Southwest Sites Welcome You
ARIZONA'S NEWEST WONDER Kartchner Caverns State Park Kartchner Caverns State Park opened in 1999. This stunning limestone cave system is one of the top in the world. It has been held from public view since its discovery and only recently has been opened to reveal the caverns in near pristine condition. Kartchner is a living limestone cave and as such is extremely fragile. Exposure to the outside dry are could end its growth and the exquisite formations it holds. Gorgeous clusters of stalactites hang from the ceiling and the calcium carbonate formations resemble marble when dripping with water. Great effort has gone into preserving the cave; hermetically sealed doors closing before the next doors open, the idea of course is to maintain the humid interior of the cave. Misting systems have been installed to assist in that effort. The trail in the cave allows viewing but is designed to keep human hands away from the more delicate formations. FASCINATING..UNBELIEVABLE..RARE..EXOTIC
Nearby, the town of BENSON has been gearing itself up for several years for the opening of Kartchner Caverns State Park , a labyrinth of subterranean wonders that finally debuted in 2000. It's not quite up to the hype that preceded it, being a lot smaller than Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.
Map, photos, details you need to know. Click here...real wonder...and inexpensive to visit.
A few miles South of Benson....I-10 South from Tucson....turn off to Kartcher Caverns also South of Benson is St David and a Western Horizon Membership RV Resort, Twins Lakes.
Another site of interest in Southern Arizona.....Tombstone, Arizona•
Perhaps the most famous town in the Wild West, TOMBSTONE lies 22 miles south of I-10 on US-80, 67 miles southeast of Tucson. More than a century has passed since its mining days came to an end, but "The Town Too Tough to Die" clings...
Tombstone only began life as a silver-boomtown in 1877, and by the end of the 1880s it was all but deserted again. However, on the day that gave it the notoriety that's kept it alive, its population stood at more than ten thousand. It was 2pm on October 26, 1881, when Doc Holliday , along with Wyatt Earp and his brothers Virgil and Morgan (who all served as local sheriffs), confronted a band of suspected cattle rustlers, the Clantons, in the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral . Within a few minutes, three of the suspects were dead. The Earps were accused of murder, but charges were eventually dropped.
Although the gunfight in fact took place on Fremont Street, the OK Corral itself remains the major attraction for visitors (daily 8.30am-5pm; $2.50), despite the fact that it holds little more than crude dummies that show the supposed locations of the Earps and the Clantons, in complete contradiction to contemporary reports of the fight. A couple of blocks along Allen Street, the Bird Cage Theater (daily 8am-6pm; $5) was Tombstone's leading venue for entertainment of all kinds. Seven "bird cages," much like theater boxes but curtained off and said to have been used by prostitutes, hang from either side of the main hall. The dusty, cluttered theater now holds a motley collection of curiosities, including a revolting foot-long "merman" from China, while downstairs you can see the old gaming tables and bordello rooms.
The exhibits are real enough, but there's little historical accuracy to many of the makeshift signs. You might want to skip it entirely in favor of Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park on Toughnut and Third streets, just off the main drag (daily 8am-5pm; $2.50). This one-time seat of Cochise County features the little-changed courtroom where several well-known trials took place. Excellent exhibits include two detailed alternative versions of what might have actually happened at the OK Corral.
More on Southern Arizona and the deserts of the Southwestern United States...click here
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