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| Author: Thomas Smith |
To many people, a vacation to Arizona means enjoying the sun and perhaps a game of golf in and around the state's two largest cities, Phoenix and Tucson.
If you have an interest in history, and enjoy getting off the busy highways, you might wish to take a trip to Cochise County, which is located in the southeast corner of Arizona.
Wide open spaces and a great independent spirit give Cochise County the air of what Arizona was really like back in the says when it was a Territory.
The best way to absorb Cochise County is to visit its historic towns: Benson, Tombstone, and Bisbee.
The historic railroad town of Benson is just off Interstate 10, approximately fort five miles east of Tucson. Situated in the center of the San Pedro River Valley, Benson is where you will find Kartchner Caverns State Park. In the Territorial era, Benson was one of the scheduled stops on the Pony Express and the Butterfield Overland Stage Coach Route. Along with the birth of the transcontinental railroad, Benson soon became a busy railroad town.
Twenty miles south on US Highway 80 lies the infamous town of Tombstone, the town too tough to die.
Most everyone recognizes Tombstone as where the imfamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in the old west era.
As you may have assumed, tourism is the main industry in the town of Tombstone. The town's main road, Allen Street, still looks the same as Tombstone did back in the 1880s. The streets remain unpaved, with wooden walkways beside the storefronts.
Although there are many shops and restaurants in Tombstone, the town relishes its historical imprint on America. The O.K. Corral still offers tours, as does the C.S. Fly Photo Gallery, where you can view Mr. Fly's photographs of Geronimo and 1880s Tombstone.
The most important place to visit in town is the Tombstone Courthouse. Now a historical museum, visiting the courthouse will take you back 120 years, as you can view exhibits and thousands of artifacts and really get a feel for what life was like in Tombstone.
Now an artist enclave, the quaint community of Bisbee lies about twenty miles southeast of Tombstone. Bisbess is home to the largest open pit copper mine in the world, the Queen Mine.
Bisbee's beautiful architecture may be the first thing that gets your attention, as "old" Bisbee nestles itself into the side of a mountain. You can't help gazing over to the copper mine called "The Pit", which stopped production in the 1970s. It is the largest hole in the earth you will ever lay eyes upon.
You can go right down into the Queen Mine, where tours are operated by former miners on a daily basis. From the miners you will get their personal knowledge of the operations of the Queen Mine.
Each of these historical Arizona towns makes a great day trip. Consider making a weekend of it an explore all of what Cochise County has to offer.
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