of Hollywood’s singing cowboys. Rex is gone now, but they celebrate him every year during Rex Allen Days in October and year round at the Rex Allen Museum, which has movie-star memorabilia and historical exhibits from the surrounding area. Interstate 10 passes through Willcox, and that junction marks the end of this route.
Both Safford and Willcox have lodging, with most of the national chains represented. In Safford, the Cottage Bed and Breakfast (formerly known as the Olney House), comes well recommended. It’s a historic property that dates to 1890. For more about Safford and Mount Graham, see Scenic Side Trip 4.
| Coronado Trail Highlights | |
| Morenci Mine4521 US 191, Morenci, AZ 85540Clifton Townsite510 Coronado Blvd., Clifton, AZ 85533(928) 865-4146cliftonaz.com | Rex Allen Museum150 N. Railroad Ave, Willcox, AZ 85643(520) 384-4583rexallenmuseum.orgCottage Bed and Breakfast (formerly the Olney House)1104 S. Central Ave, Safford, AZ 85546(928) 428-5118cottagebedandbreakfast.com |
Willcox and Beyond
From Willcox, you can travel straight on to Tucson, 80 miles away on Interstate 10. Or, if you have time, you can drive all, or portions of, Scenic Side Trips 4 through 7, each of which begins and ends on I-10; a fifth route, Scenic Side Trip 8, takes you from Tucson to Phoenix on the back roads. Allow a minimum of one full day for each of these trips.
Scenic Side Trip 4
Lordsburg to Phoenix
via Duncan, Safford, Globe, and Superior
237 miles, 5 hours 30 minutes for drive time, more for optional routes, stops, and sightseeing
A shortcut over the top of the world always takes a little longer
This scenic alternative route from Lordsburg to Phoenix is actually 29 miles shorter than the same drive on Interstate 10, and it bypasses Tucson and all that big-city traffic. Even so, allow a little bit of extra time; it may be a shorter distance, but there are mountain roads and beautiful views worth slowing down for.
Lordsburg to Safford
Leaving Lordsburg, take Exit 22 off I-10, and follow Main Street north to Motel Drive. Turn left and follow the signs for US 70/NM 90, toward Globe and Silver City. When NM 90 splits off to the right, just beyond the town limits, stay on US 70.
Twenty-five miles or so outside of Lordsburg, the highway angles in toward a low range of mountains dominated by a jagged peak known as Steeple Rock. To get a closer look, take the back road to Duncan by turning off US 70 north onto NM 92, toward the tiny town of Virden. It’s a small detour that will add 4 miles and 10 minutes to your travels, but hey—if you were in a hurry, you’d still be on the Interstate! The views in this area are outstanding. NM 92 leads you down to the Gila River, right at the point where it crosses into Arizona. Stay on that road, called Virden Road on the Arizona side. It will take you all the way to Duncan and reconnect you to US 70.
Duncan has a little bit of history and a few picturesque old buildings. Founded in 1882, the small town continues to serve a region still largely dependent on ranching and farming. The Lazy B, a prominent ranch just south of town, was the family home of Sandra Day O’Connor, the Arizona cowgirl who became the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court.
From Duncan to Safford you’ll follow the Gila River as it makes its way toward a far-off rendezvous with the Colorado River, on Arizona’s border with California. In the fields around Safford, water from the Gila is used to grow cotton, which, along with copper and cattle, has been a mainstay of Arizona’s economy since Territorial days. The dominant feature of the local landscape is 10,700-foot Mount Graham, a “sky island” that rises well above the horizon to the southwest (see sidebar).
Duncan Bakery, Duncan, Arizona
If you want a closer look at Mount Graham, consider taking an optional side trip to Riggs Flat Lake, at 9,000 feet. The views are spectacular and the lovely reservoir is stocked with trout. It is an 80-mile, 4-hour round-trip over a narrow, winding roadway, some of it unpaved; for directions, seasonal availability, and road conditions, check in at the Safford Ranger District Office.
Gila River Valley, near Safford, Arizona
| Sky IslandsSome of the mountain ranges of southern Arizona are distinguished by one or more dominant peaks that rise well above their neighbors—to heights of 8,000, 9,000, even 10,000 feet. These taller peaks are big enough to disrupt the flow of warm, moist air through the atmosphere, stirring things up, generating clouds and localized rainfall.The climate near the tops of those mountains is completely different from the climate at their base, and so are the flora and fauna. High on the mountain you’ll find forests, streams, snow in the winter. Down below? You have the Sonoran desert, one of the hottest, driest climate zones in North America. The desert serves to isolate these high-altitude forests, one from another, in the same way that islands are isolated by the sea. These isolated peaks are called “sky islands,” and there are no fewer than 40 of them in Arizona’s Sky Island region, which extends into New Mexico and the northern Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Each sky island is unique.Like many sea islands, most famously the Galápagos, Arizona’s Sky Islands have evolved unusual species of plants and animals, some of which exist nowhere else on the planet. The Mount Graham Red Squirrel, for example, lives only on Mount Graham; the Rosemont Talus Snail, another unusual creature, lives only in the Santa Rita Mountains. Many other species, including frogs, flowers, birds, lichens, and many other small creatures are found exclusively on these sky islands.The Sky Islands are considered the most biodiverse regions in North America, host to more species of birds and mammals, insects and trees than any comparable region outside the tropics. Some peaks encompass as many as eight climate zones. To put that in perspective, a drive to the top of Mount Lemmon, near Tucson, can be compared to a drive from the Mexican border all the way to Canada. |
| Lordsburg to Safford Highlights |
| Safford Ranger District Office711 14th Ave., Safford, AZ 85546(928) 428-4150 |
Globe
Leaving Safford, the highway follows the Gila River to the northwest, across a portion of the San Carlos Apache Reservation. This is one of the poorest Native American communities in the U.S., a fact that will be apparent as you pass through the ramshackle town of Bylas, where 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and 68 percent of the labor force is unemployed. At the western edge of the reservation, the Apache Gold Casino presents a stunning contrast with its opulent hotel, restaurant, gaming halls, and golf course. Owned and operated by the tribe, the casino provides jobs and welcome revenue for the community.
A few miles past the reservation border you’ll be in the small city of Globe. According to legend, the town was founded by prospectors attracted by stories that local Indians were casting bullets from silver because it was easier to get than lead. Indeed, silver ore lay so near the surface it barely required digging. The silver deposits played out after just four years, but under the silver cap there was copper—so much copper that for a time Globe was one of the world’s biggest producers of the metal. In fact, this entire region for hundreds of miles in nearly every direction continues to be among the richest copper-producing areas on earth.
The
