Monday, June 12, 2017

Cochise, Arizona April 22, 2017


Cochise, Arizona, is located about 20 miles east of Wilcox off of Interstate 10. The semi-ghost town is located off of Highway 191 which runs south to Douglas, Arizona. Today about 25 people mostly ranchers live in a town that used to have 3,000. There are a number of interesting buildings from the 1800s. If a visitor likes to watch trains the Union Pacific runs through town with about 30 to 40 trains daily.

Cochise is different in that it was created as a water and fuel stop for the Southern Pacific. In 1882 John Rath built the Cochise Hotel to serve railroad workers. Over time the town's population reached 3,000 as more individuals moved to the area to ranch. In 1889 Billy Stiles and Matt Burts robbed a train on the Southern Pacific they were eventually caught by a tip from a informant.  In 1903 the Arizona and Colorado built a branch line to Courtland, Arizona, to the south. The ultimate aim was to build the line all the way to Naco and finally Mexico. In 1909 construction of the line came to a halt in the Arizona desert and was never completed because of declining revenue from the mines around Courtland. In 1931 SP abandoned the line. Cochise, Arizona, declined because of the diesel locomotive and ability to go longer distances between stops. (Information from: Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Philip Varney and http://www.abandonedrails.com/Cochise-Douglas_Branch)








Gem and Mineral Show Tucson, Arizona February 2017

                          Beautiful table at Kino location

Every year Tucson, Arizona, hosts the largest gem and mineral show in the United States. The show lasts for about two weeks with about 50 locations around town. If you are a vendor or buyer you can find pretty much anything from azurite to quartzite. This year I discovered the show has many fossils along with dinosaur skeletons. The problem is that many of the vendors can be pushy about buying something and there are many knockoff fossils. However, if you do want to buy earrings or a gem good buys can be had. The following photos are from three different locations at the show: Kino, 22nd Street and the fossil COOP.

The following photos are from Kino location which has four large tents, food and hundreds of sellers.

                             Sea Horse illuminated with light

                                           Jellyfish

                                                 Mineral displays

                                          Big Trilobite fossils



                            Geodes

The next group of photos is from 22nd Street which is known for its fossils and dinosaur bones.

                                    Dinosaur skeleton

                                   Dinosaur bone

             Moroccan Cretacious dinosaur skulls



                  T-Rex with prey. I am pretty sure this was staged because it would be a rare find to have a T-Rex with prey in its mouth preserved.

                   American Mastadon tusk

                        Romanian Cave Bear

                                        Meteorite from Russia

                          Triceratops head for $225,000

                     Water dinosaur



   Claudiosaurus

The next photos are from the COOP off of Stone Avenue.



                   Whole skeleton. Don't want to back up without looking

                                   Wooly Mammoth

                             Leaf fossils with another dinosaur skeleton
   
                              Love this fish