Old Tucson is the set location of many western movies and TV shows, both recent and vintage.
We spent an entire day here, and found it to be better presented and much more interactive than Tombstone.
If you’re visiting the area, and you’re a fan of western movies and TV shows, I’d highly recommend setting aside a day to see Old Tucson. You won’t be disappointed.
The Saguaro National Park just out of Tucson is an incredible place to see.
During our visit, we learned that it can take a Saguaro Cactus up to 100 years to grow the “arms” that we’ve come to recognize from old western movies. Those arms are needed to store extra water for the cactus, which can reach heights of 50 feet and weigh 6 or more tons.
One truly has to experience it to get the full and awe-inspiring effect of a forest of these giant old fellas, extending as far as the eye can see.
After a full day at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, we spent the next day touring Mission San Xavier del Bac, AKA “The White Dove of the Desert”, just 10 miles south of downtown Tucson.
On this visit, I was preoccupied with photographing doors, windows, gates, and arches … any and all openings at both the mission school and this historic church, completed in 1797.
After our day at Tombstone, AZ, our next stop was the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.
That’s hubs in my feature photo, anxious to get the visit started.
My father-in-law was a pilot overseas in WW2, so this place was high on the “must see” list for hubs.
We arrived around 0930 and stayed until after 1600 hours. The 24 hour clock (aka military time) was used all through my nursing career, and it seemed appropriate for this post.
In truth, I enjoyed this massive place too. While hubs read every single word on every single sign, I was in my glory snapping pics.
Here a few of the over 150 photos I took there:
Tombstone, AZ is steeped in history (and more than a bit of kitsch)
I’m sure we’d have enjoyed our stay a lot more if it hadn’t been so blasted cold outside!
Despite the weather, we made the best of it and finally found a place to warm up with some Irish Coffee.
As a part of our 2016 mission to explore Arizona more fully than on previous trips there, we visited Bisbee – once a thriving mining town, and now a tourist destination with a fascinating history.
Shortly after mid January 2016, we stopped in for a visit with friends from here at home in Canada, who own a winter home on an acreage in Maricopa County, AZ.
Our friends treated us to a day trip with them to the 26 Bar Ranch at Casa Grande. This was, at one time, 14,000 acres of John Wayne’s total 50,000 acre cattle ranching operation in Arizona. The Casa Grande location was the headquarters for 26 Bar, and was where the Duke operated his feedlot. His feedlot was, at one time (at 85,000 head), the largest privately owned feedlot in the USA.
When we visited, it was still an operational commercial feed lot with thousands of head of cattle, so between the sights, the sounds, and the smells, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine what it was like when the Duke owned it.
Although there are many beautiful places in Arizona, the red rock formations and the culture, put Sedona among my favourite spots.
On our only visit there, several years ago, the Sedona International Film Festival was taking place.
As we roamed the streets, taking in the culture and surrounding scenery, I watched in hope and earnest, to spot someone famous. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.
Radically Retired 