POST #62

(a lot of pictures and links on this...Click to see larger or follow links)

Friday, March 20th, we left Catalina State Park, north of Tucson, and moved to Gilbert Ray Campground, SW of Tucson.  It was a short trip of about 25 miles...

We got into our campsite at about 2 PM.  

For a 360 Video Tour of the Gilbert Ray Campground---Click HERE.  

Gilbert Ray Campground is right across the road from the Old Tucson film studio and theme park.  Old Tucson is a movie studio and theme park just west of Tucson, Arizona, adjacent to the Tucson Mountains and close to the western portion of Saguaro National Park. Built in 1939 for the movie Arizona (1940), it has been used for the filming of many movies and television westerns since then, such as Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), Rio Bravo (1959), El Dorado (1966), and Little House on the Prairie TV series of the 1970s-1980s. It was opened to the public in 1960, and historical tours are offered about the movies filmed there, along with live cast entertainment featuring stunt shows and shootouts.  Click HERE for a Wikipedia page that shows a list of everything filmed here.  For a Video Tour of Old Tucson---Click HERE.  

The mountain behind our campsite can be seen in many of those movies and TV shows...

On April 25, 1995, a fire destroyed much of Old Tucson... 

Buildings, costumes and memorabilia were lost in the blaze. Among the memorabilia destroyed was the wardrobe from Little House on the Prairie. Also lost in the blaze was the only copy of a short film about the history of Old Tucson Studios. This film included rare behind the scenes footage of stars, such as William Holden, John Wayne and Angie Dickinson. The Reno, a steam locomotive from the Virginia and Truckee Railroad on static display in the park, was also badly damaged.  See a Video HERE...

After 20 months of reconstruction, Old Tucson re-opened its doors on January 2, 1997. The sets that were lost were not recreated; instead, entirely new buildings were constructed, and the streets were widened. The Reno locomotive was cosmetically restored before the filming of Wild Wild West, in which it was featured as Union Pacific 119 in the scene at the driving of the final spike of the First Transcontinental Railroad, but was subsequently used in an explosion in the scene and is in need of additional restoration. The soundstage was not rebuilt.

We were not able to visit Old Tucson this year due to the Chinese Caronavirus..

The park is closed until further notice.

Also closed is the nearby Sonora Desert Museum.  

They both very cool and worth a visit!  We were able to visit both last year, 

but were hoping to do it again, but its not likely due to the fact that we will be leaving Friday, March 27😞  We will just isolate in place...Its easy to do here!

Until Next Time...Stay safe!  Stay optimistic! Take care of yourselves!