Arizona 2008 Official State Visitor's Guide - (Page 22) Wild West Adventure Situated among the rolling foothills of Tucson’s Santa Catalina Mountains, I began my journey with a comfortable stay at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Upon arrival, I walk out on my room’s balcony and immediately begin daydreaming about retiring here permanently while gazing at the homes on the surrounding desert hillside. Blending in with their surroundings, the Loews Ventana Canyon’s gorgeous grounds include a nature-walk hiking path that climbs the desert hills, forming the resort’s back yard. I enjoy a leisurely stroll on the path the next morning. Located just far enough away from downtown Tucson to be considered off the beaten path, but close enough to be considered convenient, the 15-mile drive from Tucson Electric Park after spring training baseball games provides an ample respite from the hustle and bustle of the city, and I look forward to returning in time for a view of the sunset from my balcony. That evening, I dine a few miles away at Vin Tabla, a wine bar and restaurant in the Plaza Colonial shopping square. I choose glasses of Chateau de Sales Pomerol Bordeaux and Dujin Janin German Pinot Noir from the extensive wine list to pair with a variety of tapas dishes, including assorted pizettes, from a sophisticated and ethnically eclectic menu. I am joined in Tucson by my traveling companion Leanne, with whom I will venture to the state’s far southeast region on a genuine, “Wild West Adventure.” On the advice of a friendly local, we head towards Bisbee on the Scenic Sonoita Highway (AZ 83), a favorable alternative to the more commonly traveled Interstate 10. Cruising with the top down on my convertible rental car, the two-hour drive flies by in majestic splendor. We stop briefly for a cowboy’s happy hour in T ombstone, and whether or not the cowboys are real – actors and tourists are adorned in period attire and mock gunfights are regularly scheduled on Sundays at 1 p.m. – it’s fun playing along. We plan a return visit on our way back. A 20-minute drive has us in Bisbee, a little windblown, but feeling nonetheless authentically Western. We check into the John Wayne room (yes the Duke did sleep here) at the 105-yearold Copper Queen hotel, which sits at the center of the artsy, historic mining town. Behind and above the hotel, hillside dwellings sit precariously on rocky slopes; many are accessible only by sloping stairways. After a relaxed dinner on the patio of the hotel’s Winchester Restaurant, the woman at the front desk regales Dude Ranch Diction Bronco (BRONG-koh): a wild horse. Chaps (chaps): loose leather protection worn over trousers, esp. by cowboys, as protection against burs, branches, rope burns, etc., while on horseback. Dogie (DOH-gee): a motherless calf in herd of cattle (as in “get along little dogie”). Honda (HON-duh): an eye at one end of a lariat through which the other end is passed to form a lasso. Lariat (LAR-ee-uht): a long, noosed rope (lasso) used to catch horses, cattle or other livestock. Muley (MYOO-lee, MOOL-ee): a hornless cow. Quirt (kwurt): a riding whip consisting of a short, stout stock and a lash of braided leather. Shindig (SHIN-dig): an elaborate or large dance, party or other celebration. Stetson (STET-suh-n): trademark used for a hat having a high crown and wide brim. Tenderfoot (TEN-der-foot): a newcomer to the ranching region of the western U.S. Cowboy College ©SCVB 22 • A r i z o n A o f f i c i A l S tAt e V i S i t o r ’ S G u i d e
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