WHEN YOU GO: |
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Getting There: Kartchner Caverns, Tombstone and the Titan Missile Museum are all within driving distance of Tucson, which is serviced by a variety of airlines. The toll-free telephone numbers and Web links are listed on this magazine’s Airlines page. The major U.S. car rental agencies have offices at the Tucson International Airport, with Web links and toll-free telephone numbers listed on this magazine’s Autos page.
To drive to Kartchner Caverns State Park from Tucson, drive on Interstate 10 for 43 miles east to State 90 (exit 302). Drive south nine miles to the park entrance. The cave is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except Christmas Day. There is parking fee and charge for cave tours. For reservations call (520) 586-2283. To visit Tombstone, return to Interstate 10 and drive southeast 2 miles to Benson (45 miles from Tucson) to Highway 80, then drive south for 24 miles. To reach the Titan Missile Museum, take Interstate 19 south from Tucson 25 miles to Green Valley, exit 69, then drive west for a few miles, past La Canada, to the museum’s entrance.
Staying There: Motels, bed and breakfast inns, and restaurants are plentiful in Tucson and Tombstone and also in Benson. Camping is available at Kartchner Caverns State Park. Tombstone’s downtown motels are well located, but not plush. John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara frequently visited the Tombstone Sagebrush Inn. Bed and breakfast inns, including the museum-like Marie's, offer a range of accommodations in Tombstone.
Some useful guidebooks and historical treatises are:
Tucson
to Tombstone: A Guide to Southeast Arizona
Day
Trips From Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff
And
Die In the West: The Story of the O.K. Corral Gunfight
Desert
Honky-Tonk: The Story of Tombstone's Bird Cage Theatre
Useful links:
Arizona State Parks:
including Kartchner Caverns
Titan Missile Museum.
Tombstone: area guide
includes lodging, restaurants, tours, etc.
Tombstone
State Guide: weather, map, businesses
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