Manny, a Phoenix mixologist, shivers in our convertible, taken off guard by the cool dusk of a day that began warm as we left Tucson. Ashley, a yoga instructor also from Phoenix, lobbies to leave the top down, anticipating a momentary race through fat raindrops promised by a single dark cloud above. And over all of us hangs a Milky Way painted across the night sky with a mile-wide brush.
The road leads to Tombstone. We hope. Our cell signal faded at sundown just past the stone spires of Chiricahua National Monument. And who thinks to bring a paper map? But the direction feels right, so we roll on, into an Arizona that keeps surprising even state residents like Manny and Ashley. Our crew assembled from around the country for a cruise through Cochise County, but the Arizonans in the party find as many revelations in their home state as any of us. “I’ve never seen a night like this,” Manny says. “I’ll never forget it.”
Chiricahua National Monument lookouts such as Massai Point make it easy to understand why Apaches, including legendary leader Cochise, held the area sacred. Follow along on our road trip by clicking through the slideshow below.