A Jeep Tour Into The Old West
by Jim Gressinger on Mar. 09, 2013, under Day/Weekend Adventures, Old West, Southern Arizona Attractions, Southern Arizona Ghost Towns, Things To Do With The Kidz
Take one of the many tours offered by Into The West Jeep Tours and Mark and his crew will transport you back in time to the Old West of Cochise, Geronimo, Johnny Ringo, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday. If you’re planning to visit Tombstone, these back country excursions are highly recommended.
You will not only see the rugged beauty of Cochise County from vantage points few get to experience. These jeep tours can also take you to historic sites and real ghost town, such as Fairbank, Gleeson, & Pearce.
On a pleasant Thursday in March (2013) Richard, my driver & guide, drove me through the hills above Tombstone to see the mining district that made hard-rock miners, like Ed Schieffelin, unimaginably rich almost overnight. As well-versed as I am on the history of this area and as many old mines as I have explored in my younger days, Richard explained a great deal that I had been unaware of. His shared knowledge was indeed an advanced history lesson taught by a man who is clearly passionate about his subject. He made the tour both enjoyable and enlightening.
We were in an open-air jeep that Mark had modified to handle the demands of the rocky, uneven roads up there. What had been a standard Jeep with stick-shift and 6-cylender engine was now an automatic with a powerful V-8 outfitted with some serious tread. This high-clearance beast could go anywhere it could get traction.
That said, they also have enclosed 4-wheel drive vehicles for those who want to see the Old West in climate-controlled comfort.
Into The West has several standard tours that take 2 to 4 hours and cost anywhere from about $55 to $95 per person. But they can easily create custom tours to suit the occasion, including weddings, cookouts, and outlaw shootouts.
Coming Soon
Coming up on April 13th (2013) is their 3rd Annual Cowboy Cookout & Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry with live Western music, beer garden street dance, & gunfight show at Doc Holliday’s Gunfight Palace. You can make reservations by calling 520-559-2151.
Death In A Tombstone Saloon: circa 1882.
Speaking of Doc’s, many of these Jeep tours include a half-hour gunfight in a mock 1880’s saloon on Allen Street near the Bird Cage Theater. These theatrics are what tourists want to see. However having seen many, I can attest that this one is by far the most realistic.
For more on Tombstone, check out our Southern Arizona Guide’s Tombstone Section, including my 1881 video interviews with Virgil Earp and Tom McLaury. Also, if you’re interested in some of the ghost towns you an visit on these Jeep tours, check out our Ghost Towns section.
