they couldn’t handle, the closest reinforcements were too far away to save them.
| The Mexican BorderIn the old days (not so very long ago), a day trip to a Mexican border town was no more complicated than a trip to the mall, and it had the same essential purpose: shopping! Bargains were everywhere—everything from kitschy souvenirs to handcrafted furniture and fine jewelry—and all the prices were negotiable. Throw in some mariachi music and cheap tequila and you had a sure-fire recipe for a good time. For decades, U.S. travelers crossed over the border by the millions each year.Sadly, times have changed. Between heightened security concerns on the American side of the border, and the rise of drug cartels on the Mexican side of the border, that carefree, fiesta, anything-goes atmosphere has been dampened. For a time, rival drug gangs and the Mexican military fought for control of the border country, and in cities like Juarez the violence was horrific. The immediate crisis has abated, but the U.S. Department of State continues to advise citizens to “defer non-essential travel” to the Mexican border states, to drive only on the main roads, and not to travel at night.Should you make that trip across the border? That’s up to you. Cautious travelers may wish to pass up the opportunity. Others may note that in Agua Prieta and Nogales, the two principal border towns accessible from Arizona, tourists have never been targets of cartel violence, not even during the worst of the troubles, and the border towns do have their charms. For a day trip, all you need is a valid passport. To keep things simple, leave your vehicle in a secure lot on the U.S. side of the border and walk across; that will speed your crossing, in both directions. (If you do drive across, be aware that travel by car in Mexico, anywhere beyond the border area, requires special permits, tourist cards, and Mexican auto insurance). If you do any shopping, purchases up to $800 per person are duty free; and patience is a virtue. The customs lines are often very slow. |
Leaving the Fort Bowie parking area, head back west on Apache Pass Road; at the intersection with Mogul Road, stay left, and keep going until you rejoin AZ 186, just a bit south of where you left it. After 8.6 miles, AZ 186 intersects AZ 181. Turn left (east), and follow the signs into Chiricahua National Monument. The attraction here is the remarkable terrain: a wonderland of eroded pillars and spires called hoodoos, created by violent geological activity some 27 million years ago. Many of the hoodoos are capped by seemingly balanced rocks that look like they might come tumbling down at any moment. Bonita Canyon Scenic Drive takes in many of the monument’s most interesting features along its 8-mile paved route. (Note that the road is 16 miles round-trip; it is not a “loop” road as some guides suggest.) There are many pullouts and access to trailheads for those who want to explore the park’s interior more fully. The 12,000-acre wilderness area, which has been protected since 1924, was sacred to the Apache people, who called it “the land of standing-up rocks.”
Chiricahua National Monument
| Chiricahuas Highlights |
| Fort Bowie National Historic Site3500 S. Apache Pass Road, Bowie, AZ 85605(520) 847-2500nps.gov/foboChiricahua National MonumentE. Bonita Canyon Road, Willcox, AZ 85643(520) 824-3560nps.gov/chir |
Douglas and Bisbee
Leaving Chiricahua National Monument, follow AZ 181 out of the park. Stay on it as it turns south, and then west, before terminating at US 191 in the small farming community of Sunizona. Bear left, and drive due south on US 191 about 40 miles, through Elfrida and McNeal, until you come to the town of Douglas, on the Mexican border. Douglas was founded in 1902 as the smelter town for the copper mines at Bisbee. In the early 1980s, as the price of copper plummeted worldwide, a bitter mineworkers strike broke out, disrupting production in Bisbee’s Lavender Pit for nearly three years. That one-two punch was a knockout. The mines in Bisbee were closed, and with them the two smelters in Douglas.
Despite that blow to the local economy, Douglas still prospers, largely because of its proximity to Mexico. While you’re here, you might consider a visit to Agua Prieta, just over the border in the Mexican state of Sonora. This city of 80,000, while much bigger than neighboring Douglas, has a small-town feel and the unmistakable ambience of Old Mexico, and it is considered one of the safest of the Mexican border towns. There are bargains to be had in the shops, not to mention duty-free tequila (see sidebar “Mexican Border”).
Lobby with Tiffany, stained glass, Gadsden Hotel, Douglas, Arizona
While in Douglas, stop in at the Gadsden Hotel, one of 17 old Douglas buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and certainly the most opulent. Built in 1907, and rebuilt in 1929 after an extensive fire, the Gadsden is the ultimate in Old World luxury. The lobby features a massive white Italian marble staircase (the only part of the original hotel to survive the fire), as well as four marble columns trimmed with 14-karat-gold leaf. Above the staircase, an exquisite 42-foot Tiffany stained-glass mural depicts a Southwest scene. Douglas may seem an odd location for such a display of elegance, but in its heyday, the Gadsden was a meeting place for wealthy ranchers, mine executives, and international businessmen. In fact, in 1928, Douglas opened the nation’s first international airport (literally international, because the runway was bisected by the border). Douglas was an especially popular destination during Prohibition, because travelers could soak up the Arizona sunshine and then quench their thirst with some Mexican moonshine. It’s said that a tunnel from the basement of the hotel was used to keep guests surreptitiously supplied with their favorite beverages.
Bisbee, Arizona
Leaving Douglas, take AZ 80 west and then north into the Mule Mountains, where you’ll find the charming old mining town of Bisbee. More than any other town in Arizona, Bisbee retains its 19th-century frontier ambience. So many of the old buildings have been restored and refurbished that it’s almost like a movie set, its brightly painted storefronts climbing the sides of Tombstone Canyon, Moon Canyon, Miller Hill, and Brewery Gulch—all part of the original townsite laid out in 1880. The terrain is so steep in some places that Bisbee High School has a ground-floor entrance on each of its four levels.
Bisbee hung on as a copper town until the mid-20th century, but when the mines shut down, real estate values plummeted. The housing crash attracted a new wave of residents: artists, craftsmen, and counterculture types seeking camaraderie and a cheap place to live. Bisbee became nationally known as the “Best Historic Small Town in America,” among other accolades, prompting yet another influx, this time of retirees and investors, who took the restoring and refurbishing to a whole new level.
Today, Bisbee is beautiful to look at, and a very cool place to visit. You can spend a pleasant afternoon browsing in the shops and galleries, sampling the saloons in Brewery Gulch, and walking along the many public staircases and pedestrian walkways that were built in the 1930s, as a New Deal project of the Works Progress Administration. A favorite place to stay is the beautifully restored Copper Queen Hotel, which dates back to 1902. The small but quite interesting Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum is just across from the hotel. Serious mining enthusiasts can take a tour of the inactive Queen Mine outside town, where a small train takes visitors 1,500 feet into the underground tunnels.
| Douglas and Bisbee Highlights |
| The Gadsden Hotel1046 G Ave., Douglas, AZ 85607(520) 364-4481thegadsdenhotel.comCopper Queen Hotel11 Howell Ave., Bisbee, AZ 85603(520) 432-2216copperqueen.comBisbee Mining & Historical Museum5 Copper Queen Plaza, Bisbee, AZ 85603(520) 432-7071bisbeemuseum.orgBisbee
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