Budget
- Breakfast: Free at hotel
- Gas: $32.49
- Amerind Museum: $16 (kids get in free)
- Lunch at Carter's: $18.83
- Entrance fee at Chiricahua Nat'l Mon.: Free (we arrived at lunch and the ranger who collects admissions wasn't available and told us to return after our hike. When we returned, it was 4:30 p.m. and the office was closed)
- Dinner at Screaming Banshee Pizza in Bisbee: $45.30
- Best Western Douglas Inn & Suites: $80.99
Day's total: $193.61
Trip total: $931.79 (Still coming in under our $250-a-day budget!)
Highlights:
1) Quail Hollow Inn, Benson
My kids will tell you there are two things they love about Best Western Hotels. Most of them have fresh waffles at breakfast and a swimming pool. The Quail Hollow Inn had both. And after devouring light, fluffy waffles, the kids dove into the heated outdoor pool.
2) Amerind Museum, Dragoon
Tucked away in the spectacular Texas Canyon in the Dragoon Mountains of southern Arizona, 15 minutes south of Benson, the Ameriand is known to house one of the best collections of Native American art and artifacts in the country.
At the admissions desk, a friendly volunteer gave my kids booklets and pencils that help young ones explore the museum. It directed them to a model of a tee-pee and asked them to think about the house they live in and what it would be like to live in a dwelling made from animal hide.
"I think I like my house,” my daughter said.
My kids went on to discover toys, dolls and cradles that Native American children played with thousands of years ago.
The museum displays objects by tribes that were located through out North and South America and it was interesting to look at how the dolls created by each of the tribes were so different. A doll from an Alaskan tribe was clothed in seal fur while a doll from Arizona was covered in intricate beading.
"They're not like American Girl Dolls where everyone gets the same dolls," my daughter pointed out. "These dolls are all so unique.
2) Wilcox
Willcox got its start in the 1880s as a stop along the Southern Pacific Railroad. You can still see that original depot today but the town's real draw is one of its most famous locals: Rex Allen. The Hollywood cowboy star was born here 1920 and got his start as a musician by singing with his dad in local saloons. Allen went on to appear in 19 action-packed Westerns with his stallion "Koko" and his hit song "Streets of Laredo" sold over 3 million copies.
In the center of town—a two block span along the railroad tracks—you'll find a statue of Allen playing his guitar.
3) Carter's Drive-In, Willcox
Travelers stop in Willcox on there way to Chiricahua National Monument, one of Arizona's best hiking destinations, for a bit to eat. And that's why we're in town. We learn about Carter's Drive In, a burger spot on Trip Advisor. The eatery dates back to the 1950s and still has its original smiling fiberglass figurines standing out in front, hailing drivers to stop for a root beer float and a burger.
5) Chiricahua National Monument, Willcox
Imagine those rock heads on Easter Island. You've seen pictures of them a hundred times. From Masai Point, you feel as if you're looking out at thousands of those heads.
We want to go for a longer hike and were told that the Echo Canyon Trail loop (about 3.3 miles) is the best. It winds along the pinnacles to Bonita Creek, where a small trickle of water cools the air, and then back up to the parking lot. We walk down Wall Street, a long narrow passage hemmed in by walls of vertical volcanic rock. And we pass by Grottoes, caves carved into the massive pieces of rock. The trail is lined with yuccas, agaves, prickly pear cactus. And the temperature is a perfect 80 degrees. We all agree that this is one of the best hikes our family has ever taken together. Here are a few photos from our walk:
6) Screaming Banshee Pizza, Bisbee
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