Saturday, October 29, 2011

Museums and Curiosities: Dragoon, Arizona's Amerind Foundation and "The Thing?"

There's a local mummy in my home turf of Cochise County, Arizona called "The Thing?" and it's part of a roadside attraction that has long been the marker point that says, "you are halfway to Tucson, an welcome to the blip on the radar called Dragoon. Please stop in for some ice cream and trinkets." Anyway, it's worth a stop for anyone who likes cheese, wants to see what is almost certainly a fake but very famous mummy, and enjoys a modern descendant from the old "Cabinets of Curiosity" era. Not far from this roadside spectacle is a real museum and archive in the form of the Amerind Foundation, which is well worth a visit, and far more enlightening. Unfortunately the Amerind Foundation is not conveniently located alongside I-10 and it is not equipped with a Dairy Queen, but it is a much richer and more meaningful experience, so if you pass through that area (it's called Texas Canyon, west of Wilcox in the canyon just before the downslope of I-10 heading toward Benson) stop on in for a real treat.


Here, let me spoil it for you:


The Amerind Foundation:


The whole area is absolutely gorgeous, and worth visiting for the scenary alone, so even if museums aren't your thing, stopping in just for the view and the hiking is a worthwhile reason.


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