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Searching for the Old WestFinding it in ArizonaBy Sandra Scott
For more information: www.visit-prescott.com, www.hassayampainn.com, http://visittucson.org/, www.haciendadelsol.com, www.letsonlofthotel.com , www.cochisehotel.com |
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I grew up on western movies that
featured Roy and Dale, Hopalong, and all the heroes of the “Old West.” Longing
for the “old” days when the good guys always won, I decided to see it there was
anything left of the “Old West.” Heading south down Route 89 in Arizona my
husband and I drove through miles of high plains with little vegetation. A few
miles north of Prescott the scenery changed. First the ponderosa forest then the
amazing Granite Dells. I could envision one of the “good guys” jumping from one
of the rounded granite domes landing on the outlaw and pulling him off his
horse. Fisticuffs would ensue with the good guy winning. Immediately I knew I
was going to love Prescott, AZ, once the territorial capital of Arizona.
At the historic Hassayampa Inn,
Cindy B., pointed out chipped tiles on the steps in the lobby, “Legend has it
that they were chipped when Tom Mix rode his horse up the steps.” A bit of the
Old West right in the lobby! It is only one of the Hassayampa legends.
Occasionally, the ghost of Faith makes her presence known to hotel guests and
staff. Shortly after the hotel opened in 1927, Faith and her husband checked in
for their honeymoon. Her husband went out to buy cigarettes and, when he did
not return after three days, Faith hanged herself in the bell tower above her
room. The hotel is a member of the “Historic Hotels of America” and on the
“National Register of Historic Places.” With stenciled beamed ceilings and
stained glass in the bar it is the perfect place to “bunk” while exploring
Prescott. 
The Hassayampa is only a short walk to the
New England-style Town Square. We wandered down Whiskey Row. Gone are the days
when cattle, land, gold and girls were traded in the saloons and when the
Palace, the oldest saloon in Arizona, served the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday.
One of the local gentlemen, basking in the sun sipping coffee, shared, “When the
Palace burned in 1900, they couldn’t put out the fire so they carried the bar
outside and kept serving drinks.” Gotta’ love a place with people like that! We
left Prescott promising to return to hear more stories.
We headed south to Tucson and checked into
the Hacienda del Sol. As soon as I walked through the Mission-style entrance
with dense desert plantings on both sides of the walk I felt like we had arrived
“home.” We watched the moon appear over the Catalina Mountains and then the sun
set in a blaze of reds and oranges over the valley. Breathtakingly beautiful!
Hacienda del Sol was originally a school for
girls then later a guest ranch that welcomed the likes of Clark Gable, Spencer
Tracy, and John Wayne. The “Old West” was taking on a whole new personality.
The lives of the cowboys and Indians often coincided but there were also those
who lived a more genteel life style. 
At the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block
we saw images of the Old West in many forms. Arizona started as a walled
presidio and didn’t become a state until 1912. Included in the historic block,
and once inside the presidio, was La Casa Cordova, one of the oldest buildings
in Tucson, reflecting the Mexican style of the late 19th Century. Within the
same block is the mission-revival style two-story Corbett House, which was
completed in 1907. It gave evidence to the fact that the west was being “won” by
those who were taming the desert and wild spirit of the west. 
Our last night at Hacienda del Sol we
opened a bottle of wine, sat in front of the fireplace pondering the history of
Tucson and wishing we could stay longer but Tombstone, “The Town that was too
Tough to Die,” was calling us! We headed south and arrived in Tombstone in time
to visit Boothill Cemetery, wander down the boardwalk, watch the shoot out at OK
Corral, and have a late lunch in Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. We learned more of the
history and lore of the “Old West.” The West was becoming more alive for us.
From Tombstone we headed south to Bisbee, once
the known as “the Queen of the Copper Camps.” Along with cowboys there were also
the miners. We checked into the Letson Loft Hotel and realized that we may be
searching for the “Old West” but we most enjoyed it when accompanied by
accommodations that were high end! The Letson Loft is an excellent example of
how old buildings can retain their original character and still offer guests
excellent, luxurious places to “bunk!” Old Bisbee is a wonderful collection of
well-maintained old buildings that now house shops and restaurants plus
interesting people including the Killer Bee Guy and the man who walks around
with a bird on a cat on a dog. 
The Copper Queen Mine, once one of the richest
copper mines, made Bisbee a boom town. At the Copper Queen Mine, my husband and
I, along with a dozen other visitors, donned hard hats, yellow slickers, and a
battery pack with a lantern, climbed aboard the tram, and with Pete at the
controls entered The Copper Queen. For the next hour, Pete, a retired miner who
worked the mine for over 20 years, regaled us with facts spiced with his droll
miner’s humor, “The miners did all the good work, if anything went wrong it was
caused by ‘headless John.’ 
We headed toward Douglas then north on Route
191, turned left at the sign for Cochise and found the most authentic “Old West”
we were likely to ever find. The Cochise Hotel, Arizona’s oldest hotel in
continuous operation, has changed little since it opened in 1882. Plumbing has
been added along with plush mattresses, but there are still remnants from the
Wells Fargo days. All the furniture and decorations are authentic creating an
ambiance that can never be accomplished with reproductions. It is a “living
history” hotel. Carla Adams, the manager, shared much of the history including
the fact that, “Big Nose Kate worked as a waitress but did not ply her wares.”
After all the Cochise Hotel was high-end for the time, charging three dollars a
night when others were asking only a quarter. We were alone the first night,
the wind blew, occasionally a train raced by, the sound muted by the thick adobe
walls, and we settled in for a night of pure relaxation with no distractions.
In the morning, well rested and after a
hardy cowboy breakfast we set off exploring. Cochise County may look like acres
of nothingness but it is deceiving. In Dragoon, at the excellent Amerind Museum
we learned more about Native Americans including Geronimo and Cochise. I have
always been fascinated by kachina dolls so we were especially thrilled to watch
Ramson Lomatewama carve dolls in the traditional manner. From the museum we
continued to Cochise Stronghold, a wonderful oasis hidden in the Dragoon
Mountains. In tranquil silence we walked the trail, finally coming to realize
that land that appeared to be barren was really filled with history, unique
places, and wonderful “hidden treasures.” 
History is very personal in the West. We
stopped to chat with Bonnie at Homestead Antiques in Cochise. Bonnie’s great
uncle, Matt Burts, was a lawman who is best known for robbing the Southern
Pacific in Cochise. She explained, “He never would have been caught if he
hadn’t gotten greedy and robbed that second train.” Everyone has a story.
History is personal and recent.
When we returned to the hotel, Carla decked in
her finery had prepared a steak dinner. I realized we need look no further, we
found the most authentic “Old West” destination we were likely to find. We love
the recreations and the restorations in other parts of the “Old West,” but at
the Cochise Hotel we felt like we had arrived at the “Old West.”