Nick Horton finds there is a whole lot more to the Grand Canyon state than a big hole in the ground...

So where are you going for your next holiday?

Fancy something a bit different from the usual sunburn and dodgy tummy?

How about staying the night on an historic ranch, followed by a horse-ride through the desert followed by a shootout over breakfast with some mean gun-slinging cowboys?

Or what about a trip down a disused copper mine and experience what back-breaking life was really like 1,500ft below ground before spending the night in the restored bars and bordellos of an original Wild West town?

If that sounds too much like hard work, how about a round of golf on a verdant championship course or a night at a casino run by the Yaqui tribe of Native Americans?

The vast US state of Arizona has this and a whole lot more to offer a truly adventurous and unforgettable holiday.

Hit hard by the recession, the Grand Canyon state is hitting back with four powerful weapons: its breath-taking landscape of deserts and mountains, its remarkable climate of 330 days a year of brilliant sunshine and immense clear skies, its fascinating and absorbing history from the Wild West to the present day, and the inspirational ‘cando’ attitude and welcoming warmth of its inhabitants.

For a relatively young state, Arizona can boast a lot of fascinating history.

Take for example the small town of Bisbee.

Go back a hundred years or so and this little hamlet in a valley near the Mexican border was one of the wealthiest places in the country, thanks to the nearby copper mine.

Hordes of prospectors and investors flooded the area and within years the town had expanded all the way up the Mule Mountain valley, with miners and other workers building Victorian mansions with their new-found wealth.

The thriving town attracted many others seeking to get rich quick with the main square, known as Brewery Gulch, having around 100 bars and just as many bordellos as the miners liked to work hard and play even harder – this was the very, very wild west after all.

All was fine and dandy until the exhausted and depleted Copper Queen mine closed in the mid-1970s.

Within months the town was deserted and many of the fabulous Victorian buildings were left to rot for a decade until the bohemian crowd took over.

Now Bisbee is home to artists, musicians and chefs as the town is restored to its former glory with many of the original buildings still intact.

Although walking through Brewery Gulch I did expect to see someone being launched through a window, like in an old cowboy film.

The Copper Queen mine runs tours, hosted by former members of staff, so you can experience what life was like for a miner back in the day and, as you can imagine it was tough, very scary and extremely dangerous. No wonder they liked to party hard after their shift was over.

A more recent of America’s history is on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum and Boneyard at Tucson. You may have seen this on Channel 4 as one of their programme links when giant airplane wings form the number four.

There are so amazing exhibits in the museum, from the Wright Brothers’ first glider to a Battle of Britain Hurricane, from a B52 bomber to an Apollo moon landing craft, from JFK’s Air Force One to Tom Cruise’s F14A Tomcat in Top Gun.

And surely that’s the cockpit used in the film Airplane? Yes, it is, but don’t call me Shirley.

Thanks to Arizona’s dry climate, the old aircraft are stored outside like some giant scrapyard with no danger of rust.

As a precaution they’re all shrinkwrapped in clear plastic and a tour of the Boneyard seems to go on for days.

The highlight for me was the moment when the bus slowed down to show us the invisible Stealth bomber, so called as it was undetectable by radar.

There was just a patch of scorched grass.

Who says the Americans don’t do irony?

Factfile

  • Triangle T Ranch, Benson, Cochise County: Built in 1922, this original ranch house is set in the Texas Canyon and was the bolthole of choice for Steve McQueen, Glenn Ford, John Wayne and many other celebrities who wanted out of the spotlight for a few days. Be prepared to meet the Gunfight at the OK Corral re-enactment cowboys from nearby Tombstone, but don’t start an argument with them.triangletguestranch.com
  • Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson: Built into the Catalina Mountains, this luxurious resort has two Tom Fazio-designed golf courses and is the very height of sophistication. Don’t miss the Flying V Bar and Grill for a fabulous dining treat. loewshotels.com
  • Casino Del Sol Resort, Tucson: One of the newest and smartest hotels in the region with hundreds of gaming tables. The hotel is run by the Pascua Yaqui tribe of Native Americans.
  • Shady Dell, Bisbee: This is a genuine 1950s trailer park complete with lovely aluminium travel trailers full of 1950s American kitsch. If you love the vintage lifestyle, this is the place for you. theshadydell.com
  • For general information on Arizona and Bisbee, see arizonaguide.com and discoverbisbee.com