tombstone. Everyone is in full costume, they’ve got a performer on stage, an old Wild West vibe to the décor and the ambiance and the food was good! A little history of the saloon and people (because everywhere has history)- Big Nose Kate was potentially the first prostitute in Tombstone AND Doc Holliday’s girlfriend. Prostitution was very much a thing (I think we all know that?!) and it happened to be one of the best ways for “single” women to make a living as “suitable” positions did not pay enough. Now, this saloon was once the location of the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel was THE place to be and has a long-storied history. While it was the Grand Hotel, there was an individual called “The Swamper”. Officially he was the janitor and handyman of the hotel, but he also had a penchant for siler and tunneled from his basement room to the entrance of a mine shaft to collect silver.

After dinner we wandered up and down the street to get our bearings, then headed back to our cabin for the night.

The next morning, we were up early and ready for a day in the Wild Wild West- and boy it was. After grabbing a quick breakfast at “O.K. Café” which was delicious, and then we headed back to Allen St. Our first stop of the day was getting tickets for the show at the O.K. Corral. You have to purchase tickets day of for one of the three showtimes, you cannot purchase in advance. The first showing was at 11, so after we got tickets at 9 AM, we decided to head over to the Saloon Theatre for their gunfight show. They reenact Billy the Kid’s first shoot out, a shoot-out with Frank Leslie, and then an Earp shoot out. This is an inside show, with very real guns, and they do give hearing protection. We enjoyed this one- it made those western shows feel a bit real-er to everyone.

From there we went over to the O.K. Corral to watch the “Shootout at the O.K. Corral”- which, the shootout actually occurred behind the corral in an empty lot, but what is history after all. So, this shootout (if you didn’t know the history) is between the Earps/Doc Holliday and the McLaury’s/Clanton’s. The Cowboys (Mclaury’s and Clanton’s) were creating all sorts of trouble- drinking a lot, gambling a lot, shooting off guns where they shouldn’t have been, and the newly deputized Earp Family were not interested in that continuing. There were threats, rivalries, stealing of wives, and it all led to a (very short) shootout between the two rivals. In 30 seconds, 30 shots flew and three died. Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton are all buried in Boothill Cemetery (more on that later).

Fun fact- the gunfight occurred outside the office of THE photographer of Tombstone (C.S. Fly), however there were no photos as he was busy when the unplanned shootout occurred.

This was a really fun one to attend- the actors were great, they play off the audience well, and once it is over you can wander through the entire property, which allows you to go through a couple different buildings to picture life in that time. Your ticket also includes a chance to watch the Historama (which we did- I would say if you’re interested then attend, but it isn’t necessary) and tickets to the Epitaph- which was the newspaper of Tombstone (we did this as well- it’s very small and it will take about 10 minutes to see everything within).

Now we attended during Labor Day Weekend, which meant that they were going all out and there were two performing troupes that were performing gun fights in the streets throughout the weekend, as well as the casket/hanging booth. We watched several gunfights from Arizona Gunfighters, and all four of us were “hung” in the streets of Tombstone. It was an experience, that is for sure.

We wandered down to the Tombstone Courthouse for a quick walk through. The courthouse was original built in 1882 and was once the offices of the sheriff, recorder, treasurer, courtrooms, jailhouse, and board of supervisors. It was a very active busy building! Now, as you walk through the rooms, you are treated to a history lesson of just about anything you could think of relating to the Wild Wild West- from cattle ranching to gun fights, to Mexican/American skirmishes and more. While this maybe doesn’t have the same amount of sensationalist history as some other locations, it’s still a really neat spot to stop at.

We did two more things in Tombstone, the first was to visit the history Old Bird Cage Theatre. This was the most famous spot of its time- known as the “wildest, wickedest night spot” in the west. The name pays homage to the Bird Cage crib compartments that overhang the gambling and dancing areas. These compartments were where the prostitutes would try to solicit the men below (think she’s a bird in a gilded cage)- and they are still in the theatre. In fact, this is the ONLY building in Tombstone that is as it was. This includes bullet holes, gambling tables (the one where the longest poker game in history occurred), the original curtain and painted stage, as well as the piano. When it was open, it was open, never shutting its’ doors, seeing 16 gunfights for a total of 140 bullet holes within the building. It is full of history, and it is basically locked in time. It closed in 1889, and then was boarded up for almost 50 years. Then in 1934 it became A Historic Landmark of the American West and was opened to the public to visit.

This is a MUST SEE in my opinion, not only because of the history, but also because it is the ONLY historic landmark in its original state. It is a self-guided visit, though you are able to do a family tour, and if haunting/ghost things are your thing, you are able to do a ghost tour (as this is one of the most haunted buildings in the country).

The final stop we made on our way out of town (ironically enough) was Boothill Graveyard. Originally “The Tombstone Cemetery”, this burial plot dates back to 1878 and was used until 1884. It holds the graves of the cowboys from the shootout (McLaury’s and Clanton’s), the men that were hung after the Bisbee Massacre as well as the man lynched from the same event, two marshals, and Lester Moore (of the no les, no more rhyme if you know it). There are many many more (a total of 265 graves), all for a variety of reasons. When you enter, they will give you a pamphlet that breaks down every grave as well as a reason for death if known.