The Sandhill Cranes of Whitewater Draw
Featuring the Historic Gadsden Hotel
January 30th-31st, 2025
$426 (Based Upon Double Occupancy) $65 (Single Supplement)

Day One:  We’re traveling south to Tombstone—The Town Too Tough To Die—where we’ll find plenty of great little restaurants to choose from and enjoy lunch on self. Later, back in the Transits, we’ll head for Douglas, Arizona. Just a few miles north of the Mexican border, Douglas, a once remote ranching town is home to the infamous Gadsden Hotel. Built in 1902, then destroyed by fire, the Gadsden was rebuilt in 1929 in the Art Nouveau style—offering a magnificent Tiffany stained glass window overlooking the lobby, and a sweeping Italian marble staircase—up which Pancho Villa reportedly rode his horse. The hotel provided gracious hospitality to the growing business brought in by the mining industry and the settling of the Arizona Territory. The lobby of the Gadsden, “the living room,” hosted cattlemen, ranchers, copper mining executives and businessmen. For all of the Gadsden’s rich history, the hotel also had a dark side—catering to gamblers, and notable lawless characters of the American West. Famously haunted, guests and staff members have reported paranormal encounters on every floor, with the third floor seemingly the epicenter. The basement of the Gadsden is beyond fascinating—a 7,000 square foot labyrinth of twenty rooms—which secretly housed bootleg whiskey tunnels, brothels and a notorious speakeasy. We’ll check into our beautifully renovated rooms, and after a refresh, we’ll enjoy a Welcome Dinner, served buffet-style with a glass of beer or wine, and it’s all included. After dinner, we’ll explore the Gadsden, beginning on the third floor, and winding our way down into the basement—with guides recounting the darker history that arose from the underbelly of the hotel. Afterward, you might want to call it an early night—we’ve got a big day tomorrow!

Day Two: We’ll be up before the crack of dawn to enjoy a continental breakfast, included, at the hotel. Back in the Transits, we’ll hit the road for Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, one of the best places to view sandhill cranes, with an estimated winter population of over 30,000. Located in the Sulphur Springs Valley—a Chihuahuan desert grassland habitat—Whitewater Draw is surrounded by Arizona’s magnificent sky islands. The sandhill cranes spend the night standing in the draw’s shallow waters to evade predators, and then fly out at sunrise, to feed and socialize in the surrounding area. With an impressive wingspan of 6 to 7 feet, the early morning mass ascension of the sandhill cranes is a sight to behold! There is no visitor’s center at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, but there are restrooms. In addition to sandhill cranes, the waters of the draw attract many kinds of ducks, geese, herons, egrets, shorebirds, gulls, and terns, as well as various mammals. Don’t forget your camera! Formerly a cattle ranch, Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area was purchased in 1997 and is now managed to enhance wetland habitats and provide waterfowl habitat, and wildlife viewing. After this heart-stopping experience, we’ll travel to Bisbee, located 90 miles southeast of Tucson in the scenic Mule Mountains. Founded in 1880, Bisbee was one of the most cultured cities in the American West—the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. Downtown Bisbee still retains much of its cosmopolitan charm, with its mining camp roots also fully on display in the rollicking Brewery Gulch district—once home to 50 saloons and several brothels. We’ll visit the Queen Mine, don hard hats, miner’s headlamps, and the always stylish yellow slicker, then head underground and back in time! Retired Phelps Dodge employees will narrate our journey 1,500 feet into the mine, recounting the dangers and dramas of mining days. Afterwards, we’ll stroll the streets of Bisbee, now home to many interesting shops and galleries, and we’ll enjoy lunch on self with several fantastic
restaurants to choose from. Midafternoon we’ll head for home—a relaxing journey through the rolling grasslands of Southern Arizona, with plenty of great stops along the way. This Kindred Tours Classic should not be missed!