Willcox, AZ

The Elk's Lodge is a fine place to stay in Willcox until you realize the train track is one block away and the trains run all night long, blowing their whistles for what seems like forever.

Willcox grew from a small cow town into a major cattle-shipping area. The cowboy actor, Rex Allen, was a famous son. Leon took a tour of the small museum. I had visited with Rex Allen, Jr. when I was here before.

Two doors down is a recently opened museum that pays tribute to the music of Marty Robbins. We sure could not play favorites so we stopped there also.

We also took the time to visit the Chiricahua Regional Museum. Here the focus was more on the Indians that had inhabited the area.

Ft. Bowie, south of town, was built in 1862 to protect the Butterfield Stage Line that passed through the area; as well as pioneers from Apache skirmishes. We chose not to do the 3 mile hike to visit only later to learn that we could have driven to the visitor’s center.

North of Willcox are U pick farms and orchards, At Stout’s Cider Mill you can sample some of the finest looking apple pies I have seen. We resisted this temptation! Then later, as if it were an omen, a geocache led us right back to Stout’s. I decided if we found the cache I would reward myself with a piece of pie. That was when I did not think I would find it. Then, Bingo! Apple pie alamode no less.

I took in another cache in town while Leon was getting the trailer hooked up for travel. I was delighted, while wandering the streets, to see a HUGE flock of sand hill cranes circling in the sky. I knew they wintered in the area and wasn’t sure where to find them. Seems they fly across town each day from their feeding area to the nesting area. We debated staying in Willcox one more day but more adventures awaited down the road.

Wake up, Leon. It is time to go!! LOL