Historic Railroad Avenue Park

We reached the farthest west point of our trip, Arizona, the Grand Canyon State. First Arizona stop is Willcox (SE corner of AZ) and the campground at the Willcox Elks Lodge. As a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, I am allowed to use a Lodge's campground. Many Lodges have camping facilities, but not all. Willcox Lodge's campground is a nice one - large level gravel lot, shade trees with grassy areas, and utilities. Great find for a one night stop.

Willcox, AZ is much more than meets the eye. On the surface Willcox is a small town (pop. 3,000) that has struggled to maintain it's presence on the Arizona landscape. It could be characterized as an old western town now going through rebirth and revitalization.

In its early days, Willcox was a national leader in cattle production and with this came the title of Cattle Capital of North America. Today ranching and agriculture are the area's economic base. The region produces 75% of the wine grapes grown in Arizona. There are miles of apple orchards, pistachio groves (2nd in the nation), and pecan farms. This has resulted in the strong agriculture and ranching community of today. There is a blend of a laid back small town combined with hard working farm and cowboy life.

Speaking of cowboys, Willcox has the distinction of hosting the murder of Warren Earp, Wyatt Earp's youngest brother, and being the place where outlaw Johnny Ringo took his last breath. Where there are cowboys, there must be Indians. Both Cochise and Geronimo called the area home.

Lastly, Willcox is home to more bird species than anywhere in North America. The town is known for hosting Sandhill Cranes on their migrations. Birders from afar flock to the area to witness all the feather friend activities.Read more