New Adventure

We had a great time this weekend (Sunday/Monday). We headed out bright and early (retirement time) at 10:30 Sunday Morning. Headed East then South on Interstate 10. Through Phoenix then on through Tucson. This time we went past the Benson exit on 10 for the first time and headed on to Wilcox, about 40 miles West of the New Mexico Border in Southeast AZ. Wilcox is a "historic" town, where Warren Earp was killed. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've visited several Earp Graves since 1994 :).  

        Warren's Grave site.. This headstone was donated by 

              an old West Society in recent years and was not

                                                    original.

Wilcox is a small town off Interstate 10.  Doesn't look like much has changed in the last 50 years.. Except maybe this.....

 

            This is not something I've seen before.. 

                 Bikers enjoying their Expresso.

After visiting Wilcox and exploring the town, I was ready to see Tombstone again and was happy to see not a lot has changed in the 7 years since our last visit.

            Historic Allen Street, The street is blocked now to 

                                                   Autos.

                     These guys are "dressed", Yup, Paul and I 

                 use to do this too (I was in it for the shopping)

     Now here's something I'd never seen before. Don't

                      Know where his horse is

    

       Paul can't help himself.

           Historic Allen Street from the South - Monday 

Monday morning early,... (9:00 am) we left Tombstone and headed south East on the 80 to Douglas. Douglas is a border town and Texas John Slaughter had a ranch down there. I wanted to see a border town and Paul wanted to see the Ranch. The drive was beautiful. Being a California native, I'm not use to Highways other than in memories of long ago Sunday Drives in the 50's. Paul and I reverted to childhood immediately upon hitting some Whoopdy Doos on the highways yesterday. For those of you who don't know the joy of a series of whoopdy Doos, they are um little bumps or hills in the highway; They seemed like little Roller Coasters when we  were young.

Douglas is a small town with a still active down town. I think for two reasons.. One, there isn't a mall near by and two many/most of the shoppers are from La Pietra which is Douglas on the Mexican Side of the Border.

           I was drawn to this "Town Square" in Douglas

                 and while Paul went to the Visitor Center 

                     to get directions to The Slaughter 

Ranch, I stayed here to take 

                                      pictures

              

             Being from Suburbia, I HAD to photograph this 

                                       brightly colored house

          Downtown Douglas. I was trying to photograph the

                      license plates from both AZ and Mexico.

                  The other side of the fence is Mexico

In AZ, illegal immigration is a big problem, especially for Ranchers near Douglas who've seen their ranches become something of a war zone in the last ten years.. Since Drug Smugglers have decided that there is more money to be made in human trafficking. In the Phoenix area, since we moved here 5 years ago, I've heard at least 3-6 times each year of a "flop house" where Mexican immigrants are held for ransom by these animals known here as Coyotes - two legged animals. For more than 25 years, I've taken the position that I had no problem with a man or woman willing to walk 800 miles for a job. I do have a problem though,  with the marches and protests in recent years in my home state of CA and now AZ, especially seeing the Mexican Flags waving in my home country in protest. People in this area who push for legal immigration are at once labeled as racists which is not fair...  And so these days I am torn. This picture I took at the border made me sad though.... torn with conflicted emotions about a topic I no longer can take a stand on one way or another... Except that too many die in the desert on their way to a hopefully better life.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog today.

P.S. Slaughter's Ranch is Closed on Mondays!! I win :)