YUMA — The Yuma Territorial Prison was a key player in the drama of the Old West. For 33 years, it served as a place of incarceration, and some of those who stayed within its walls were indeed desperate men and women with few redeeming qualities. But the prison was closed in 1909 and the inmates were moved to the new facility in Florence.
AMADO — One of Arizona’s all-time best oddities faces an uncertain future due to the economy. The Longhorn Grill, a landmark restaurant just off Interstate 19 south of Tucson, has closed due to slow sales that forced a bank foreclosure. The establishment was well-known to travelers because it was housed in a giant stucco cow skull with horns that measured almost 30 feet across.
It is not unusual that some Arizona Oddities have differing stories behind their origins. Take, for example, the big sign made of rocks on Signal Butte in the Usery Mountains. The most common belief is that in the 1950s, Boy Scouts scouted up the rocks, painted them white and arranged them to spell
At the risk of being accused of tooting my own horn, I am compelled to note that the Third Edition of Arizona Curiosities is now on the market. It is bigger and fatter than the previous two and contains this really good photo of me, the author, taken on one of those days when I wasn’t looking overly peculiar.
Q: I live in the East Valley near Usery Mountain Park. There are a lot of coyotes that hang out in my neighborhood. However, I can’t figure out where they get their water. As far as I know, any canals or rivers are miles away, the washes are dry, and all the pools are fenced off. So where do they get their water?
