Remember the time your dad taught you to ride a bike? Took you to your first Major League Baseball game? Played tea party with you and your stuffed animals for several hours on one of his few days off of work?
He made time for you. Now, with Father’s Day this Sunday, June 19, perhaps it is time to return the favor.
As luck would have it, we know of the perfect way to entertain pops on his special day that offers both you and him a break from the norm.
Think road trip. Think Cochise County.
With a population of just over 126,000 in 2021, according to the United States Census Bureau, Cochise is brimming with Old West history, fine art, serene nature and pint after pint of tasty, homegrown beer.
Sure, gas is expensive. But so were the braces your dad paid for to make sure you had straight teeth in adulthood.
You can choose one of these adventures or take on several in one Father’s Day weekend. Already have plans? Save this section and surprise him on his birthday. Or use it to chart your own trip at another point in time.
Left: Benjamin Bennett, tap room manager, serves up a beer at the Tombstone Brewing Company, 107 E. Toughnut St. in Tombstone. The brewing company opened in 2016 and has a second location in Phoenix.
Tombstone
If your father watched Westerns when you were growing up, be it the John Wayne classics in the 1960s or more modern films like “The Quick and the Dead” and “Maverick” in the 1990s, then the city of Tombstone should be at the top of your “places to take dad” bucket list.
Those movies were great, and many of them were filmed at Old Tucson and the Mescal Movie Set (also in Cochise County), but Tombstone is the real deal. And the folks who live there do their best to keep that spirit alive.
A walk down Allen Street, roped off from motor vehicle traffic in keeping with the theme of the “town too tough to die,” will find you passing by re-enactors in Old West attire, saloons and former bordellos-turned-museum attractions.
There is a touristy vibe, for sure, but there is nothing quite like knowing that some of the West’s most celebrated and notorious figures, folks like Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and the Clanton Gang, once roamed the same streets where you are buying “I’m Your Huckleberry” Doc Holiday souvenir mugs and scorpions encased in resin.
To separate the true West history from the tall tales, we recommend first taking your dad to the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, just off the main drag at 223 E. Toughnut St.
Located in a two-story, Victorian building, that served as the Cochise County courthouse from 1882 until 1931, the museum is full of artifacts, covering a range of topics from the Earp brothers, to early gambling and medicine.
Park manager Curtis Leslie is partial to the ornate gas lamps that hang in the front hallway of the building.
“They are the original gas lamps from the Crystal Palace (Saloon,)” Leslie said. “They are pieces from the 1880s that were donated to us in the 1950s.”
For better or worse, Leslie said the most popular attraction at the museum is the gallows yard, where seven people were hung for their crimes back in the day.
“During the Old West, you thought that would be a higher number,” Leslie said. “But it was only seven, in part because Arizona became a state in 1912 and executions were taken over by the state.”
The museum is open from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. through Sept. 30 and admission is $7 for adults with discounts available. Our advice: Go early. The museum does not have air conditioning and things tend to get a bit warm by midday. Info: azstateparks.com/tombstone
The Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, 223 E. Toughnut St. The two-story courthouse was constructed of red brick in 1882 and has a Victorian style design.
After you finish absorbing all that history, take a short walk down the street to the Tombstone Brewing Company, 107 E. Toughnut St., for a cold glass of craft beer and a break from the Wild West overload.
A Southern Arizona staple since 2016, Tombstone Brewing has earned a reputation for it quality product, pumping out everything from IPAs to Berliner Weisse sours.
The brand has done well for itself. During the pandemic, Tombstone opened a second location in Phoenix and plans to open a large production facility, tap room, restaurant and venue space in Sierra Vista by the end of the year, according to manager Benjamin Bennett.
Its Toughnut location has that typical Tombstone facade, with a matching saloon look inside, pushing up against the giant tanks for brewing that take up the back half of the building.
Dad can choose from 20-30 beers, on tap and in coolers, all made by Tombstone at their original location and up in Phoenix.
“We’ve got two breweries working with multiple different batches at the same time,” Bennett said. “That allows us to do more, like carry a whole line of flavored Berliner Weisse.”
Bennett said the brewery’s location, off of Allen Street, means they don’t get as much foot traffic as they’d like in Tombstone, but their reputation across the state has made them a destination brewery for craft beer enthusiasts.
They also have a dedicated fanbase with the locals.
“The other bars tend to be a little pricier and geared more toward tourists,” Bennett said. “We don’t require people to dress in period costumes here. But it isn’t uncommon to see people here in their costumes drinking beer.”
If you’d prefer a meal with your Tombstone beer, the brewery has been working in recent months with restaurants in town, including Vogan’s Alley Bistro (facebook.com/vogansalleybistro), 435 E. Allen St., and Big Nose Kate’s Saloon (bignosekatestombstone.com), 417 E. Allen St.
Right: Retired Phelps Dodge employees lead tour groups on mine trains 1,500 feet into The Queen Mine in Bisbee.
Bisbee
While Tombstone residents have worked to embrace their past, the city of Bisbee, about 23 miles south, down Highway 80, has found a balance between what it once was and what it has become.
The former mining town, with its historic district nestled against the rust-colored slopes of Tombstone Canyon, still remembers its roots.
A statue of a shirtless miner, known as the Courthouse Plaza Miners’ Monument, the Virile Copper Miner or just Iron Man by locals, has been standing tall in Old Bisbee since 1935. You can take your dad on an underground tour of the Queen Mine (queenminetour.com) or walk through the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum (bisbeemuseum.org), a Smithsonian affiliate, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., any day of the week.
For $8 general admission, your dad can get a feel for Bisbee in its first 40 years at the museum; the merchants, the urban growth, and, of course, the mining.
Carrie Gustavson, the museum’s director for the last 30 years, said the museum’s location, in the heart of Old Bisbee, in what was once the general headquarters for the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co., means everything on display inside the building relates to everything beyond its front doors.
“When we talk about the development of the architectural landscape, you walk outside and you are in the middle of it,” she said. “When we talk about the copper mine, you can go out and see the headframes. You can go down the road and see the pit.”
Kenny Stewart, a Bisbee magician and owner of The Seance Room, started the pop-up art gallery wall along the Broadway Stairs in Bisbee’s Brewery Gulch in 2018. The artwork is curated by Stewart and a friend, and is made up of thrift store finds, art found in dumpsters and donations from artists.
The town marks its mining past with vigor, but has also forged its own path.
Take your dad for a stroll down Main Street and you will be greeted by fine art galleries, vintage shops, cafes and restaurants.
Art is everywhere. Along an outdoor set of concrete stairs between two buildings near St. Elmo Bar, 36 Brewery Ave., you’ll find dozens of amateur paintings on display; a pop-up known as the Broadway Stairs Art Gallery that Bisbee magician and local character Kenny Stewart started in 2018.
An old cigarette machine in Copper Queen Plaza, 2 Main St., now dispenses random miniature works by local artists, folks like Tamara Page and Ruby Odell. For $20, half goes to the artist, the other half goes to the Bisbee Arts Commission, which operates the machine, for local art project funding.
“We have the entire array of artists,” Gustavson said. “Food stamp artists to internationally known artists.”
After you’ve had your fill of Old Bisbee, drive dad south on Highway 80, stop to take photos of the Lavender Pit, the old open-pit mine, then swing around onto AZ-92, for another brewery, this time with a familiar name.
Joe and Natalie Fredrickson, and their son Winston, launched Electric Brewing, 1326 AZ-92, in 2020 as an homage to Dave’s Electric Brewing, a popular brand across Southern Arizona that operated on-and-off for decades until its closure in 2013.
Lisa Healey makes her choice of artwork by pulling a lever on a C.I.G. Art Vending Machine inside the Copper Queen Plaza in Bisbee. The vintage cigarette machine was repurposed to dole out palm-sized paintings, jewelry and other art pieces inside yellow cigarette cartons. The cost is $20 and half of the proceeds goes to the artist, the other half goes to the Bisbee Arts Commission.
Now approaching two years in business, the Fredricksons have hit their stride. Their beers, including an Industrial Pale Ale based on one of original owner “Electric” Dave Harvan’s recipes, are available on tap and in bottles in a cooler. If you can’t make it down to Bisbee, you can now buy Electric Brewing beers at several spots around Tucson, including BOCA Tacos Y Tequila, Craft, a Modern Drinkery and Hop Street Lounge.
Natalie Fredrickson said, because they are not located in historic Bisbee, they tend to get more locals than out-of-towners.
“We get the determined tourists,” she said. “The ones who are looking for breweries. They always manage to get out here.”
But business has been good, especially considering that they opened during the pandemic.
“We are entering our slow time of year, but we are doing OK,” she said.
Electric Brewing also makes its own soda, with homegrown ginger ale and sarsaparilla available by the bottle; something to consider if you have to chauffeur dad all the way back to Tucson after your trip to Bisbee has ended.
Some natural choices
Cochise County has plenty of options for the outdoorsy dad.
Kartchner Caverns
2980 AZ-90; azstateparks.com/kartchner
Highlights of Kartchner Caverns State Park include a 58-foot-high column called Kubla Khan, the world’s longest soda straw stalactite and the largest collection of brushite moonmilk.
Treat your dad like the rock star that he is by taking him on a tour of these caverns, located about 9 miles south of Interstate 10 on the way to Sierra Vista. Highlights include a 58-foot-high column called Kubla Khan, the world’s longest soda straw stalactite and the largest collection of brushite moonmilk.
The caverns have several different tours available, starting at $23 general admission. They are part of the larger Kartchner Caverns State Park, which has camping and cabins for rent and hiking trails.
The park facility hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $7 per vehicle.
Ramsey Canyon Preserve
27 E. Ramsey Canyon Road, Hereford; tucne.ws/1kpm
Surround yourself with sycamores, maples, Chiricahua leopard frogs, deer and all manner of birds at this hidden gem, south of Sierra Vista. The preserve, run by The Nature Conservancy, has hiking trails and a visitor center. Tell dad to bring his binoculars. The best months for birding at the preserve are April through September, according to the Ramsey Canyon website.
A deer carefully navigates the rain-soaked pavement on Ramsey Canyon Road.
The preserve is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays-Mondays. Parking spaces are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. General admission to the park is $8 per person with discounts available.
After a hike with dad, take him into Sierra Vista for a hearty German meal at The German Cafe, 1232 E. Fry Blvd., open from 11 a.m.-7:15 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Info: tucne.ws/1kpz
Chiricahua National Monument offers hiking and camping opportunities amid the towering, volcanic ash spires.
Chiricahua National Monument
12856 E. Rhyolite Creek Road; nps.gov/chir/index.htm
The rhyolite rock pinnacles that make up much of Chiricahua National Monument will wow your dad if he has never been there before. Like a scene out of a science fiction movie, the park offers hiking and camping opportunities amid the towering, volcanic ash spires. The monument also offers an 8-mile scenic paved drive if pops isn’t up for walking.
The best part: Admission to the park is free and it is open 24 hours. The visitor center is open daily from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Other options
The Amerind Museum
2100 N. Amerind Road, Dragoon; amerind.org
Turn Father’s Day into a learning experience with a trip to The Amerind Museum, open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. The museum, an extension of The Amerind Foundation, a nonprofit archaeological research institution, founded by William Shirley Fulton in 1937, has an extensive collection of Native American artifacts, as well as art gallery space.
It is currently showing an exhibition created in collaboration with Tucson’s Raíces Taller 222 Art Gallery showcasing the works of 16 Southern Arizona artists inspired by their roots.
The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. Admission is $12 with discounts available.
The main gallery of the Amerind Museum features Native American artifacts from the Arctic through southern parts of South America.
Willcox wine tasting
Perhaps your dad would prefer a glass of Riesling to a pint of ale. If that’s the case, skip the exits to Tombstone, Bisbee and Sierra Vista and head straight on to Willcox wine country, about an hour east of Tucson, where more than 10 wineries are ready to serve you, and sell you, some of their finest creations.
The Willcox region grows 74% of Arizona’s wine grapes, according to the Willcox Wine Country website and is recognized as an official American Viticultural Area.
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