The American West – ON THE ROAD with Maria + Stephen

Coronado Trail Scenic Byway(CTSB) – U.S. Route 191- But First, Copper

15/06/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Adventure Van Travel, Coffee, Dining, Scenic Drive, The American West, Travel, Western history

The photo above shows our route through the White Mountains of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (ASNF) following Route 191 designated as the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway. The byway approximately follows the route of Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado as he and his band searched for the Seven Cities of Cibola. Coronado, of course, never found the mythical cities but he and his entourage did manage to plunder a number of `pueblos and kill a fair few indigenous people along the way.

The photo above is not what most of us would imagine the view from a scenic road looks like (and it isn’t ) but the only way to the CTSR from the south is through the Morenci Copper Mine. This mine is the largest open pit copper mine in North America. As the mine continues to consume more territory, the plan has been to move the state highway so that it would go around the mine. The current section of the road was designated as 191T (for temporary) but a new road around the mine has not been completed. So, travelers have the opportunity to drive right through the massive mining operation and the mining towns of Clifton and Morenci.

While this mine is one of the largest man-made scars on earth, we were quite facinated by the specatcle of this gargantuan mine and the scale and complexity of the operation (more in a bit).

***Morenci Open Pit Copper Mine, Morenci, Arizona***
***(Photo courtesy of Mining Technology)***

Clifton, Arizona (founded 1873, pop. 3780, elevation 3875′)

The town of Clifton sits at the southern end of the mine. The historic Chase Creek Street is 50-60% unoccupied but the buildings are in reasonably good shape. Chase Creek Street once was a bustling downtown street with hotels, saloons, restaurants and mercantiles. It could be quite attractive again for visitors if there were more tenants with shops and restaurants. (For a brief history of the town of Clifton click on the link above).

The town has a rich 150 year history centered around copper mining. In 1983 two events ocurred which changed the town forever. The first was the cataclysmic flood which hit the town on 1 October of that year. The flood wiped away half the town but remarkably no one was killed. The town had never been flooded since its original settlement. (The link above will take you to an article which includes photos taken during the flood).

The second event, which also ocurred during 1983, was the labor strike at the Morenci Mine. At the time the mine was owned by the infamous (in our opinion) Phelps-Dodge Mining Company. Phelps-Dodge was the only copper mining company that would not agree to a cost of living wage adjustment for the miners. The union went on strike until a 1986 settlement, but by then the union workers had been replaced by non-union workers and the union was broken for good.

***Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Chase Creek Street, Clifton, Arizona***

After our walking tour of the Chase Creek Street area we mounted up and headed north on the 191 to see the largest copper mine in North America. As we referenced earlier in this post, the state highway runs through portions of the open pit copper mine.

Morenci Copper Mine is owned and operated by Freeport McMoRan. This company is one of the successor companies to Phelps-Dodge and was formed in 1987. This mine operates 24 hours per day, 365 days of the year and employes 3600 people. The mine produces 225 million pounds of copper annually and is expected to operate until 2041.

We stopped at several points along the road to view the mine and the operations.The mining company has built several viewing areas that allow for safe viewing of the mine. Morenci has also placed a number of helpful informational signs at the viewing areas.

While we are confident that environmentalists will continue to work to eliminate mining due to the impacts on the environment, there is little doubt in our minds that the mining of raw materials will continue unabated. Our modern society and our way of living is dependent on copper and a host of other materials that come from within our planet. Our view is that the best option for now is to ensure that mining companies and other extractive firms are held to strict standards in relation to the environment and the safety of employees.

***Morenci Copper Mine Viewed From CTSR***

With the open pit behind us to our south we began the climb up into the White Mountains following the narrow twisting byway. We had the perfect day for the drive as the clear blue sky allowed us to take in one stunning vista after another. While the road is narrow and twisty (460 curves in 120 miles) the real challenge to driving this road safely is keeping your eyes on the road.

The first portion of the trail provides great views of the numerous canyons that fan out to the east and west of the trail. A bit further on the scenery turns to savannah-like grasslands which are home to beef cattle. Once past the mesa the trail begins to ascend again providing views of a number of peaks in the 8000′ to 9000′ range. These peaks include Raspberry Peak at 8337′, Indian Peak at 8701′, Rose Peak 8786′ and Blue Peak at 9364′. From a driving perspective we topped out at Hannagan Meadow which sits at 9300′. Quite impressive.

***Four Bar Mesa (6578′), Blue, Arizona (Pop. 68)***

Coronado Trail Scenic Road, Blue, Aiizona

At Hannagan Meadow we stopped briefly to check out the Hannagan Meadow Lodge. The lodge has been in operation since 1916. The lodge sits in the Hannagan Meadow Recreation Area which is within the ASNF. This whole area is completely unspoilt and,with the exception of the lodge, is completely undeveloped. The lodge operates year-round and is a meca for outdoor enthusiasts. Hannagan Meadow is known for having the first and last snowfall of the season in Arizona due its elevation and location.

Alpine, Arizona (Founded 1876, Pop. 146, elevation 8006′)

From the lodge we continued north beginning to descend the north slope of the White Mountains. We stopped in the tiny settlement of Alpine for a late lunch. The towns businesses sit along the 191 for the most part. The town is probably best described as rustic. The one school in town is K-8 with 60 students. The closest high school is down the mountain in Springerville (27 miles north). Finally, cementing Alpine as a true country town – you are correct – there are no traffic lights!

Alpine is nestled in the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the world. The town proper is surrounded by a number of meadows where we observed large herds of elk grazing. Quite spectacular for us city folk. Alpine, while tiny, attracts many outdoor enthusiasts which explains the six lodges in town.

While we had several choices for lunch, the Alpine Grill and Still seemed to demand our trade – maybe the Still part of the name compelled us in that direction – and it did not hurt that the Still also had an ice cream bar (much needed after a giant burger with fries) and a row of working pinball machines! Sound.

We noticed that there were a number of posters in town and at the entrance to the Still seeking information regarding the killing of wild horses in the area. Additionally, the National Forest Service is rounding up wild horses which are being sold for slaughter in Mexico according to the Arizona Wild Horse Association. Such a shame on both accounts – we have seen many herds of mustangs during our trips in the West and they are magnificent animals (and not a threat to anyone).

EAGER, ARIZONA (FOUNDED 1871, POP. 4473, ELEVATION 7000′)

After our lunch in Alpine we continued north on the CTSB, descending another 1000′ to Eager, at the northern base of the White Mountains, where we spent the night at the Best Western. Eager is another example of Mormons dispatched by Brigham Young to homestead a wilderness area and create a bounty of cattle, sheep and lumber (brief history embedded in the link above).

The next morning we found coffee and tea at Tin Can Coffee Co, met the owner and her daughter who were handling the morning rush (as it were in Eager). As sometimes happens when we (strangers) roll into a small town in the hinterlands, we were engaged by a friendly local eccentric who eagerly (ha ha) shared some of his theories on how much of what we see or believe is not real. It is hard to fathom that for all these years we had not realized that the moon landing was a hoax -travel can be so educational!

***Eager, Arizona, 1934 (Photo courtesy of Arizona Memory Project)***

St. johns, Arizona (Founded c.1862, Pop. 3480, Elev. 5745′)

We stopped in St. Johns to take a look at the pleasing church pictured below (earlier version of the church pictured underneath). While walking around the grounds we met the church caretaker. He generously provided us with an oral history of the town. Intially, the town was a Spanish community with an agricultural economy. The town was named El Vadito (little crossing) by Spanish explorers crossing the Little Colorado River.

***St. John The Baptist Catholic Church*** ***(2025)***

By 1879 a significant group of Mormon “pioneers” had arrived looking for a place where they could continue the illegal practice of polygamy. This led to significant conflict and violence as the local folks were not as keen on polygamy as their new Mormon neighbors.

As federal marshals were out actively pursuing polygamists many of the Mormon families fled to Mexico while others sought refuge in Utah. Among the prominent Mormon families in St Johns were the Udalls of American political fame.

We thanked the church caretaker for the enlightening history lesson, picked up the trail north and finished our day bunking down in Gallup, New Mexico (see our post Western New Mexico). Dinner at the El Rancho was just as good as we remembered from our last visit. Coffee and tea at the Gallup Coffee Company the following morning was as spot- on as we remembered from our prior visit.

Our departure from Gallup marked the beginning of the end of our Never Better Tour of the Southwest.

In our next and ultimate post of the trip we will share our experiences from our road trip through the heartland states of Kansas and Missouri en route to our home base in Connecticut.

Be seeing you!

Arizona: Superior to Duncan-Copper, Cotton, Breathtaking Views and Western Hospitality

22/05/202522/05/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Adventure Van Travel, Camping, Coffee, Copper Mining, The American West, Travel

***Picketpost Mountain, Route 60, Kearny, Arizona (4377′)***

This segment of our adventure took us from the Phoenix area across the Sonoran Desert towards the New Mexico border. We headed out toward Superior through a visually jarring landscape, although we were traveling just 65 miles east of Phoenix. We passed through a string of mining towns with their unearthly landscapes, the desolate San Carlos Reservation, the riparian Gila River Valley, the Pinal Mountains and finally, the most impressive Pinaleno Mountains.

SUPERIOR(FOUNDED 1882, POP. 2571, ELEV. 2,888′)

The town of Superior was the first of the mining or former mining towns on this trek. The town was formed in 1875 with the discovery of rich veins of silver resulting in the creation of the Silver King Mine. The silver market crashed within several years, but fortunately for the town folks, copper was discovered and the boom was on again. The Magma Copper Company operated from 1914 to 1996. Back to the bust portion of the program.

Today, the town with its proximity to Phoenix, beautiful scenery, bountiful hiking, rock climbing opportunities and the botanical garden is in the process of becoming discovered.

We stopped in Superior at the Circle K for fuel and firewood before heading up through the Queen Creek Canyon to look for a camping spot in the Oak Flat Recreation Area a few miles east of Superior.

The following morning we drove back down through the spectacular Queen Creek Canyon into Superior. First order of business, as always, was coffee and tea. Bellas Cafe appeared as if on cue immediately after we turned the corner on to Main Street. One of the employees we met is a musician and he and his band have played many venues in New Haven.

We fueled up and then wandered around town for a bit. Main Street and the two side streets are not yet entirely occupied, but enough so that town is lively with shops, restaurants, saloons and even a wine bar!

We met one of the artists of the mural below, he owns the building with the courtyard pictured below. He has moved to Superior from Los Angeles and is converting the building (formerly a bar/restaurant) to an art gallery. Bring on the tourists!

BOYCE THOMPSON ARBORETUM (BTA)

After exploring Superior we drove east a couple of miles to visit the BTA. The BTA was founded by Colonel William Boyce Thompson. The Colonel was at the time the owner of the Magma Copper Company in Superior and had built a winter home there in the early 1920’s, Picket Post House. In 1924, Boyce Thompson built the arboretum on 400 acres around Picket Post House. He was an interesting character (click on the link above to read more about Colonel Boyce as well as the BTA).

The BTA covers 372 acres with collections of desert plants from around the world. The collections from diverse desert locations provided us with the opportunity to see desert plants not naturally found in the United States-quite interesting. The arboretum also has five miles of hiking trails which gave us the opportunity to hike up a trail which provided views of the canyon and surrounding mountains. If you ever find yourself in Superior we recommend a visit to the BTA (not so much in the summer). After we finished our visit at BTA we stopped back in Superior for lunch at the Silver King Smokehouse and Saloon.

MIAMI(FOUNDED 1876, POP. 1528, ELEV. 3402′)

From Superior we continued east on U.S. Highway 60 which is still intact in Arizona ( Highway 60 at one point ran from Los Angeles, California to Virginia Beach, Virginia) with a plan to find camping east of Globe in the Pinal Mountains.

***Miami Copper Mine and Town of Miami, Arizona***
***(Photos above and below courtesy of Arizona Memory Project)***

We were not planning on stopping in Miami (this link has an excellent photo gallery of Miami and the smelter) but we were dumbfounded by the size of the mining operations and how the town itself is jammed onto the hills at the base of the mine and across the other side of U.S. 60. So, we found ourselves driving back and forth through town to take in the (to us) surreal scenery. This mine is one of five open pit copper mines in Arizona operated by Freeport-McMoRan (more on that later).

GLOBE(FOUNDED 1876, POP. 7179, ELEV. 3510′)

Globe is one of the communities along our route east which is in the category of former mining towns. The Old Dominion Mining Company produced copper here for 50 years. The mine had weathered a violent strike in 1917 and reopened in 1919 but only lasted another twelve years as the mine was in poor repair and the shafts were filling with water.

After a slow cruise through downtown Globe (and finding nothing open) we navigated to FR 112 to find a camping spot in the Pinal Mountains.

FR 112, Pinal Mountains, Globe, Arizona

Since we could see that Pinal Peak (7800′) was still covered in snow, we had no illusions that we would make it all the way to the peak. We had pulled off into a layby as the road is a single lane and there was a vehicle coming down (downhill has right of way). He reported through the open passenger window of his mud spattered pickup that conditions at the top were too muddy for our tires We took his word at face value and camped in the layby. No fools, us!

We awoke to a beautiful morning and began the trek back down the mountain to travel east to the town of Safford. If you watch the video below to the end you will see a herd of Javalina crossing the road.

Once we reached pavement we followed Highway 70 east through the San Carlos Reservation and then traveled along the Gila River to Safford.

SAN CARLOS RESERVATION (FOUNDED 1871, POP. 10,000′)

The San Carlos Reservation was established in 1871 and is home to the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The original inhabitants of the reservation were the Chiricahua Apache tribe; they were joined by members of other tribes soon after. The federal government closed the Camp Verde Reservation in 1875 and force marched the Yavapai 180 miles to the San Carlos Reservation. Of the 1400 marched to San Carlos, 375 died en route to their new “home”. Over time the reservation became a consolidation point for a number of different Apache speaking tribes. To make room for the new residents the federal government thoughtfully transported the original Chiricahua Apaches to Florida in 1886.

***Apaches Waiting for Rations at San Carlos Reservation (Photos above and below courtesy of Arizona Memory Project)***

Today approximately 10,000 of 16,000 tribal members live on the reservation. The reservation was federally recognized in 1934 and encompasses 1.8 million acres (3000 sq. miles). About thirty percent of the members live in San Carlos and the remainder in several other tiny settlements along Highway 70.

Economically, the San Carlos members seem to be worse off than many other reservations. There is, of course, a casino (two in fact) but beyond that there is little industry other than revenue generated from recreation and wildlife permits and a handful of small Peridot mines (open to tribal members only). 49% of the population lives below the poverty line and 36% of working age members are unemployed.

safford(pop. 10,700, elev. 2920′)

Safford was by far the biggest town by population on our route, with almost 11,000 people. The portion of Highway 70 in Safford is lined with the usual “civi town” suspects – fast food chains, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. Fortunately, one block off of the 70, Main Street is intact with local retailers, restaurants and, most importantly, coffee (Ginaveve’s). During our walk around town we also happened upon the local insurance agency, where the big red umbrella is prominently on display.

Agriculture is the primary industry in Safford. The main crop is cotton, which was introduced into the area by Mormon settlers during the 1870s. You are probably familiar with Pima cotton which comes from the fertile soil in the Gila Valley. Latter Day Saints remain influential in the area – about one third of the population is LDS.

From an employment standpoint, many of the residents work in the two mines north of town; the nearby state and federal prisons are also significant employers.

The main attraction for us in stopping in Safford was the opportunity to drive the Swift Trail which winds up over 7000 feet through the Pinaleno Mountains to Mount Graham (10,696′). The trail is paved for the first 22 miles and dirt the final 13 miles.

***Swift Trail, Coronado National Forest, Safford Arizona***

Climbing Swift Trail

The upper elevations of the Pinaleno Mountains are heavily pine forested. So, when Mormon farmers arrived in the late 1800, the trail was built as a wagon route for lumber needed by the farmers and later for the mining operations that were opened in the early 1900s.

The views were as breathtaking as advertised! The drive itself was fun as we navigated the seemingly unending switchbacks that lead around the mountains and eventually up to the top. Once at the top we could see why the Western Apache considered Mount Graham (Dzil Nchaa Si’an) a sacred place. As is often the case, the Native Americans were removed and placed on reservations so that our extraction of natural resources could continue unabated. Fortunately, for all of us, this land is now protected as part of the Coronado National Forest.

***Sulphur Springs Valley – Winchester Mountains***

Descending Swift Trail

After descending the trail we camped at the base, which afforded us an evening soaking in panoramic views of the snowcapped mountain range – mesmerizing – nature never disappoints!

In the morning we grabbed coffee and tea at Ginaveve’s and set out to hike along the Gila River within the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. The Gila is a 649 mile long tributary of the Colorado and flows all year through the section within the conversation area creating this green strip through the desert. Below this area the Gila and its tributaries are damed several times. By the time the river reaches the Phoenix area it is usually just a dry wash.

After hiking along several sections of the Gila, we returned to the Beast and made our way back to Highway 70 (The Old West Highway) to make the short drive east to Duncan. The Gila River loops north from where we hiked but we rejoined the river in Duncan. Duncan sits within the Duncan Valley and is another agricultural hub in an otherwise barren land. Duncan, like Safford, is a cotton producer. Cattle ranching and copper mining (about 40 miles north is the largest open pit copper mine in North America) are also found in and around Duncan-three of the Five Cs of Arizona – Copper, Cotton and Cattle – the other two being climate and citrus.

DUNCAn(FOUNDED 1883, POP. 879, elev. 3400′)

We had read about the Simpson Hotel and it sounded charming (it is – subject to liking cats- which we do) and the location in Duncan was perfect for kicking off our final segment in Arizona (Coronado Trail Scenic Road). The link to the hotel website (above) is a treasure trove of interesting information and worth a look.

The original hotel opened in 1914 as the Hotel Hobbs. Subsequently, the property was owned and operated by several different families. The current innkeepers, Clayton Jarvis and Deborah Mendelsohn began renovations in January of 2006 and opened in May of 2007 after 18 months of demolition and renovation. Deborah and Clayton are wonderful hosts adding to the charm of this classic territorial building’s exterior and art gallery interior. Clayton is an accomplished artist and has a studio in the courtyard behind the hotel. We completed our stay with a pizza pie to go from Humble Pie which conveniently sits about 200 feet up Main Street from the Simpson.

This is our post covering the Superior to Duncan segment of OTR 11.0, our penultimate segment in Arizona. We hope you found it interesting.

Be seeing you!

Ts-iuk-shan

12/04/202512/04/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Adventure Van Travel, Art, Bike Trails, Scenic Drive, Street Art and Murals, The American West, Travel

***La Guitarrista by IGNACIO, Rialto Theater, Downtown Tucson***

From the Tumacacori Mission we made the hour drive to Tucson – first stop Presta Coffee – excellent Cortados! Always fun to return to one of your favorites!

Tucson’s origins date back to the 1770s when the Spanish built a presidio here to stop the westward movement of the French from the Gulf of Mexico (yes-Mexico!). At that time Tucson was the northern frontier of New Spain and there was a well- established line of missions throughout the area dating back to the early 1700s and the work of Padre Kino and the Jesuits ( see previous post: Tumacacori National Historical Park).

Hotel Mccoy

A s we have accumulated more time on the road we have come to appreciate smaller and more unique hotel accommodations when we are not camping in the Beast.

The Hotel McCoy in Tucson (there are three in total – the other locations are in Texas and Washington) is a renovated mid-century motor court hotel. Logistically, we were drawn by its proximity to downtown and the light rail. More importantly, we like to see older properties renovated and brought back to life, as the McCoy has done in Tucson. Additionally, any accommodation that promotes local art, live music, coffee, beer and wine has our attention. The murals pictured below are a sample of the murals on the exterior walls. Fine art is on display in all the rooms and lobby/bar area.

We enjoyed our stay for all of the reasons we have mentioned above; in addition, all of the hotel staff were quite friendly and focused on meeting our needs.

barrio viejo

The barrio represents one of the best examples of the Sonoran Adobe architecture utilized by Spanish and Mexican settlers. Most of the buildings and dwellings were constructed between 1860 and 1900. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the barrio was demolished under the guise of urban renewal. Thankfully, the community was able to halt the demolition of the entire neighborhood and what exists today is protected as a National Historic District.

The barrio that exists today is quite handsome. It is also quite gentrified and no longer home to the working class Mexicans that lived here for many decades. In our opinion, this neighborhood is absolutely worth spending time to explore. Also, several of the corner buildings are occupied by excellent restaurants (more on that later).

Downtown – Congress & Broadway

The downtown entertainment and shopping district is packed into several blocks on Congress and Broadway. The district is anchored by the Congress Hotel, a local landmark. The hotel opened in 1919 and closed in 1934 as a result of a major fire. The hotel reopened in 1940 albeit with just 40 rooms in lieu of the original 80 rooms. The hotel presents live music seven nights a week in multiple venues. Jazz is on tap every evening. Photos below courtesy of the hotel.

Street murals are all around town with a significant concentration downtown. Some of our favorites are pictured below.

We mentioned the light rail earlier in the post. The Sun Link routes allow people to travel from the west end at the Mercado (near our hotel) through downtown, the Fourth Avenue District and out to the university in the east end. Quite convenient and FREE! We really appreciate not having to take the van into downtown areas in larger cities.

***Sun Link Streetcar, Downtown Tucson*** (***Photo courtesy of Sun Link)***

Fourth Avenue – Boho

Fourth Street is regarded as the Boho or Hippie area of Tucson and appropriately so. The district is just north of downtown and full of all sorts of small shops-vintage clothing, art, home decor, vinyl and plenty of eateries and bars. The area is also home to a fair number of murals (we have photos of a couple below). It is a fun neighborhood to explore on foot and pop into the shops (and maybe a bar or two).

Redington Pass

After several days touring around town using the light rail we fired up the Beast to take an afternoon road trip to the Redington Pass which is east of Tucson in the Coronado National Forest. The road (Forest Road 371) climbs up and over the pass between the Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains and then descends into the San Pedro River Valley.

The pavement ends at mile marker three as the rough dirt road begins the winding climb to the pass.

Redington Road

We stopped at the pass to take in the distant views. Recreational target shooting is legal in this area of the Coronado National Forest and we took advantage of the opportunity before proceeding down into the San Pedro River Valley. This area is also cattle country. The Bellota Ranch (bay-OH-ta) has been here since 1875. It was founded by the Redfield brothers, who had migrated from New York. The ranch is no longer owned by the Redfield family but it is still operational as a cattle ranch (plenty of evidence of that scattered everywhere!).

As we proceeded down the west side of the mountain we entered into a zone filled with Saguaro cacti and green farm fields further off in the heart of the river valley. Quite beautiful!

***North Redington Road, Galiuro Mountains and Wilderness in the Background***

Once down onto the valley floor we follow the road north before making a right turn onto East Redfield Canyon Road. The road takes us past what appeared to be a small abandoned settlement (it was at one time) but upon further investigation all that remains is the Carlink Ranch. The family farm and ranch was established in 1884 and is now under the care of the sixth generation of the Smallhouse family. The Carlink sells cattle, cacti and wood. The independent spirit of the West lives on!

https://carlinkranch.com/

From the Carlink we traveled north along the San Pedro Valley River to San Manuel and then passed to the north of Mt. Lemmon and finally headed south back to Tucson and a well earned dinner (and perhaps a cocktail).

Bicycling

Tucson has many miles of bike trails. We threw a figurative dart at the board and opted for the Rillito River Path. This section of the path follows the bank of the river for a bit over 23 miles. Perfect bicycling weather – 75F, sunny, no wind and no humidity!

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/rillito-river-path

fika & food

Tucson as a city of almost 550,000 has plenty of excellent dining options from taco trucks to full on fine dining. And, of course, many specialty coffee shops to sample.

Our all around favorite on this visit was the Coronet which consists of a cafe, a fine dining restaurant and the Nightjar Craft Cocktail Bar. The Coronet is located approximately one mile from our hotel in an absolutely gorgeous 160 year old Spanish style building in the Barrio Viejo. As you might infer from the sheer number of photos from the Coronet this was our “go to” eatery while in Tucson. We enjoyed breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Coronet (not on the same day!).

We also recommend the Five Points Market and Restaurant. The restaurant sits at a five way intersection which joins multiple barrios. It has a very simple interior but the food is excellent. They also have small but excellent wine list well matched to their dinner offerings.

For drinks and small plates we recommend the Crisol Bar. The Crisol is also located in the Barrio Viejo and co-located with the Exo Roast Company. Very convenient!! We did not partake but the Crisol is locally well known to be the place to go if you are mezcal aficionado. Para todo mal, mezcal… y para todo bien tambien. When things are bad, mezcal… and when good, the same.

There are many great attractions in Tucson that we have not covered in this post primarily because we have visited them on previous visits to Tucson. We have listed our top recommendations below.

Saguaro National Park
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
Pima Air and Space Museum
San Xavier del Bac Mission
Mt Lemmon
Tucson Museum Of Art

We will post next on our time in the King of Arizona National Wildlife Refuge which is located about 40 miles north of the Yuma Army Proving Ground in the Northern Sonoran Desert. Yes, back to the desert!

Be seeing you!

P.S. Ts-iuk-shan is the Tohono O’odham name for Signal Mountain in Tucson. Tucson is a bastardization of the name given by the original inhabitants.

El Camino del Diablo – The Devil’s Road

07/04/202502/05/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Adventure Van Travel, Camping, Overlanding, Scenic Drive, The American West, Travel

***El Camino del Diablo, Sonoran Desert, Arizona***

We departed Tucson (future post) on a southwesterly course heading for Ajo Townsite. The journey took us through the large and mostly desolate Tohono O’Odham Nation. The reservation is about the size of Connecticut with an on reservation population of approximately 9000 members. There are 28,000 enrolled members of the tribe. The Tohono O’odham Nation sits on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.

Ajo has been the site of copper mining since the 1840’s. Copper has been extracted by Native American, Spanish and Euro-Americans. By the early 1900’s the production of copper in Ajo caught the attention of Phelps Dodge, the largest copper mining company in the United States. Phelps purchased the mine in 1921 and continued to operate the mine until 1985. During those years the mine employed several thousand people and the town boomed. An employee strike in 1983 ultimately led to the permanent closure of the mine in 1985 . Today, all that remains is a very large pit just outside of the town center.

The town’s attractive square and architecture was built by Phelps Dodge to make working and living in town more appealing. The year round population in Ajo is 3300. The town has become a popular snowbird destination during the winter due to the delightful weather. There is also a small artist colony living and working here.

The photos below are two notable murals that have been painted in Ajo since our last visit.

We decided to camp and relax for several days in an area of the desert south of Ajo known as Darby Well.

On our second day of camping at Darby Well we drove south on Route 85 to visit the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (OPCNM). After stopping at the visitor center and speaking with the rangers we opted to drive the Ajo Mountain Loop as the best way to take in the OPCNM in an afternoon.

Ajo Mountain Road, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

The Ajo Mountain Loop is a 21 mile road which provides a great sample of the variety of terrain and vegetation in the monument. The loop starts on the desert floor and winds up into the Ajo Mountains. We took a short hike into the Estes Canyon (photos below -note the arch in the photo directly below).

OPCNM does not receive many visitors relative to other National Monuments and National Parks. The remote location, extreme weather (heat) and proximity to the Mexico border are all contributing factors.

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2017/09/organ-pipe-cactus-sonoran-desert-treasure

https://www.nps.gov/orpi/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

After several days camping in the Darby Well and our visit to OPCNM we decided we were ready to tackle the El Camino. The El Camino is a 142 mile trail through the Southern Sonoran Desert. It starts south of Ajo from the Darby Well Road and then follows an east/west route through a portion of the Organ Pipe Cactus NM, the Cabeza Prieta NWR and finally the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range.

This overland adventure does come with risks. One of the risks is captured in the photo directly above. The other risks are inherent in any extended overland trip – adequate fuel and water, mechanical breakdown, flat tire and, finally, getting stuck in sand or mud. Fortunately, other than a damaged bike carrier and the obligatory addition of more desert pinstriping we did not have any issues.

Our first stop was at the Bates Well Ranch which was owned and operated by the Gray family from 1935 until 1976. The operation consisted of 15 cattle ranches and line camps across the Southern Sonoran Desert.

The ranch is inside the boundaries of the OPCNM. The National Monument was established in 1937 but the Gray family was allowed to continue to ranch the land (many national parks consist of land appropriated from private owners). The National Park Service does not allow cattle grazing but in this case made an exception. Harry Gray, the last member of the family made maximum use of the “exception” raising cattle on the ranch until his death in 1976.

The one advantage of the ranch property becoming public land is that is protected and overseen by the park service. Much of the property is intact and provides a great example of a frontier ranch.

We pushed on from the Bates Well past the Camp Grip Border Patrol Outpost where we could see four border patrollers on a hill scanning southward with their binoculars while the electronic gear above them whirred away.

The next section of the trail brought us into the Pinta Sands. The Sands area was undoubtedly the most enjoyable segment of the trip from a pure driving perspective. Soft sand —deep but not too deep—smooth riding and higher speeds!

Prietza National Wildlife Refuge, El Camino del Diablo

From the Pinta Sands we transitioned to a dramatically rougher environment as we began transiting through the Pinacate Lava Flow. We decided that this area would be good for camping as it was reasonably level and provided a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and unobstructed views for stargazing.

Pinacate Volcanic Field

On day two, we continued west until we arrived at the site of the Tule Well. In the 1840s many Mexicans from the state of Sonora were traveling north to work the gold diggings on the Colorado River. One of them decided to dig a well (by hand) and to sell the water to his fellow countrymen as they traveled north. Some accounts claim that the well digger was killed by a traveler who refused to pay for the water. The well fell into disuse between the 1860s and 1890s as this route was all but abandoned due the frequency of deaths from dehydration.

After visiting the Tule Well and the Circle 8 Gravesite we continued west towards the Tinjas Atlas Mountains. We were hoping to follow a trail that would lead us to the remains of the Fortuna Mine. As you can see from the video below this area has numerous narrow washes. Ultimately, we were foiled by a wash too deep and steep for the Beast.

Tinjas Atlas

We worked our way back until we found a route that took us in a northeasterly direction to the town of Wellton. This route took us through the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. It is most advisable to stay on the road if you choose this route as it is an active military gunnery and bombing range! Fortunately, we had obtained the necessary permit and pass to transit through the range.

We exited the desert in Wellton driving through the encroaching housing subdivisions spreading east from Yuma. We spent the evening in Yuma; in the morning , we decided to head back out into the Sonoran Desert and visit the Fortuna Mine using a route from Yuma. The road out from Yuma was extremely rough and rocky but were committed to going out to the mine as part of our completion of the El Camino del Diablo.

As so often appears to be the case, gold was discovered accidentally – in this case by three men looking for stray cattle in the foothills of the Gila Mountains in 1894. They filed land claims and gold was mined here from 1896 to 1904. The story of Fortuna is similar to many of the old west mining scenarios – boom and then quickly bust. The mine was productive – producing 125,000 ounces of recorded gold during its short run. The vertical shafts are still visible (photo below). The remnants of the town that quickly blossomed above the mine are still accessible by foot.

One other item that we wanted to share relates to the photo below. Periodically as we crossed the desert we would see blue flags placed within sight of the trail. The blue flags are on 30 foot high poles so that they are visible from a great distance. At each of these sites there is a 55 gallon drum of potable water. These drums are placed and maintained by an organization called Humane Borders. The organization has obtained permission to place the water drums along the border (the El Camino is within sight of the border for much of the route). You may read about the Humane Borders organization in the article linked below.

https://www.humaneborders.org/

Our two day journey across El Camino del Diablo was an exciting adventure. This is a trip we have wanted to do for some time and we recognized that in the context of our OTR story arc this was the time to make the crossing. There is a point where the physical rigors of this trip would be beyond our capability.

After resting for a couple days in Yuma we will be heading north to explore the Northern Sonoran Desert and the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.

Be seeing you!

Over the Mountain and Across the Valley

24/03/202502/05/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Adventure Van Travel, Scenic Drive, The American West, Travel

As we departed Bisbee (see previous post) we decided to make a quick detour to the border to check out the small town of Naco.

Naco, Arizona is a census designated place with a population of 1176. Naco, Sonora, the sister city (pop. 6064), is immediately on the other side of the border. While the border was finalized by the Gadsden Treaty of 1853, the two Nacos functioned as a single community regarding everyday living. Recently, Naco, Sonora was also very popular with United States citizens who could easily cross the border and purchase prescription drugs and other items (see Pancho Villa post) . Additionally, the younger drinking age in Mexico (18 vs. 21 Arizona) saw many teens crossing over for an evening of drinking.

The situation changed dramatically during the 1990’s as routes for smuggling migrants and drugs moved to this area after other parts of the border were more effectively sealed. The reverse flow of the smuggling business is the movement of large quantities of weapons south from the U.S. into Mexico for use by drug cartels (shameful).

The increase in smuggling coupled with 9/11 resulted in much tighter security. Residents were no longer able to cross back and forth across the border as freely. The completion of a new border fence in 2017 (pictured above) made the separation of the two towns very real. The residents of Naco, Arizona were not apprised of the new fence – they literally woke up one morning to the sound of construction equipment rolling into town.

***United States Border Station, Naco, Arizona***

Many residents claim that this event was the beginning of the end for Naco from a business perspective. An additional factor is that the port of entry restricted its operating hours – moving from 24 hours per day to closing at 10:00 PM – sending more traffic to Douglas where the port of entry is 24/7. Today, there is just one remaining business in Naco.

The last business standing in Naco is not unsurprisingly a bar! But not just any bar it is the Gay 90’s Bar as in the 1890s! The bar, which serves food, has pool tables and live music, has been in business since 1931. Why anyone would open a bar during prohibition does not make sense on surface of the issue, but there is probably more to the story than we will ever know. More importantly, they are still in business despite all the turmoil and hard times.

After our brief and somewhat depressing stop in Naco, we cotinued west across beautiful grasslands and entered the Coronado National Memorial. We had visited the Memorial in 2019 to explore the Coronado Cave but did not continue up to the pass. The photographs below are from our caving adventure in 2019. The entrance to the cave is a half mile hike up the south slope of Montezuma Peak and definitely worth the trip. The cave is 600 feet long with lots of small spurs.

Back tothe present — we wound our way up the canyon road of the 7640 foot high Montezuma Peak and stopped at the pass to take in the views back to the east and west to the immense (330 square miles) San Rafael Valley.

Montezuma Canyon Road

***View West from Montezuma Pass — San Rafael Valley — Huachuca Mountains to the North***

The road beyond the pass heading west is best suited to 4WD, high clearance vehicles as it becomes progressively more rutted and rocky.

Montezuma Canyon Road

From the pass we continued down the road admiring the views of the valley below. It is hard for us to fathom that the majority of the valley’s 90,000 acres is privately owned by a handful of ranchers. But then again, the valley has been home to cattle ranching for 175 years!

The largest ranch in the valley was owned and operated by the Sharp family from 1903 to 1999. The ranch, The San Rafael Ranch, lies in the center of the valley and consisted of 22,000 acres. The state acquired the land and designated it as natural area in order to protect what is considered the finest stand of grassland in the state. Sadly, when the state purchased the land and designated it as a natural area, it closed access to the ranch house and all of the property (although the state allows the remaining ranchers to graze their cattle on the land). The other interesting historical note is that the property that comprised the ranch was the last remaining intact Spanish Land Grant (well, we think it is interesting).

***San Rafael Ranch House (Photo courtesy of SouthernArizonaGuide.com)***

Being very cognizant of the fact that we were traveling through a fragile area, we carefully followed an established track which took us out through the grasslands. The video below provides some perspective of the experience of riding through the grasslands with the mountains ahead of us — quite spectacular!

San Rafael Valley

After our jaunt through the grass we returned to the road to complete our crossing of the valley.

***Patagonia Mountains*** ***Left — Canelo Hills Right***

At the end of the drive across the valley, we arrived at the border town of Lochiel. The town was originally named La Noria by Mexican settlers. It was renamed Lochiel (Low—Keel) in 1885 by rancher Colin Cameron in honor of his Scottish ancestors.

Lochiel is often described as a ghost town but it appears there a handful of inhabitants. Our research comes up with ten people. We don’t think anyone really knows and historical records indicate that the population peaked at 400 when the mine in nearby Patagonia was in full operation. We can’t warrant that anyone actually lives there because while we saw several dwellings that appeared to be inhabited we did not see any people while in Lochiel. In fact, we only saw one person during our ride across the valley — a man in a pick up truck — who we let pass us by as he was traveling at a much higher rate of speed than we could or would on the rough and winding road.

We visited the red schoolhouse pictured above. It is an adobe structure and operated as a classic one room schoolhouse for all of the children in town. The schoolhouse began operation in 1892 and closed in 1972 in response to declining enrollment. The remaining kids were bussed to school in Patagonia. Today the school is maintained by the Patagonia Museum.

There is also small church in Lochiel. We could not visit the church as the fence around the church is gated and locked. It appears to be of adobe construction as well. The fence directly behind the church is the border fence with Mexico. We unfortunately could not find any history regarding the church.

***Lochiel Church (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia)***

We mentioned that Lochiel is a border town. The border fence here is just a chain link fence with some barbed wire on top. Quite a contrast from the other sections of the border we have seen on this trip. Years ago, from the 1960s until 1983 there was a port of entry in Lochiel. It was operated by Customs Inspector Helen Mills during the 60s and 70s and then Custom Inspector Mike Daniels until closing in 1983. We found some fantastic photos (below) of Helen and the port of entry from an article in Tucson.com

Well, that is our report on our experience overlanding through the Coronado Memorial NM and the San Rafael Valley. This trip really helped us to envision a different time in our country.

From Lochiel we drove north and camped in the Patagonia Mountains for an evening. Our next segment will take us to Mission San Jose’ de Tumaca’cori north of Nogales and then on up to Tucson for a city segment.

Be seeing you!

Bisbee…….for a night or two or three or four

15/03/202502/05/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Dining, Scenic Drive, Street Art and Murals, The American West, Travel

Gadsden Hotel—Douglas, Arizona

The morning after our foray into Puerto Palomas we broke camp and lit out for the Arizona border. We followed NM 9 to its terminus just before the Arizona border (completing our crossing of New Mexico on NM 9). From there we rejoined US 80 (which we had driven on from Montgomery, Alabama to the Texas/New Mexico border) on the roughly three hour drive from Columbus, NM to another border town- Douglas, Arizona.

We had passed through Douglas in 2019 and stopped for lunch at the restaurant located in the Gadsden Hotel. We made a note that if any future road trips brought us close to Douglas, we would stay the night and enjoy cocktails sitting in the Henry Trost designed lobby. As we were ultimately heading to one of our favorite weird towns, Bisbee, just west of Douglas, that is just what we did.

The Gadsden is not much to look at from the outside, but the interior, especially the lobby, is quite impressive. We have stayed at six hotels designed by the architect Henry Trost (1860-1933). His firm, Trost & Trost was based in El Paso, Texas and designed over 600 buildings in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona as well as Mexico. Trost & Trost heavily influenced the look of the Southwest and still does today with over 100 of their structures still standing.

The article embedded below provides a brief history of the hotel and the town of Douglas.

About

After our enjoyable night at the Gadsden Hotel we made the short trip to Bisbee. We had visited Bisbee in 2019 and chronicled the interesting history of the town at that time (see our post Bisbee, AZ 03.20.2019)

On this trip, we stayed at the Bisbee Grand Hotel right in the heart of downtown Bisbee. The Grand has been in business since 1906. The hotel describes itself as a place where “the rugged charm of the Old West blends with modern comfort”. Modern might be a bit of a stretch, but the hotel is great. Everyone on staff is friendly and helpful. The first floor has a great bar and restaurant, and there is live music just about every night. Booze, beds, food (and music)! The formula certainly works for us. We will come back to our stay at the Grand later in the post.

Bisbee is no longer a mining town, other than the daily tours of the Copper Queen Mine (we did the mine tour on our previous visit – it is excellent – you ride into the mine on the train that carried the miners deep into the mountain). After the mine closed the population decreased for several years but has reversed course as the town has become home to a plethora of artists, musicians and people who just want to do their own thing.

When we visited Bisbee in 2019 Stephen became a devoted customer of Optimo Hatworks. Optimo is a milliner and renovator. The shop has been in business for around 50 years. Knowing that we were heading back to Bisbee, Stephen planned on a renovation for his 2019 panama and having a new hat made. Below left, Karen fitting the hat with their hat fitting tool aka medieval torture device. Below right, renovated panama with new band.

Now that a successful trip is assured with a renovated hat in hand and a new hat scheduled to arrive at The Fort in approximately three months, let’s get to the coffee portion of our Bisbee stay.

https://www.optimohatworks.com/

Allen & Co Espresso House opened in October 2024. The space was previously occupied by Kafka, another specialty coffee shop, for many years. When Kafka closed, husband and wife John and Kelsey Allen jumped at the chance to open their own cafe. When we were frequenting the cafe during our stay they had just celebrated the cafe’s four month anniversary.

***Allen & Company Espresso House, Subway Street, Bisbee***

The timing of the opportunity worked perfectly as Scott and Kelsey had just returned from a one year, 29 state photography assignment when the space became available. Scott is also an experienced barista and he makes a mean cortado. Best of luck to Scott and Kelsey (and their newest family member Pip – pictured above with Maria)!

On a related topic Bisbee is home to Patisserie Jacqui. The patisserie was named a James Beard semifinalist in the outstanding bakery category. The patisserie has a line down the street each morning because they sell out quickly. As soon as we pulled up in front of the hotel, Maria bolted up the hill to get on line. She snagged a pistachio chocolate snail and a morning bun. Beyond delicious!

We mentioned earlier that Bisbee has become a hub for many artists. There is public art on display all around the town. We have included below several photos of artwork from around town and the Bisbee Art Wall located in the alleyway between 24 and 26 Broadway (the area below the alley is known locally as Beer Gulch — bars and brothels were located on this street in the mining era).

We spent an afternoon walkabout exploring some areas in the maze of streets and alleys that we had not visited during our previous stay. In particular, we walked out Brewery Avenue from the Old Bisbee Park until we reached Zacatecas Canyon. We followed the road up the canyon until we came upon a closed gate and private property signs. You do not under any circumstance trespass on private property in the West.

We spotted a number of interesting homes and buildings and nice views of the canyon walls (and great exercise at 5600 feet elevation).

On our last evening in Bisbee, we walked up Tombstone Hill for dinner at Thuy’s Noodle Shop. We had read an article about Thuy Dang in Arizona Highways Magazine; she moved to Bisbee from Vietnam nine years ago. Thuy desperately missed Vietnamese food and decided to address the issue by opening a noodle shop. She spent two years perfecting her recipes before opening the shop.

https://www.arizonahighways.com/business/thuys-noodle-shop

The food was delicious! We have to admit that we probably would not have tried a pho shop in Bisbee if we had not seen the article and then spoken with John at Allen & Company Espresso. Lesson learned (although we have learned the hard way that pizza outside the northeast is invariably mediocre at best).

We will finish up this post with the Grand Bisbee Hotel. We had originally booked one night thinking we would have dinner, take care of business at Optimo Hatworks and be on our way. But there is just something about Bisbee (for us)- the place, the people that kept us from leaving. Everybody has a story in Bisbee (and they are usually quite interesting). So everyday we ended up at the bar/front desk asking to extend our stay. Fortunately the hotel was able to accommodate our requests, although we ended up staying in three different rooms, all “unique” for lack of a better term (photos below).

One of the interesting people we met in Bisbee was Alice. She was a competitive shooter wielding six shooters at targets while riding her horse. Alice also owned a bar in Sonoita (a nearby census designated place, population 803) for 15 years. She shared with us how she kept the peace when her bar filled up with thirsty and eventually rowdy bikers. Let’s just say don’t mess with Alice!

Our next segment will take us west through the Coronado National Monument and across the magnificent and isolated St. Raphael Valley (which extends into Mexico).

Be seeing you!

Pancho Villa Visits New Mexico and OTR Visits Old Mexico

06/03/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Foreign Travel, Museum, The American West, Travel, Western history

Las Cruces—City of Crosses

05/02/202512/02/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Coffee, Dining, Hiking, New Mexico, Street Art and Murals, The American West, Travel

The Cornhusker State: Blown Fuses, Hump Yards, Emigrants and Buffalo Bill: Part One

25/09/202326/09/2023 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Coffee, Dining, Scenic Drive, Sportsmobile, The American West, Travel, van life

When we arrived at our campsite near Sterling, Colorado in the northeast corner of the state, we discovered that our AGM batteries were not fully charged. A quick check of the various fuses led us to the 300 amp fuse that sits between the second alternator and our four AGM batteries. The fuse and the fuse block were fried! Without the second alternator to charge the batteries our off grid capacity is limited. Therefore, our first order of business as we began our trek across Nebraska was to find a shop to replace the block and fuse.

The closest RV shop to our east was located in North Platte. We were planning on stopping in North Platte to visit a couple of attractions, so we set sail for North Platte on Route 30, also known as the Lincoln Highway. Route 30 is a coast to coast two lane U.S. highway. It is the third longest U.S. highway and was the first coast to coast highway.

The 30 through Nebraska is also quite notable in that it roughly follows the Oregon Trail along the north side of the Platte River. This section of the Oregon Trail along the river made for relatively easy travel and navigation for the emigrant pioneers due to the flat terrain and east-west course of the river. In the early years of the westward migration, the Nebraska plains provided plenty of food with literally thousands of bison roaming the western grasslands. The history of the Oregon Trail and the people who made or attempted to make the journey is quite fascinating and provides great insight into the culture in the U.S. in the years before and directly after the Civil War. Much of the western movement of people was driven by the desire to escape poverty and religious persecution in the East. Some things never change apparently.

We highly recommend two books about the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck chronicles his journey across the Oregon trail by covered wagon in 2011. The second book is The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman Jr. Parkman made the journey in 1846 and this book provides great insight into the dangers of the journey and is also reflective of the prevailing attitudes of the time (particularly racism).

We pulled into Larry’s RV hoping that Larry would be willing to take a look at the Beast. Larry waved us right into one the garage bays and directed a mechanic to take a gander under the hood. Larry is very committed to assisting travelers far from home that drop into the shop in need of help, sometimes to the chagrin of his mechanics. Larry and his wife Joyce have been fixing mobile homes and RVs since 1956!

The problem was indeed the 300 amp fuse, and, unfortunately there were no 300 amp fuses to be had in town. Larry promised to have a fuse for us the next morning. Our mechanic, John, made the vehicle safe and we set off to explore the town, find some grub and ultimately a place to park the Beast and bed down for the night.

In the morning we went downtown in hope of finding good coffee and tea. We have to admit that we were not expecting a legitimate specialty coffee establishment in the Central Nebraska plains. Good news — we were wrong! The Espresso Shop in downtown North Platte was a delight and put us in good stead for the remainder of the day. http://www.theespressoshopbycaravan.com

We were fortunate enough to meet the owner of the shop – Brandon Raby (in photo above with dog). Brandon moved the shop to its current location several years ago and has created a community around “coffee culture, music and food”. We knew were onto something special when we entered the cafe to the jazz of Jean “Django” Reinhardt playing on the sound system. In addition to his culinary talents, Brandon is an accomplished jazz guitarist. The shop hosts musicians several nights each month. The link below will take you to an excellent article about Reinhardt. https://www.npr.org/2010/01/22/122865782/django-reinhardt-100-years-of-hot-jazz

***Bailey Yard, Union Pacific Railroad, North Platte, Nebraska***

The Union Pacific Railroad operates the world’s largest rail yard in North Platte. This rail yard stretches for eight miles and handles 14,000 freight cars every day while sorting approximately 3,000 of those in the eastbound and westbound hump yards. The locomotive repair shop (photo below, bottom left) repairs 750 locomotives per month. One-Spot tracks are where rail cars are repaired at the yard. The facility repairs about 20 cars per day and replaces 10,000 pairs of rail wheels annually. This yard never closes!

The hump yards are raised earth humps (34ft) utilizing gravity to sort cars to the correct outbound train. The hump yards can sort four cars per minute. We watched freight cars rolling down the humps from our vantage point in the Golden Spike Tower 100 feet above the yard. It is actually a lot cooler than it sounds – you will need to trust us on this one!

The tower is owned and operated by a private nonprofit organization based in North Platte. The Union Pacific viewing platform was falling into disrepair and community leaders wanted to make sure that the many train enthusiasts who come to North Platte to see the Bailey Yard would keep on coming.

As the thrill of watching thousands of freight cars and locomotives being shuttled back and forth eventually began to diminish, we moved on to visit the Scout’s Rest Ranch. The ranch and the “Second Empire” style home were once the property of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The local folks nicknamed the house “The Mansion on the Prairie” as it was by far the largest house in the area when constructed in 1886.

***Second Empire Home, William F. Cody, Scouts Rest Ranch, North Platte, Nebraska***

Cody was born in Iowa in 1846 and moved to Kansas with his family in 1853. At that time Kansas was at the heart of deadly violence between pro and antislavery settlers. This period of violence is referred to as Bleeding Kansas, and is considered to be a precursor to the Civil War. Cody’s father, Isaac was stabbed while making an antislavery speech and died three years later from his injuries.

As a result, Cody began working at the age of nine to help support his family. His first job was working for a freighting company. By the time he was 14 he was riding for the Pony Express. Cody was an superb horseman and after his tours for the Pony Express he worked as cowboy on cattle drives. It was on one of the cattle drives that Cody became famous as an Indian fighter after he killed a Native American that was part of a band that attacked the drive. Cody also met Wild Bill Hickok at this time as Hickok was a cowhand on the same drive.

Cody served as a scout during the Civil War; from 1861 to 1863 he was assisting the Union Army in their attempts to destroy the Kiowa and Comanche tribes. In 1863 Cody joined the Seventh Kansas Cavalry which served in Tennessee and Missouri. After the war he continued to scout for the U.S. Army for several years before signing on with the Union Pacific Railroad to hunt bison to feed railroad crews. He is credited with personally killing over 4000 bison!

Cody continued to scout for the Army for many years throughou the summer. He capitalized on his fame as an Indian fighter to create a touring Wild West show during the remainder of the year starting in 1883. He especially used his famous scalping of Cheyenne warrior Yellow Hair by re-enacting the event during his shows. The scalping was reported to have been in retribution for the rout of Custer and his troops at Little Big Horn. The show toured the USA and Europe and featured other Western celebrities including Chief Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley. Queen Victoria is reported to have been a big fan as she attended three performances while the show was in London (each performance was approximately four hours in length).

Cody continued to perform in his show until 1916 when he was 71 years old. He unfortunately needed to continue to perform as he had lost much of the fortune he had made from the show due to some horrible investments (including a non-performing gold mine). He died the following year in Denver.

After a day of trains and history we were ready for a sit down dinner before heading out to our campsite (no fires due to dry conditions). We had been pleasantly surprised to find an excellent specialty coffee shop in town and were just as pleasantly surprised to find The Cedar Room Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge in downtown North Platte.

***Cedar Room, North Platte, Nebraska***

The restaurant was founded in 2020 by friends BJ Stenger and Hector Ortiz. Both Stenger and Ortiz have university degrees in Agribusiness. They met after Ortiz moved from the West Coast to North Platte. Stenger is from the area having grown up on the family cattle ranch located in Box Elder Canyon. They decided to partner and open a fine dining restaurant with an American Fusion menu, which would be the first of it’s kind in North Platte or anywhere within hundreds of miles. The restaurant was Travel Awaits Magazine Best Steakhouse of 2022.

***Stenger Ranch, Box Elder Canyon, Nebraska*** *(Photo courtesy of The Cedar Room)*

We were able to camp just outside town along the North Platte River at Buffalo Bill State Historic Park. We took a walk along the trail on the historic river utilized by the pioneers over 150 years ago. Then we took refuge in the Beast due to forest fire smoke sweeping across the Nebraska plains that evening.

In the morning we resumed our journey east on the historic US Route 30 (with our new 300 amp fuse) to visit the Nebraska capital of Lincoln and the big city on the river – Omaha.

Be seeing you! OTR 9.0 May 2023

El Paso del Norte

13/09/2023 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Art, Art Museum, Baseball, Cities, Coffee, Dining, History, Museum, Street Art and Murals, Texas, The American West, Travel, Western history

We had been in Texas and New Mexico several times prior to our most recent trip, but for some reason had steered around El Paso (EP). Perhaps the timing was just not right or we were concerned about conditions there based on the reporting regarding the immigration issues at the border. Regardless, we were ready to explore EP as part of our OTR 9.0 adventure and draw our own conclusions about the city.

**El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico viewed from Scenic Drive**

We made the decision to stay in the city and booked a hotel in the University district for three nights. We are glad we chose this area as it enabled us to walk to a number of casual but excellent restaurants and coffee shops dotting the university neighborhood. This was especially nice as EP is a sprawling metropolis that requires some driving in order to explore the city.

Of course, the first entry point for any worthwhile city visit is COFFEE! We were traveling from the east after our recent visit to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, therefore we were able to vector directly to an excellent specialty coffee shop and roaster on the east side of the city. We were most fortunate that the founder and owner of Global Coffee, Erika, sat with us for quite awhile. She shared with us her family history and the ties with Mexico that exist in a border town that has been a major immigration point for centuries(El Paso del Norte). Erika is a delightful and talented young woman and we wish her all the success she deserves with her business and family. https://globalcoffeeco.com/

After refueling we went directly to the tank museum, officially known as the 1st Armored Division & Fort Bliss Museum. The United States Army has had a post in EP since 1849, which has served as an infantry post, a cavalry post, an air defense artillery post and currently operates as a maneuver training post. The size of the Fort Bliss training area (965,00 acres) and its mountainous desert terrain have made it a vital training location for the many forces that have been deployed to the Middle East over the last three decades.

The museum chronicles the history of the post and the units stationed there from the the initial mission of patrolling along the Rio Grande before the Civil War through the current mission of the units stationed within the base. From a Western United States history perspective this includes the Indian Wars and the Mexican Punitive Expedition.

The Indian Wars is an umbrella term for the United States Army prosecution and ultimate decimation of the Native American peoples across the Western United States. The Indian Wars were waged throughout the Civil War until 1890 when the last of the Native American bands were imprisoned or sent to reservations. Many of the actions by the federals were in direct violation of treaties negotiated between the federal government and the Native Americans (standard operating procedure).

Another interesting piece of history is the Mexican Punitive Expedition. Between December 1916 and February 1917 American forces under the command of General “Black Jack” Pershing crossed into Mexico in pursuit of Mexican Revolutionary leader Pancho Villa. Villa had attacked a town in New Mexico killing a number of U.S. citizens. The incursion into Mexico was ostensibly in retaliation for the raid. However, the main motivation was to support the Mexican leader, Venustiano Carranza, whom the U.S. was backing. The Mexican Revolution was destabilizing Mexico and jeopardizing U.S. corporate interests. Pancho Villa had to go! The U.S. Army, however, did not capture Pancho Villa and returned to the U.S. after several skirmishes with Mexican Federal soldiers who greatly resented the incursion into Mexico. An early example of the numerous unsuccessful and unwarranted interventions by the U.S. government in the internal affairs of another sovereign nation! P.S. Pancho Villa survived the Mexican Revolution and was granted amnesty only to be assassinated three years later.

After checking in at our hotel we walked a couple of blocks to have supper at a popular local eatery – The Shack. The restaurant is owned by two brothers – Adrian and Michael Soto – they grew up in the restaurant business working and learning at their mother’s restaurant, Mima’s Cafe. The Shack has a wide array of dishes but we went for the Mexican inspired dishes and had a great dinner at this casual and friendly spot. https://theshackwings.com/

Since our hotel was a considerable distance across town from Global Coffee we opted to try our luck at Casa Cafetzin which was just a five minute drive from our hotel. Erika from Global Coffee had recommended Casa Cafetzin, so we were fairly certain that we would be starting our day on a great coffee and tea note. If we are being honest, we might admit that we would have passed by this cafe due to its location attached to a modest motel. Fortunately, due to the recommendation from Erika, we did not pass up a great coffee and tea experience. Cafetzin was excellent and the baristas were all terrific! Thank you Erika!

https://casa-cafetzin.mailchimpsites.com

After departing Casa Cafetzin we headed downtown for a day of viewing fine art and street art. Our first stop was at the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA). The EPMA came into existence in 1959 as the result of a large donation of European art by a private foundation. The donated collection became the impetus to build a first class art museum serving the El Paso – Juarez Borderplex. Today the museum houses over 7000 works. The museum has also operated an art school for the last twenty years. Fittingly, the EPMA operates as a bilingual institution, reflecting the heritage and diversity of the Borderplex (75,000 people cross back and forth between El Paso and Juarez on a daily basis). https://epma.art/visit

***Artist: Fremont Ellis, El Paso Smelter at Night, 1919***

We really enjoyed the portraiture works on display. The painting top left, below, The Telephone Operator (The Weaver of Public Thought), was our favorite. The artist Gerrit Beneker, is probably most well known for the posters he created during World War One in support of the war effort.

The museum’s collection also demonstrates an impressive commitment to diversity and regionalism based on the works on display when we visited. Fritz Scholder (top left, below) is one of our favorites and well known for his insightful depictions of Native American stereotypes. Scholder was a member of the Luiseno tribe.

We were also surprised and pleased to see a portrait, Mrs. Viola Andrews – My Mother (bottom left) by the figurative painter, Benny Andrews. We had the fortune of seeing a number of his works several years ago at the Ogden Museum of Fine Arts in New Orleans (see our post, Fine Art Tourist: Ogden Museum of Southern Art ).

We also enjoyed the works of American art featuring West Texas and the Southwest. The museum has works by El Paso native Tom Lea and many other noted western artists including the self-taught Fremont Ellis.

After departing the EPMA we stopped for some tacos and then went in search of street art downtown. We have included a few of the murals we found there. The art works below are all located on walls on Leon Street, all by different artists.

Dinner was another great find for us, a short walk from the hotel, in the University District. Kaedama serves outstanding ramen dishes! We did not think that we would be greedily shoveling awesome Japanese noodle soup dishes into our faces when we arrived in EP. The business started as a food truck owned by two friends – Garbiel Valencia and Andres Romero – and became popular very quickly. The friends decided to open a brick and mortar location and were able to open relatively quickly in part to an enthusiastic response to a crowdfunding campaign. The restaurant even gathered a visit from Food Network Chef and TV host Guy Fieri while he was visiting EP. A great way to finish day two! https://www.facebook.com/Kaedama915/

***Artist: @DEKO_UNO***, ***Kerby Avenue, El Paso, Texas***

On our final day in EP, we journeyed across town to visit La Mision de San Antonio de la Ysleta de Sur. The Ysleta mission is the first permanent mission established in Texas. The mission was founded in 1680 by Indian and Spanish settlers who fled New Mexico as a result of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The revolt was the culmination of more than 100 years of incursions by Spanish soldiers and, of course, missionaries. The indigenous Pueblos killed 400 Spanish soldiers and drove about 2000 Spanish settlers out of the Albuquerque area.

The original mission was built by the Tigua Indians in 1862. The mission has been rebuilt several times due to flooding and fire. The last time was in 1908 after a fire destroyed the roof and bell tower. The Tigua Indians are still active in the mission, celebrating traditional holidays and the Tigua Feast of San Antonio, their patron saint.

As with many other missions along what is now the border, the mission was located in Mexico until the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo transferred this territory to the United States. While the mission was technically in the United States, it continued to be administered by the Mexican church until 1872.

After visiting the mission we found our way to the El Segundo Barrio near downtown to view the many notable murals. As the name suggests the Segundo was the second neighborhood in EP. Since the 1830s this area has been a major entry point for Mexican immigrants coming into the United States. The majority of the immigrants in the barrio were and still are migrant farm workers.

***Artists: Jesus Alvarado and Victor Casas, El Segundo Barrio, El Paso, Texas***

The Segundo still reflects its Tejano culture and traditions very proudly (we hope the murals we have featured reflect that same sense of tradition, culture and aspiration). At one point, the city planned to demolish much of the barrio as a way to eliminate the significant substandard housing stock instead of addressing the root causes in a humane fashion. Fortunately, civic groups formed and defeated the city’s plan to demolish the historic area.

Unfortunately, the preservation of the barrio has not improved the economic conditions significantly. Many of the Mexican-American residents and immigrants still toil as farm workers. The barrio is poor by any measure, albeit rich in culture, tradition and pride in its heritage.

On our final night in EP we took in a ballgame. The El Paso Chihuahuas are the Triple-affiliate of the San Diego Padres and compete in the Pacific Coast League. This team has been located in a number cities (Spokane, Albuquerque, Portland, Tucson) prior to arriving in El Paso in 2014 to play in their brand new stadium. The stadium is very attractive and sits right in downtown.

The Chihuahuas are not having their best season, but to the delight of their very enthusiastic fans, the club rallied late in the game to defeat the division leading OKC Dodgers. Go Chihuahuas!

We departed EP and Texas the following morning to head across the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico. We enjoyed our time in Texas and EP and have no reservations about recommending visiting EP. This was our third time traveling across the state and we still have not explored several areas within the state. Everything is bigger in Texas!

We hope you enjoyed this post. Be seeing you! 2023 May OTR 9.0

P.S. You have probably read much about the immigration issues along the Texas/Mexico border. While were in the city we witnesses significant Border Patrol activity along the border fence on the United States side of the Rio Grande. We also observed the large military presence patrolling along the Rio Grande on the river side of the border fence utilizing Humvees and foot patrols.

And yet, we could clearly see immigrants massed on the Mexican side as well as detainees on the U.S. side. Currently around 900 immigrants per day are crossing from Mexico into the EP port of entry and allowed to legally enter the U.S. The city works with a number of non-governmental agencies to provide the immigrants with shelter, food and water. It is quite apparent that the city is doing everything it can do to ensure the immigrants are treated humanely. The majority of immigrants currently entering at EP are from Central and South American countries and Cuba. Venezuela accounts for approximately 70% of the immigrants.

We can only imagine how bad conditions must be in Venezuela and the other countries for individuals and families to risk everything to escape the poverty, crime and repressive governments in their respective countries.