Once upon a time, the American West was truly wild and remote, a mythical place to seek and find your fortune. But it was not without risk. In particular, the Arizona Territory was considered so lawless that it was refused statehood until 1912. But that Wild West is now the Old West, and well worth a rollicking day trip from Scottsdale. We’ll begin our explorations just south of Scottsdale, on an easy, three-hour cruise to the most famous western town there is, Tombstone.
TOMBSTONE
Get an early start and head down the I-10, which veers slightly left in Tucson. Exit south on Highway 80 near Benson and 25 miles later you’ll see Tombstone on the horizon – a mirage that suddenly blinks into reality as you enter Arizona's Wild West. Park near Allen Street, the most famous main street of Western legend, and stroll the boardwalks. My can’t-miss stops in Tombstone are the infamously wicked Bird Cage Theatre, which ran a nonstop, high-stakes poker game for eight years and five months. Then drop in to the period-perfect office of the Tombstone Epitaph, where you can buy a reprint of the issue describing the events of October 26, 1881 at the O.K. Corral. Everyone loves to walk about the Boothill Graveyard, where the infamous trio of “Cowboys” lie buried, victims of their feud with the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. The poignant hand-lettered grave markers alone are worth the entrance fee, testaments to the varied ways in which one could meet their maker in frontier Arizona, circa 1870s-80s.
All that excitement makes ones throat dry, and my favorite shady place to quench my thirst is Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, once the Grand Hotel. Drink up at the long bar, original to 1880, where villains and heroes made the whiskey flow. You can dine here too! Then saunter down Allen Street to take in a surprisingly well-acted version of the infamous shootout at the OK Corral. Pay attention, as the actors reveal details you may have missed in the movies. It’s the best live show in town.
BISBEE
'Tis a geological oddity that Tombstone and Bisbee – respectively, Arizona’s greatest silver strike (32 million ounces) and copper bonanza (nearly 4 million tons) – are just 24 miles apart by highway. That short but scenic drive south climbs into the Mule Mountains, where Bisbee, a copper queen of a town, is flourishing again. At an elevation of 5,538 feet, Bisbee is literally a cool place to while away the afternoon – it’s quieter than Tombstone and is home now to artists and distinctive shops. Take the Tombstone Canyon exit and meander downhill past restored miners’ cottages until you reach the heart of Bisbee. The Old Bisbee Brewing Company, located in Brewery Gulch, is the best spot to wet your whistle, but roam the winding streets on foot, stretch your calves and discover how surprisingly sophisticated Bisbee has become. Nothing is flat in Bisbee, and every October the town holds a 1,000 Stair Climb event to celebrate just that.
MESCAL MOVIE SET
On your way home to Scottsdale, turn west on I-10 from Benson, exit at Mescal Road and drive 3 miles north to the Mescal Movie Set. More than 100 films and many a TV series have been filmed here since 1950, a truly epic list of titles and stars that will bring back fond memories to lovers of Westerns. This is a working film set, not a theme park, so when no productions are running, a dedicated group of volunteer historian guides run 60- to 75-minute tours amongst the 28 buildings. These are personalized to the 15-20 folks on tour, and you’ll hear, as I did on a recent Sunset Tour, the very lines Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer spoke while filming the intense cinematic shootout – in the very spot they made it – for the movie “Tombstone.” Our guide revealed that it took 11 days to set up the sequence of the OK Corral shootout and 3 days to film it. You’ll learn that Val Kilmer learned to play piano in just a few weeks for the Chopin scene in the saloon, among his other feats of acting prowess. Most of the epic 1993 film was shot here, not in Tombstone proper.
You’ll also hear riveting tales of the actors who starred in Maverick, The Quick & the Dead, The Big Country, Outlaw Josey Wales, Tom Horn, Bonanza, Billy the Kid, and so many more. The Mescal Movie Set is a unique, working set with an illustrious past, and you can photograph at will, even Bartender Bob in the Redemption Saloon. Daytime tours run October-May and cost $20 for adults, children 17 and under are free. Sunset tours are also $20, offer dramatic lighting and afford great photo ops. Tour reservations are highly recommended. All proceeds from tours go to restore and maintain the set structures. This is a must see for all Western movie buffs.
Your drive home to Scottsdale from Tombstone is about three hours. So, you can either make this a day trip or stay at one of the many historic hotels in Bisbee. If you decide to stay overnight and appreciate fine cuisine, pre-book a leisurely dinner at the beautiful Café Roka where Bisbee residents and visitors have feasted since 1992. You’ll absolutely need reservations, but if you can get them, stay and savor what the New West has become. Either way, you’ll have enjoyed a memorable time in Arizona’s best Western towns and will have many images and stories to savor. People of all kinds once ventured to this rough-and-ready frontier for silver and copper, fame and fortune, but these days they romp south for a tableau of history, to rediscover Arizona's Wild West.
