Southern Arizona Custom Tour Highlights
Here are some of the possibilities that could easily be built into your Southern Arizona custom tour. Look over the information provided to help you in the selection of places to build into your Southern Arizona custom tour.
Sonora Desert Museum
The Sonora Desert Museum is an excellent place to learn what the Sonora Desert is all about. Here, you will see hundreds of native plants and many of the deserts inhabitants including Mountain Lions and the endangered Mexican Wolf. The Sonora Desert Museum not only is educational but promotes the preservation of the entire Sonora Desert. There are many interesting exhibits with opportunities to stroll the grounds.
Saguaro National Park
The Saguaro Cactus is the symbol of the desert Southwest. Here, you will see the majestic Saguaro Cactus for as far as the eye can see. This is a great opportunity to get up close and personal with these cacti that can reach 20 feet in height. This is an excellent place for picture taking.
San Xavier Mission
The San Xavier Mission is one of the most beautiful examples of mission architecture in the United States. Built in the 1700s, this mission features exquisite mural paintings and unique statuary. San Xavier Mission is the oldest standing European structure in the country with its design originating in Spain. Well over 200,000 visitors make San Xavier Mission a stop every year.
Tombstone
One of the most famous outlaw towns in the United States is Tombstone, Arizona. This was the site of the shootout at the OK Corral where Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday had their deadly battle in which Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury were gunned down. Many historic and entertaining attractions are here including a reenactment of the shootout each day.
Source: Arizona State Parks & Trails
Kartchner Caverns
A visit to Kartchner Caverns is a must. These amazing limestone caves feature some of the most dramatic underground formations and minerals that you will ever see in a 1½ hour tour. Expert guides will point out unbelievable stalactites and stalagmites that have formed over thousands of years. The Discovery Center at Kartchner Caverns has many exhibits, a theater, and a large gift shop where you can purchase samples of beautiful minerals.
Tumacacori National Monument
The National Park Service has preserved three Spanish colonial missions in the Tumacacori National Monument, all of adobe construction. These missions were established in the late 1600s and early 1700s. A visitor's center provides excellent information about the history of all of these beautiful missions.
DeGrazia Studios
Acclaimed artist Ted DeGrazia built this beautiful adobe art studio complex starting in the early 1950s with the final building being completed in 1965. Each adobe brick was hand made from his designs. Today, it has a rotating display of some of his 15,000 pieces of art including original oils, watercolors, sketches, serigraphs, lithographs, sculptures, ceramics, and jewelry. Visitors from all over the world stream through the gallery every year.
Tubac
Historians believe that the Tubac area has been inhabited for over 11,000 years. Native Americans from the Pima and O'odham tribes were among the inhabitants and were the ones who welcomed the Spanish to the area. Today, Tubac is an historic State Park that features displays of the many ruins of the area. Tubac is Arizona's first State Park and is the location of Arizona's first European settlement.
