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Posted: 11/23/2014 8:41:00 PM EDT
Just spent several days there.  Nice camp sites, decent small trees and good separation between sites.  30 Amp power and water only,  no sewer, no wi-fi, dump site adjacent.  Site water spigots are heated, restroom heated., free showers.  (If my tent trailer hadn't decided to fatally injure itself, it would have been one of the best times we've had at a non-beach state park.)  

High desert country, in foothills, you can see most of the valley, Dragoon Mtns, Huachuca Mtns and mtns in Mexico

About 10 miles south of Benson (gas, Wal-Mart, etc)  about 20 minutes north of Ft. Huachuca, about 30 minutes to Tombstone, about an hour to Bisbee, 45 minutes to Tucson (not rush hour).

Tombstone was nicer than I expected.  But I didn't have high expectations, rolled up the sidewalks early.  A few tourist sites, shops, restaurants and bars remained open later.  Restaurant prices were reasonable and the food was pretty good.  Weekends and summers are probably a lot more lively.  The camp hosts told us most Tombstone places were posted no guns, but with a few exceptions only the bars were posted with legal postings.  A few others just had "No Weapons" signs, only one of those was open.  Almost all the places had SASS stickers in the windows.  Didn't ask the significance, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is a mild discount or?.  In any case, the place overall seemed more gun friendly than most.

Took both cave tours, a little pricey, but might be in line with other tours.  When you see the facilities and the efforts they have put in to the park and experience, they are doing a great job.  They are strict about the tours, but when you see what they are protecting definitely appropriate.  No guns in the buildings.

(took a loop trip, south to Sonoita, Patagonia, Nogales then visited Tumacacori, Tubac, San Xavier Del Bac, AZ-Son Desert Museum, the decided to head to Pinnacle Peak for a steak.  We've had a few here in So Cal that we have liked in the past,  wasn't expecting the 3 ring circus.  Got half way across town then realized that all the traffic heading for us was coming from the football game, PP near the campus, might be a tough and long wait, but it wasn't.

Tumacacori  -  Mission museum well worth the visit, good history, the buildings were semi-restored so you could really see how it was put together.  Didn't see anything else to look at in "town"

Tubac - For the price the museum was a rip-off.  But the cross-section of the archealogical dig was interesting, and as a point of historical interest, interesting.  (Talked about the missions, the Franciscans, the Jesuits, Indians, Spanish settlements, Anza Expedition into California started there.)  The shopping and and art colony toward the freeway was definitely worth wandering around in.  (I generally don't do art colonies very well for very long)

San Xavier Del Bac - First time inside, unbelievable.  Gaudier and fancier than any other mission I've visited in CA or TX.  Show what the end product can be when you aren't fighting off the Apaches and getting abandoned several times.  Still an active church, adjacent church school.  In the To'O'Hona Reservation
Link Posted: 11/23/2014 9:03:22 PM EDT
[#1]
+1 for San Xavier and Tumacacori.
Both are very photogenic and full of history. Tumacacori has a weekend long festival the first full weekend of December every year...music, folklorico dancers, art and good food.
Link Posted: 11/23/2014 9:37:28 PM EDT
[#2]
You should have added the titan missle museum to your trip.  One of the neatest museums in AZ.
Link Posted: 11/24/2014 12:46:34 AM EDT
[#3]
I love that part of the state.Spent alot of time hiking on Fort Huachuca.  There are are some cool trails there.
Link Posted: 11/24/2014 12:53:31 AM EDT
[#4]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
You should have added the titan missle museum to your trip.  One of the neatest museums in AZ.
View Quote


Time crunch.  Also, I can neither confirm or deny that I have worked with nuclear weapons in the past.

We expect to be back in the area at some time.  Still have a lot of things we want to see.
Link Posted: 11/24/2014 2:34:48 AM EDT
[#5]
Watch out when you go to the Grand Canyon.  We drove for hours to get there, paid our admission, and the canyon was filled with clouds and we couldn't see anything. I mean - nothing.
Call ahead and see what the conditions are before you go.
The El Tovar hotel / restaurant is a little pricy but good. Spent the night there once and left my Browning Hi Power on the bed while we went to eat
Didn't realize they had a "turn down" service for your room Came back, the blankets were turned down, Browning placed exactly where I had left it but on the turned down bed.
Cool maid.
Link Posted: 11/24/2014 9:53:51 PM EDT
[#6]
I do have one complaint about my trip.  I had hoped to see a Coati or Ring-Tailed Cat out in the wild.  

I finally might have on my last day, in Oak Creek Canyon.  Well a ring-tail of some kind attached to what was left of an animal, or very sad Davy Crockett hat.
Link Posted: 11/25/2014 7:10:22 AM EDT
[#7]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I do have one complaint about my trip.  I had hoped to see a Coati or Ring-Tailed Cat out in the wild.  

I finally might have on my last day, in Oak Creek Canyon.  Well a ring-tail of some kind attached to what was left of an animal, or very sad Davy Crockett hat.
View Quote


The last time I saw Coatimundi was in Miller Canyon in the Huachuca's. That was about 10 years ago. Such a funky looking thing.
Link Posted: 11/25/2014 11:03:20 AM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I do have one complaint about my trip.  I had hoped to see a Coati or Ring-Tailed Cat out in the wild.  

I finally might have on my last day, in Oak Creek Canyon.  Well a ring-tail of some kind attached to what was left of an animal, or very sad Davy Crockett hat.
View Quote

Maybe 15, 20  years ago while all camo'd up, bow hunting on Fort Huachuca, my buddy and I had a troop of them go by us. We could hear something coming through the woods and next thing you know there was a group that went past us. Some were on the ground, some were in the trees. It was cool as could be but also kind of scary.
I haven't seen any in the past few years    
Oh, I used to be active duty on MCAS Yuma and we found one in our hangar one time. We had NO idea where he came from as I have never seen any on this side of the state. He was just hanging out on a beam, looking at us with big eyes. We left him alone and have no clue where he went or how he got there.
Link Posted: 11/25/2014 7:50:18 PM EDT
[#9]
Link Posted: 11/26/2014 4:04:29 PM EDT
[#10]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I do have one complaint about my trip.  I had hoped to see a Coati or Ring-Tailed Cat out in the wild.  

I finally might have on my last day, in Oak Creek Canyon.  Well a ring-tail of some kind attached to what was left of an animal, or very sad Davy Crockett hat.
View Quote


Coatimundi are rare to encounter, ring tailed cats on the other hand had a very common habit of dieing in switch gear and substations, they are great at realizing electrical potential throughout the area.
Link Posted: 11/27/2014 4:37:52 AM EDT
[#11]
ok I feel better about it now.
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