August 21, 2011
Sedona, Arizona is well-known for its stunning red sandstone, plethora of spas and New Age centers, and thriving arts community. As a booming tourist town, Sedona can be slightly overwhelming for first-time visitors. Dad and I love guided tours, so we signed up for the Sedona Trolley. About Sedona Trolley Sedona Trolley got its start ...
August 19, 2011
Jerome, Arizona is a largely preserved historic mining town turned hippie enclave. In the heart of the Verde Valley, an easy drive from both Prescott and Sedona, Jerome is particularly notable for its location on the side of a mountain. The 30 degree incline has earned Jerome the moniker “America’s Most Vertical City.” With a ...
August 17, 2011
Dad had one basic request for this cross-country adventure. He wanted to experience a real, honest-to-goodness, cowboy-style chuckwagon supper. I’m sure he thought he meant out under the stars, after a good hard ride on horseback. And maybe we’ll still do it before this trip is over. But in the meantime, we discovered something just ...
August 16, 2011
Arizona’s Verde Valley region was settled in the late 1800s and early 1900s to support copper mining in the local mountains. By the 1940s, however, the copper boom was over and the region was nearly deserted. Today the area is an interesting mix of retirees and artists, many of whom settled in the region during ...
August 15, 2011
Central Arizona’s Verde Valley is a hidden treasure. With the Verde River as a natural water source, the region was settled in the late 19th and early 20th century when rich veins of copper were found in the local mountains. Although today the Verde Valley is best known for the resort town of Sedona, Clarksdale’s ...
August 11, 2011
Tombstone, Arizona, is inextricably linked to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. More than perhaps any other gun battle, that one is seen as representative of the lawless Western frontier. It elevated Marshal Wyatt Earp to mythic hero status in legend and lore, despite the fact that at the time, most of the townspeople sympathized ...
August 9, 2011
Tombstone, Arizona, is known as the “Town too Tough to Die” for its remarkable ability to survive against all odds, but many of its residents were not so lucky. The town’s history is marked by short, violent lives that ended with mining accidents, disease or gunfights. Today, well-trained historical reenactors replay some of the most ...
August 8, 2011
Like most Old West boom towns, Tombstone Arizona popped up seemingly overnight. Prospector Ed Schieffelin struck silver in the Apache-controlled mountains of southeast Arizona in 1877. As soldiers at nearby Camp Huachuca had assured him that all he would find was his own tombstone, he named his initial claim “Tombstone.” That strike turned out to ...
August 8, 2011
I am a huge fan of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, a living history center focusing on the Revolutionary War era. I love the experience of walking the historic streets as reenactors draw me into the lives of the people who founded this country. Consequently, when Dad and I decided to visit the American Southwest, Tombstone, Arizona ...
August 7, 2011
Tombstone, Arizona is a lot of fun. Both professional reenactors and local residents wander the streets in full Wild West regalia, joining the tourists at the Crystal Palace for a cold beer or simply relaxing on a bench watching people pass by. Historic tours and staged gunfights bring the feeling of the Old West to ...
