A Longhorn Bull On Slaughter Ranch

Days One/Recap
This is a continuation of my post about our April 2012 three-day tour of Southeast Arizona. On day-one, we visited the ghost towns of Pearce, Courtland, and Gleason east of Tombstone with a short side trip to Rattlesnake Crafts & Rocks.

Then we continued south to the Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas, then north, ending the first day at Portal Peak Lodge in Portal, AZ. Here we eat in the cafe, slept in a small room, and most importantly, acquired a 25¢ map that showed the back road over the mountain.

Day Two/Morning/Recap
Day-two was mostly spent in the Chiricahua National Monument along Bonita Creek and through the Wonderland of Rocks. This is where we got the picture of an elusive coatimundi.

Day Two/Afternoon
Around 1 PM we headed north so as to arrive by 6 PM at our overnight destination, the historic Simpson Hotel B&B in Duncan, AZ.

After lunch at Big Tex BBQ in Willcox, we stopped at the Coronado Vineyards for some taste-testing. We have tried I-don’t-know-how–many Southern Arizona wines to date (2012), but unfortunately have found none to recommend.

Neither have we found a wine steward or sommelier who will recommend even one. But we thought, “What the heck, it’s on the way.”

Coronado Vineyards
Coronado Vineyards is just off the I-10 (exit 344) a few miles east of Willcox. To our delight, they have a great wine-tasting offer. Six different wines to sample plus the wine glass for only $7.00. Now, if the wines are any good, this could be a bonanza.

Both Ms. Karen and I like Cabernet Sauvignon, particularly with whatever we barbeque. But neither of us liked this Cab … kinda sour. Although, the RN at the bar next to us said she really liked it. You’ll have to taste it and decide for yourself.

Nevertheless, we did discover two others to our taste. One is a 2009 Syrah. Very good. This is a Rhone-style wine, slightly spicy with subtle notes of blackberry, plum, and oak.

The other was one I did not expect to like because Rose’ is just too sweet. I much prefer the drier whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc. The best-for-the-buck come from New Zealand, such as Kim Crowford.

This Coronado Vineyard’s 2011 White Sangiovese has a bit of a cherry taste but is very light and will serve as a fine summer wine around the pool.

Upon leaving, we purchased 6 bottles each of the Syrah and White Sangiovese. The two no-stem wine glasses, which Ms. Karen particularly liked, were free.

Day Two/Evening
Duncan, Arizona is small-town Americana. Not much happens here and, from what we could determine, that’s the way most locals want to keep it. Our main reason for coming to Duncan is that it’s close to Clifton, Morenci’, the Black Hills Byway, and the Gila Box.

As planned, we arrived at the Simpson Hotel B&B around 6 PM. We had experienced two adventure-filled days that also included a lot of driving. We were both tired and ready for a couple of drinks and a good night’s sleep.

Simpson Hotel in Duncan, AZ. 1920's.

We were greeted by, Deborah, our innkeeper. Beginning in 2005, she had spent 6 months demolishing all but the foundation, walls, windows, and doors, then two years of re-construction. She has faithfully restored this historic building to its 1914 origins, with modern plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning. And in the process made it cozy and comfortable.

We asked her to share a glass of wine with us and tell us about the places she thinks we should see on our next day’s tour of Greenlee and Graham Counties. Deborah is both worldly and exceedingly knowledgeable about this area, as you can see from her extensive website. Three hours later, we were still chatting when Deborah had to leave for a party and we were totally ready for bed.

We told Deborah that we intended to leave before breakfast is served in the morning. She insisted on making us a breakfast we could take with us when we leave. Now that was nice. But we do want to go back because we hear she serves a delicious, healthy breakfast.

Simpson Hotel in Duncan, AZ. 1950's

For a quick dinner, Deborah recommended we order pizza or calzone from Humble Pie across the street and bring it back to the hotel dining room. Which we did.

Good pizza. As good as my all-time favorite pizza place, the Velvet Elvis in Patagonia.

Our room was on the main floor with a private bath … very comfortable. The Simpson is everything we could ever want in a B&B. Highly recommended.

Day Three
Clifton, Morenci’, Black Hills Byway, and Roper Lake. The saga continues manana.

Last week, on the way to the Slaughter Ranch in far Southeastern Arizona, we stopped at a few ghost towns, namely Pearce, Courtland, and Gleason. These are all located near Sunsites east of Tombstone.

Pearce General Store on Ghost Town Trail Road

Pearce, AZ
Pearce was a mining town named for miner and rancher, James Pearce. He discovered gold nearby and established the Commonwealth Mine in 1894. The Pearce Post Office was opened in 1896. The railroad station opened in 1903.

In 1919, Pearce had a population of about 1,500. The town declined in the 1930s, and became almost a ghost in the 1940s, when the mine closed for the last time.

The Commonwealth Mine became one of Arizona’s major silver producers. The mine produced about $8 million worth of silver and $2.5 million in gold at a time when silver was priced around 50 cents an ounce, and gold was $20 an ounce.

Pearce is the home of two properties on the National Register of Historic Places: the old Pearce General Store, which opened in 1896, and Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church. There are a number of other historic structures in and around Pearce, some still in use, but mostly ruins.

From the looks of things, the General Store is open occasionally, but it was closed when we were there.

From Pearce, you can take the Ghost Town Trail Road (paved) to Courtland and Gleason. It’s a pretty drive through Old West history.

Courtland, AZ
Like all the old towns in this part of the country, Courtland was a rough and ready mining town. At one time it had about 2,000 people living here, and two newspapers, 5 miles of water mains, and a theater.

As elsewhere around here, the mines wore out in the 1940’s and the population moved to better pickings. There are still ruins here worth visiting.

Gleason, AZ Jail Opened For Business In 1910

Gleason, AZ
Around 1900, Gleason was a copper mining town of about 500 people. The most prominent structure today is the old jail, but there are many other ruins.

The fire of 1912 burned down most of the town, which was quickly re-built. The mines wore out in 1940 and Gleason became a semi-ghost town.

A few folks live in the immediate area. And two locals, Tina Miller and John Weist, are working to restore some of the buildings, including the jail.

Later this week Ms. Karen & I are taking off to discover hidden gems in Southeastern Arizona: dining, lodging, and things to see an do.

The Plan
On our website, Southern Arizona Guide, we have a lot of content about dining, lodging, and things to see and do in and around Tucson. But, we are, after all, a guide to the Best of Southern Arizona. And that means, we need to hit the road for a few days with camera and camcorder and discover the most interesting people and places as far east and south as one can go without being in either New or Old Mexico.

We’ll be looking for the best places to eat, lodge, hike, picnic, camp, and observe nature. No doubt, we will also take in more than one historical site, including ghost towns, and a few museums too.

The places we most want to check out are:

• Chiricahua National Monument. We were there last year, but the road beyond the visitor center was closed due to forest fire.
• Slaughter Ranch. John Slaughter followed Johnny Behan as Sheriff of Cochise County. During his tenure, he was probably the most feared man in Southern Arizona – at least by the outlaw element. His vast ranch is now a museum and I want to interview a docent or the director on-camera to add to our existing 40 original videos.
• Price Canyon Ranch. This looks like a really cool dude ranch and I want to check it out to see if I can recommend it to you for a long weekend getaway.
• Portal, AZ. This is a little town on the east side of the Chiricahuas. Looks like they have some beautiful scenery, and lots of wildlife.
• Safford, AZ. This whole area looks very interesting and we’ve never been. Lots of history and nature here.

So, here’s our travel map:

East & Southeastern Arizona

I share this with you in the hope that you have already discovered some really interesting people & places in this region and can suggest some that we ought to check out for Southern Arizona Guide and, thereby share with the rest of the world.

Let me know.

SoAzJim

As I mentioned yesterday, Ruby is about 12 miles from Arivaca. About half way there, the road goes from pavement to dirt. But it’s well-maintained and a standard sedan can easily travel on it (unless of course the area gets a hard rain). Again, do not rely on your GPS.

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Looking through a doorway of one of the many buildings at Ruby that still stand.

Ruby was a mining town in the early years of the last century. The mine produced gold, silver, zinc, and copper and was, for a time, highly profitable.

In the 1930′s, Ruby’s population was about 1,200, with 150 students attending the school. The Post Office was established in 1912, and general store owner, Julius Andrews, named the town after his wife.

In the early 1920′s, there were two double murders here. The mine closed in 1940 and, by the next year, the town was mostly abandoned.

When Ms. Karen & I first moved to Tucson, we enjoyed a lovely day trip to Ruby with friends, Dan & Wanda. Since then, Ruby has often been closed to the public. I, my film crew and entourage, went to Ruby last Saturday to do an on-camera interview with one of the partners who own this historical gem, Howard Frederick.

Howard is exceedingly knowledgeable about Ruby and the interview went very well. I should have it edited and posted in a week or two.

Michael is the caretaker at Ruby. If you go, be sure to check in with him. He will give you a site map and happily answer

The slide behind the Ruby schoolhouse.

your questions.

Ruby is open to the public from Thursday-Sunday during daylight hours. Probably not by coincidence, the only good restaurant in the area, Sweet Peas Cafe’ in Arivaca, is open Thursday – Monday. Alternatively, take a picnic lunch and enjoy the picnic area on the sandy beach on the far side of the lake.

Historical information and maps are provided for self-guided tours and entrance fees are $12 per person over 12 years of age. The fees go to the non-profit foundation: Ruby Mines Restoration Project.

The Project is not trying to restore Ruby to its former “grandeur”. Simply raising money to help keep the building from deteriorating further.

Fishing in the pond is permitted, with no license required, for $18. The caretakers can be reached at 744-4471.

Pima Community College also conducts tours of Ruby. Details at (520)206-6579.

Also, you can order the book: Ruby, Arizona – Mining, Mayhem, and Murder, by Bob Ring. It’s authoritative and and a good read.

Interviewing Howard Frederick, one of the partners who own Ruby.

When you leave Ruby, you can return to I-19 by going back through Arivaca, or continuing south on Forest Service Road-39. It’s a pretty drive (unpaved for about 13 miles) with a couple of small lakes soon after you reach pavement. Watch out for hunters.

If you appreciate Arizona history in general, and ghost towns in particular, do visit Ruby. Highly recommended!

My film crew and entourage. (left to right) Stella Zhang, the vixen of Ruby; 10-year-old Daniel, ghost town explorer; Dr. Clare Zhang, Ph.D. in Oriental Medicine; Mr. Zhang (aka Parker Antin, UA professor of heart medicine); Bill, my father, born in Tucson on Christmas Day, 1919; Ms. Karen, the love of my life and web designer; Pam, psychologist and snowbird from MN; Ms. Sue, Tucson businesswoman, friend, and fellow feminist.

Last Saturday was First Saturday in Arivaca, a small village 25 miles west of I-19 at Amado. I was invited by local resident Paula Perino to check out their First Saturday festivities for my Southern Arizona Guide. Paula arranged for me to conduct several on-camera interviews with the local VIP’s and enjoy lunch at Arivaca’s new restaurant, Sweet Peas Cafe, before we headed on down the road to the ghost town of Ruby. There we were scheduled to do an on-camera interview with Howard Frederick, one of the partners who own Ruby.

The road from Amado to Arivaca winds through rolling, mesquite-covered hills. It’s obviously very popular with cyclists, motor and otherwise.

Just before we arrived in town, we came to the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge where, by appointment, we met and interviewed Richard Conway, a local geologist and Mary Scott, a seasoned birdwatcher and wildlife photographer. Given the quantity and diversity of wildlife here, the BANWR is a worthy destination. Walking the trails in the Cienega and Refuge is a walk back in time before the Spanish, then Mexicans, then Anglos settled here.

Next, it was a less than a mile to town where lots of people were walking all over the place from one booth and activity to

Arivaca First Saturday Festival - March 3, 2012. Arivaca is an eclectic collection of ranchers and farmers, mixed with old and young hippies.

another. We visited the Artist Co-Op, the Farmers’ Market, and La Gitana Cantina, according to Esquire Magazine, one of the 100 best bars in America.

Here we met Maggie Milinovitch, one of the Cantina’s owners. She also publishes (1) the local newspaper Connection; (2) a visitors guide to Arivaca and vicinity; and (3) a popular book on local wildflowers entitled Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Flowering Plants of Arivaca & Southern Arizona. This attractive book is a fountain of information with over 400 great color photos of 204 plant species.

Then it was back up the hill a short ways to check out the Gadsden Coffee Company and interview roastmaster, Bradley Knaub. The place was packed inside and out. Obviously, it’s an important stop-over for the many cyclists who were out enjoying a Chamber of Commerce winter day. The delightful aroma from the various coffee blends permeated the air.

Lunch at Sweet Peas Cafe - Arivaca, AZ. Very Good!!!

By now, it was noon, time to feed my hungry film crew and entourage. Sweet Peas Cafe is not in the village, but off the main road a short distance just east of town. Driving west from Amado on Arivaca Road, Sweet Peas has a sign before you enter the village with an arrow pointing left. As a restaurant critic, I wasn’t expecting much. I figured Sweet Peas was going to be just another ‘Mom’s Diner’ in the country.

Right off  we met owner Jenni Kelly Stern (aka Olive Oil), a friendly, hardworking gal. She showed me her plans for outdoor dining behind the restaurant and told me that she expected to have her beer and wine license soon. She’s also had a catering business in this area for many years, and her loyal catering customers have followed her to the restaurant. All that was interesting, but what about the food?

My father, Bill, had a very substantial turkey sandwich and declared it excellent. Ms. Karen and Parker each had a bowl of chili chowder – also excellent – although I did notice Ms. Karen adding a little salt. But then she adds salt to most dishes. Her blood pressure is so low that the habit is not a threat to her health.

Dr. Clare devoured a hamburger almost half her size, while her son, 10-year-old Daniel, managed to spread ketchup on everything he ate. He rated the ketchup “Very Good” until we explained that Federal food guidelines allow ketchup to contain up to 10% bugs. At that point, Daniel seemed to have some concerns.

Feed Store In Arivaca

Ever-aware that I am on a very strict diet to lose weight, I ordered a Quiche Lorraine with veggies freshly picked from their garden and hoped for the best. Calories aside, I was not disappointed. It was, in fact, the best quiche I have ever had. Not sure I will ever have quiche at Mimi’s again.

Sweet Peas is not fancy. But it’s a pleasant place with friendly, efficient service. And the food is very good, indeed!

Following lunch, it was off to find a ghost town. Ruby is about 13 miles further on past Arivaca, about half on pavement and the final half on a well-maintained dirt road denoted FSR-39. Take a paper map. Do not rely on Google Maps or GPS. My GPS told us, “You have arrived at your destination.” at least 5 miles before we arrived at our destination.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about our amazing discoveries at Ruby. Stay tuned. jg