The Cattle Capital of the West...Willcox, AZ

Willcox/Cochise KOA 

Willcox, AZ

March 11, 2023

Willcox was founded in 1880 as a whistlestop for the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Some would say its very existence is due to the fact that this area is about halfway between El Paso and Phoenix and seemed like a good place to add a train depot.  The historic Southern Pacific Railroad Depot was completed in December 1880 and the rest is history.  

Joe loves trains and we had plans to tour the museum housed in the old depot, but it is temporarily closed.  The marker located by the beautiful double door with glass panes states that :  

Pretty impressive !

Today the restored historic depot serves as a museum and City Hall for Willcox.

Across the street is the Historic Railroad Park complete with a life-size bronze statue of Rex Allen.

But more striking is the remains of a Siberian Elm that had to be cut down in 2020.  It was planted in 1928 and had been ailing for some time due to rotting roots.  Rather than haul it off it, it now has another purpose.  

By the 1930s, Willcox had become the largest range cattle rail shipping point in the United States...earning the town the title "Cattle Capital of the West".  And today, it's not uncommon to see/hear cow-haulers parked along the streets.  Many of the old buildings are still intact...some in disarray, some restored,  and some listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  

The yellow brick building above is 107 years old. The second floor was and still is the home of the Masonic Lodge.  

The first floor has been home to the county agricultural agent, a drug store, a hobby shop and today is a thrift shop.  And if you are in the market for baby billy goats, this is the place to be.

 

While some buildings haven't faired so well...

...others seem to have a renewed purpose.

Today, Willcox's economy is based largely on agriculture.  Award winning wineries are attracting attention from across the state with the vineyards here producing around 75% of the grapes used in the flourishing Arizona wine industry.  The area is also the second largest producer of pistachios globally with other speciality crops including  apples, peaches, pecans, cotton and small grains. 

There was no hustle and bustle in this tiny western town today.

But that might change during the West Fest Rodeo and Chuck Wagon Cook-Off, Wine Tasting Festival, Rex Allen Days complete with a parade and rodeo, Mountain Bike Fun Ride, and other such events and festivals.   

Speaking of Rex Allen, we enjoyed perusing The Rex Alan Museum and the Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame. 

Rex Allen (1920-1999) is known as "the Arizona Cowboy".  He grew up on a homestead about 40 miles north of Willcox.  He was a film and television actor, singer and songwriter and was also a narrator in many Disney nature and western productions.  As a boy, Rex played the guitar and sang.   Back in the day when Roy Rodgers and Gene Autry were much in vogue, he was given a movie contract and from 1950-1954, he played in over 30 movies with 19 of these staring as himself. Joe watched some of these as a youngster.  

 

The Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame was instituted in 1983 to honor one of the important resources of the Willcox area...it's cowboys.  The wall represents...not just big-time ranchers, but rather a celebration of all the ordinary people who have made this country great. 

SOME of the requirements to qualify to be listed in the book and have a picture mounted on the wall include:

   A wide-brimmed hat and a pair of tight pants.

   Two dogs to ride in the back of the pick-up.

   A forty dollar horse and a three hundred dollar saddle.

   A spool of barb wire, three fence posts, and a bale of hay to haul around.

   A pair of silver spurs to wear when you dress up. 

   A goose-neck horse trailer small enough to park in front of the cafe.

   A wife that believes your lies and has a good job.

We enjoyed lunch (thank you Janna for the recommendation) ) at Isabel's South of the Border just around the corner from the museum.  The chicken tostados were good and the serving was huge.  The staff is friendly and the restaurant is colorful, roomy and not crowded.  We enjoyed it so much we decided to visit again with Janna and Mike.  The fried mahi fish tacos were quite yummy, but the beef fajita burro was on the tough side.  

FYI... If you plan to stay awhile in Wilcox, there is a full service laundry

complete with directions for anywhere in southern Arizona.

But if you require adult beverages, you might want to bring your own.

And if you have a sweet tooth, Bakester's Pastries has some yummy choices...Voodoo Bars and Brown Sugar Pecan Pie Bars were at the top of our list !

Back at the KOA, our mornings were spent watching the sunrise and the cranes fly over.

Our afternoons were spent playing at the doggie park and enjoying the warm sunshine.  So many new smells.

And lots of ball play...so focused !

And evenings were spent enjoying the sunset.  Tuesdays sunset was the most vivid.  From this...

to this !

But Friday nights was my favorite. 

So, that's a wrap on our winter get away.  We were sorry it didn't work out for the Bisbee part of the trip, but now we just have that trip to look forward to all over again...just not in the winter.  And, Willcox is definitely on the radar for another visit as I'm thinking Chiricahua NM needs another visit and there are places we missed this time.  

Until next time,  

HAPPY TRAILS !

Home

Corona de Tucson

February 7, 2022

Coming home is the nicest feeling.  It's a new feeling for us...and one we totally enjoy !  Belle's kitchen is fully equipped so we don't have to transport dishes, utensils, cookware, etc back and forth.  We also have sheets, blankets and towels in the bus, but  we still find ourselves transporting a lot of tubs with clothes, groceries, doggie food, bathroom stuff etc. After a couple of days of unpacking and catching up the laundry, we were all settled in.  We haven't lived in our home during January or February and it's interesting being a homeowner here in the winter season.  The mountain of tumbleweeds that had settled into our backyard during our absence was removed...only to return again a few days later.  It's been very windy !  

The second night after we returned, I was out with the puppies as it was getting dark.  I heard a "hoot", looked up in the pine tree next to our yard, and there it was.  Actually, there they were.  I shuffled the pups inside and just as I came back out with the camera, I saw wings spread out and thought dang it...I missed it again as the owl flew away.  There was a pair ! I was so surprised to see a Great Horned Owl still sitting at the top of the tree.  

The owl that flew came right over the patio and after some googling, I knew it was the female as they are the bigger of the two with a wing span of up to 4.6 feet.  She settled somewhere close as the pair carried on the most marvelous conversation.  Did you know the female's hoot has a much higher pitch than the male's?  He sat in the top of the tree for awhile turning his head this way and that way and sometimes I thought he was looking right at me.  This was my first sighting of an owl in the wild.     

Our friends Carol and Ronnie left San Diego a few days after us.  They always make a stop in Phoenix to have their yearly MH maintenance.  There have been a few hiccups this year and as of today, they are waiting on a part...a diesel lift pump.  After staying close to the shop in Phoenix (one night at a Comfort Suite where their bikes which were double locked on the Jeep bike rack were stolen and a second night in a parking lot) for a couple of nights, they came to Tucson to stay with us. Our first guests.  Not only do we get to spend time with Carol and Ronnie, we get to snuggle with Cooper. 

Carol always has beautiful flowers at home and when she travels.  These are a few pots she brought with her. I'm definitely planting tulips next year !

Our sweet Sally had a spa day...she always takes on a new personality after spa day.  Sassy and playful come to the top of the list for describing her.  She had a vet appt. this morning and blood work done to check her liver enzymes.  They have been very elevated for some time and she takes medicine I give her an hour before her breakfast.  A March 11th appt was made for dental cleaning and if the enzymes are still high when we get the results in a few days, she will have an ultra sound done on her liver and spleen at that time as well.  Dover is 15, Sally is 14 to 15, and Jack is 13.  We are so very thankful for everyday we have with them.   

We weren't sure if our feathered friends would still be around when we returned.  The Cactus Wrens, my favorite, were the first to welcome us home.

 I was happy to see the suet feeder was not empty...

...and Joe went right out to fill up the bird bath.

Sunday, the four us visited Tucson Botanical Gardens.  Ronnie and Carol had never been.  The "Seeing the Invisible" Art Exhibit is still there until August.

It is really pretty cool !  The only photo I got from that exhibit was a piece by El Anatsui who is a sculptor from Ghana and lives in Nigeria.  

He is noted for transforming simple, everyday materials into striking large-scale installations.  Most recently he has used metal caps from discarded liquor bottles.

The other exhibit at the gardens now is "Glass In Flight" by Alex Herveri.  He says, "They are Earth's pollinators, garbage collectors, undertakers, and for millions of animals, they are breakfast, lunch and dinner." 

  

We meandered along the paths with butterflies, dragonflies and birds overhead and shared it with a variety of stalking beetles.  

Also, "Glory in the Garden", a collection of original watercolors by Donna Helms was on display and for sale.

My favorite stop at the gardens is the Cox Butterfly and Orchid Pavilion.  The spotlight at the pavilion was the Atlas Moth...described as "one of the goliaths of the insect world".  Their wingspan reaches 9.4 inches.  It is fascinating to me that an Atlas Moth does not eat once they have emerged from the cocoon.  They don't fly very much either.  They conserve energy for mating.  These giants are endemic to the forests of Asia.

 

  

For me though, the orchids stole the show.

There is always something I have missed from previous trips to the gardens like this cozy little patio.

And with the different seasons, comes different things growing. The kitchen patio was full of yummy things.

And yes, we all need to cover up and stay warm...even in Southern Arizona.

Yesterday, we had Sonoran Dogs for lunch and went shopping with Ronnie and Carol to find new bikes at the Trek Store.  

Ronnie said the dogs were yummy (Carol doesn't eat hot dogs...she's the smart one in the group!). 

And two new beautiful Trek bikes were loaded on their Jeep's bike rack.  

Ronnie is grilling salmon for dinner tonight.  It's way fun having company ! 

That's about it for this week at the oasis.  Until next time,

We all enjoyed a walk on the trail behind our home...with Cooper and Dover.

HAPPY TRAILS !