Archive for the ‘Events and Things To Do’ Category

A Place To Stay Near Kartchner Caverns

February 13th, 2014 by Mike Hug

Place to stay near Kartchner Caverns – Try highly recommended Down By The River B and B

Down By The River B and B is the ideal place to stay near Kartchner Caverns

Looking for a place to stay near Kartchner Caverns? You have the chance to stay at a world class b and b in Saint David, south of Benson and just minutes from the State Park. Kartchner Caverns was discovered in 1974. After a long process involving purchase of the land and construction of the site infrastructure by the State of Arizona, the Caverns were opened in November, 1999. Down By The River B and B was first opened in 2005 to give our guests an opportunity to stay at the closest B and B to Kartchner Caverns.

The Caverns have two escorted tours for visitors, both of which are about 1 ½ hour long. One tour is year round and is named the Rotunda / Throne Room, which has the large stone flow called Kubla Khan. The second tour is The Big Room and is only opened between October 15 and April 15. You can look at Youtube video of the caverns tour as it previews what sites you will see. You can book online for the tours at the State Website . Before your tour, you will think about a place to stay near Kartchner Caverns which will allow you time to see more of the area. The answer to that query is Down By The River B and B, The Lodging Hub of Cochise County.

Kartchner Caverns State Park is the most pristine live cave in the United States.

When you visit Cochise County to see Kartchner Caverns, you will see that there are many things for you to do before you go home. Being a place to stay near Kartchner Caverns, Down By The River B and B is also close to many other nearby attractions including Tombstone, Bisbee, and The San Pedro River National Riparian Area for birding. There are National Monuments, state parks, historical sites and old ghost towns in this part of Southeastern Arizona. The b and b is also close to both wine centers/regions in this part of Arizona.

So when you are considering a visit to Cochise County and the caverns, book with Down By The River B and B. We are the place to stay near Kartchner Caverns and all the other sites in Southeastern Arizona. Find out first hand why a Canadian Travel Writer said “This is one of the most spectacular B and Bs in the US”.

Posted in Down By The River FAQ, Events and Things To Do | Comments Off on A Place To Stay Near Kartchner Caverns

Place To Stay Near Tombstone

February 6th, 2014 by Mike Hug

A Place To Stay Near Tombstone is Down By The River B & B

Down By The River B and B is a highly rated lodging choice when choosing a place to stay near Tombstone

Looking for a place to stay near Tombstone, Arizona, then look no further than the highly rated Down By The River Bed and Breakfast. The b and b is located in Saint David approximately 20 minutes north of Tombstone just off highway 80. The Santa Fe style b and b abuts the San Pedro River at the northern end of the San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area which is a birder delight. Down By The River is a great place to stay if you also want to stay in one location and have easy access to the other parts of Cochise and Santa Cruz Counties. That is the reason that we are called “The Lodging Hub of Cochise County”.

Old photo of cowboys in Tombstone. This photo is located in the Cowboy Room at Down By The River B & B

Tombstone has the appeal and mystic of the Old West. It is one of the go to destinations for the fans of the Western Gunfight. There are many events throughout the year in Tombstone and people look for a place to stay near Tombstone to be close to all the action. There are events to attend in Tombstone this spring. In March, Tombstone celebrates Wild West Days. In April, The Rose Tree Festival is held and in May Wyatt Earp Days takes to the streets. The biggest event is held in October with the rip roaring Helldorado Days celebration. Many places to stay near Tombstone have no vacancies left by September.

The Tombstone stage ride give a historic tour of the town.

While there is lodging in Tombstone, none can compare with our place to stay near Tombstone. The many reviews that we have tell the story of the museum quality of the artifacts that are in the large comfortable rooms. Our gourmet breakfast that is served every morning stands head and shoulders above the conventional fare that is offered at other lodging locations. Down By The River B and B hosts work hard at giving you that extra effort to make your stay enjoyable. Try us out and find out why other guest rate their stay with us so high. Check out our availability now.

Tags: Place to stay near Tombstone
Posted in Events and Things To Do | Comments Off on Place To Stay Near Tombstone

San Pedro River Lodging Birding

January 8th, 2014 by Mike Hug

Ponds near our San Pedro River Lodging can provide some intimate bird watching without a lot of interruption of other birders.

From an overlook on the road to Millers Pond you can view the activity at the pond.

Nearby our San Pedro River Lodging, known as Down By The River B and B, are a couple of ponds that are accessible only for guests at our B and B. The pond is inside the gated area of DMR Ranch but is a short walk from the property. One is rather small and fed by a small spring and you can find birds in the trees around the pond. The second is about 7 or 8 acres and has reeds and cat tails to give the water fowl cover. Whenever Angie and I walk to the ponds we haven’t encountered any other people during our visit. The odds are that you may be the only visitors if you visit the ponds. From a gravel road there is an overview so you can see where the activity is located at the pond.

In the month of December we had visited the ponds twice. Both times we found mainly the American Coot. During second visit, we stopped to view the action at the pond. We found that there were other birds in amongst the American Coots. As we viewed the birds that were at the pond, we found a pair of Ruddy Ducks, a loggerhead shrike, dove and a large group of Northern Shovelers along with the coots. There were some birds that we thought might be Cinnamon Teal but they went into the reeds before we could make a good identification.

A pair of Ruddy Ducks were at the pond and we were able to watch them for a while.

On our first visit to the ponds near our San Pedro River lodging along with birds we found insects along the shore and in the reeds. In particular we found Damsel Flies and Dragon Flies. There were many birds in the reeds looking for insects and other menu items. If we had taken the time we probably could have identified the types of birds but we had a short time frame for the walk as guests were coming to the b and b.

When you visit our San Pedro River lodging, ask us about the pond and we can direct you to its location. It is always nice to be able to see something that is more off the beaten track that other people can’t get to or don’t know about. There are not the variety of birds that you will find at White Water Draw or Twin Lakes but it can be a special place in an intimate setting that can be your alone.

The loggerhead Shrike was waiting for insects during our visit to the pond

Northern Shovelers took flight after we had come out of a reedy blind and disturbed them

American Coot caught st the start of a dive underwater

Posted in Events and Things To Do, Nature | Comments Off on San Pedro River Lodging Birding

Lodging Near Tombstone

January 3rd, 2014 by Mike Hug

It is well known that the best lodging near Tombstone is called Down By The River B and B and has the advantages of modern comforts for our guests.

Down By The River offers superior lodging near Tombstone with the modern comforts not found in older buildings that date from the 19 th and early 20 th century. Our San Pedro River b and b is within a short 20 minute drive of the Town Too Tough To Die. We call ourselves the Lodging Hub of Cochise County for a reason. Our B and B is close to all the attractions that guest will want to see in Cochise County while allowing them to stay at a single location – particularly Tombstone.

The Tombstone Courthouse in 1952

Tombstone was founding in 1878 when silver was found in the area. There are many old pictures that were taken during those early years. We have old friends that visit our lodging near Tombstone. Angie and I recently had the opportunity to visit with Sharon. She gave us the opportunity to scan some old photos of Tombstone. She had taken these pictures when she was visiting back in August of 1952. I haven’t seen many pictures of Tombstone from that era. If someone took pictures of Tombstone during that time, few have survived from 60 years ago. A lot of the town was dilapidated and there were wide open spaces to explore. Boot Hill was just the grave yard without any buildings or shops nearby like today. Some places like the Crystal Palace Saloon were located on the main street of town and appear to have been open for business. Some of the buildings were in disrepair, such as the Courthouse. The OK corral was just a sign hanging in the area and it delineated information on the gunfight. Now there is a daily live reenactment that is held behind a fenced in set. I have a few photographs from the 50s and also some recent photos so that you can compare the changes.

Read the rest of this page »

Tags: Lodging near Tombstone, San Pedro River B and B
Posted in Down By The River FAQ, Events and Things To Do | Comments Off on Lodging Near Tombstone

From Our Saint David B&B Explore Bisbee

December 23rd, 2013 by Mike Hug

From Our Saint David B&B Explore Bisbee’s Wonders

45 minutes from our St. David B&B to a Bisbee Overlook. The quaint town is nestled in the Mule Mountains.

Only a 45 minute drive separates you from our Saint David B&B from the delights of Bisbee. Every now and then we have some spare time to go to a place that is fascinating and fun to explore. Bisbee has many small eclectic shops, a coffee roaster, tasting olive oil, balsamic vinegar or wine, the mine tours and museum, antique stores and some fantastic places to eat.

We particularly like to go into the antique stores to see if there is something that we can find that will fit into the decor of our Saint David B&B. It is always fun to explore this town that grew up around the mine and view the old buildings from street level or from atop one of the overlooks in the town. But the one thing we do like to do in Bisbee is to sample the culinary offerings of the restaurants.

Read the rest of this page »

Posted in Events and Things To Do | Comments Off on From Our Saint David B&B Explore Bisbee

Wings Over Willcox

November 24th, 2013 by Mike Hug

Wings Over Willcox 2014 is coming in January

Wings Over Willcox (WOW) is an annual event held in the middle of January every year. This year is the 21st time that the birding event has been held. The WOW event hosts various tours, seminars, contests and a banquet. There are over 60 different events taking place during the time frame. Birding tours and many chances for photography are available at different venues all over Cochise County. Twin Lakes, The Willcox Playa and White Water Draw are some of the locations that draw the birding tours. Children’s activities such as building bird nesting boxes are available. It is less than 2 months away from the start of WOW and already some of the more popular events are sold out with wait lists for them filling as you read this. Opportunities to get on a tour are still available but they are filling up fast. Too see what is available, click here on the link to the events page. A brochure of the entire experience is available online on the website so that you can download it and read it at your leisure.

I notice that there is one contest with Wings Over Wilcox which would be interesting for me. The contest is the Anniversary Challenge. This challenge is open to everyone and its aim is for entrants to find and list as many of the 100 birds that were seen in the Sulphur Springs Valley prior to 1900. Some of the birds were sighted back in the 1700s. The list can be found on the website challenge page. A bird themed poetry and a Haiku contest is also on the agenda.

Read the rest of this page »

Posted in Events and Things To Do, Nature | Comments Off on Wings Over Willcox

Southeast Arizona Bird Migration

November 18th, 2013 by Mike Hug

Southeast Arizona Bird Migration is best in The San Pedro River Valley

LBJ aka Chipping Sparrow

Southeast Arizona Bird Migration along the San Pedro River reaches its peak in the fall and spring of the year. Some of the migratory birds end their southeast Arizona migration in areas of Cochise County in Southeastern Arizona. Down By The River B and B, the lodging hub of Cochise County, is a perfect spot to stay while you take your day trips to find that bird you need on your life list. There are many birds that spend the winter in Cochise County. The nice sunny days allow for you to spend time watching the birds instead of being bundled up next to a fire at the old homestead. In preparing this blog, I found a website that gives migration routes of birds and approximate times of the year that they migrate. There is some good information in this website and it gives you some general timing for your visit to see the our Southeast Arizona bird migration.

Northern Shoveler taking flight at Twin Lakes Birding Area

The Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, American Avocet, American Coots and a variety of Teals are just a few of the birds that spend the winter in locations around the county. There are lakes and ponds within a short driving distance that are sanctuaries for these birds. Besides the migratory birds that call Southeast Arizona home for the winter, we have the resident birds that live all year long in the area. Many visit our feeders during the day. This allows our guests to be very close so there is no need for that big lens to get that great picture.

Read the rest of this page »

Posted in Events and Things To Do, Nature | Comments Off on Southeast Arizona Bird Migration

Arizona Wine Tasting

November 7th, 2013 by Mike Hug

The Arizona Wine Tasting – The Wine Challenge was held at Down By The River B and B

Arizona wine tasting was the name of the game at Down By The River B and B where the Wine Challenge at The River was held. The non-conventional Arizona wine tasting test was hoping to demonstrate that Arizona Wine could hold its own against other wines from outside of Arizona. Angie and I were convinced from our Arizona wine tasting ventures that the grapes grown and used for wine in Arizona were just as good if not better than other wines we have had. To find out we decided to have a blind taste test with our guests.

Angie and I provided the Arizona wines that were chosen at the Willcox Wine Festival. From this Arizona Wine tasting we chose two wines that we rated the best. We also have our favorites from the Sonoita area and we did a comparison of those with the two that we had chosen from Willcox. Unlike official taste tests, we decided to allow the guest to bring any wine that they thought would be something that would be liked by all the other guests. The blind tasting guests turned their bottle over to Mike when they arrived. Mike transferred the wine to another bottle so that no one would visually know which wine they brought. The wine bottles were left opened and allowed to breathe for over 1 hour after the transfer to the new bottles. The bottles were labeled randomly for the tasting.

We had expected 3 rooms to be at the Challenge but one room had to cancel at the last minute. So instead of 8 different samples to have during the test we had 6. We had each guest rate the wines from 1 to 9 for nose, finish and overall drinkability. The scores would be averaged and the highest rated wine would win. We had two California wines, two from South Australia and two from Arizona. The wines were all good with the food pairings that we had during the tasting.

The labels of the wines submitted to the Wine Challenge at The River.

The wines and their placement were as follows:

2010 Zarpara Origen, a blend from Kansas Settlement, Cochise County Arizona
2012 Molly Dooker Boxer Shiraz from McLaren Vale, South Australia
2012 Molly Dooker Violinist Verdelho from McLaren Vale, South Australia
2011 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay from Kenwood, Sonoma County
2010 Arizona Stronghold Nacise, a blend from Cochise County, Arizona
2012 Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon from St. Helena, Napa Valley

Alex Miller won the prize wine from Gallifant Cellars.

We actually picked the Nacise as the wine to beat when we picked the wines at the Willcox Wine Festival although we felt that Origen was a close second. Since the winner was Origen, which was our wine pick, we awarded the prize to Alex Miller who brought the Molly Dooker. The prize was a bottle 2009 Gallifant Cabernet Sauvignon. The other guests also received free wine tastings that were contributed to us by Coronado Winery, Zarpara Winery and Pillsbury Winery.

As I said this was just a fun time and not a scientific or professional tasting. We also regret that we couldn’t pick a wine from all the wineries in Arizona but could only choose two. We do want to thank everyone that helped us choose a wine for our Arizona Wine Tasting event. Many of the vintners gave us advice on what they thought would be the best one to choose. We wish to thank Terry and Jacque with Coronado, Mark and Rhona with Zarpara and Bonnie Lee and Sam from Pillsbury for the tasting passes. We want to thank the winemakers and owners of Carlson Creek, Charron, Coronado, Dos Cabezas, Flying Leap, Golden Rule, Keeling Schaefer, Kief Joshua, Lightning Ridge, Lawrence Dunham, Page Springs, Pillsbury, Sand Reckoner, Wilhelm and especially Arizona Stronghold and Zarpara for guiding us with wine recommendations. We also want to give a special thanks to Irlyn and Gavin Gallifant with Gallifant Cellars for the prize wine that was used in The Challenge at The River.

Angie and I look forward to doing The Wine Challenge again in the future. Go to our Facebook page (and then LIKE us) because we place the information about events there a couple of weeks before it goes up on our website.

The wines that we has as nominees for the wine tasting were all wonderful

Posted in Events and Things To Do | Comments Off on Arizona Wine Tasting

Fall Willcox Wine Festival

October 7th, 2013 by Mike Hug

The Willcox Wine Festival will be held October 19 and 20 in Downtown Willcox.

Tickets and glass for Willcox Wine Festival picture

The Willcox Wine Festival sells tickets and a commemorative wine glass for $15.

On the Third weekend in October, the fall version of the Willcox Wine Festival will be held. The Festival was first held in the fall of 2008 and with only about 8 or 10 wineries. The event is held on the 3^rd weekends in May and October every year. We usually have guests that stay at Down By The River B and B who go to one of the wine festivals. This year it happens to be on the same weekend as Tombstone’s Heldorado Days. It will be a busy weekend and you can attend two amazing events on the same weekend.

The Willcox Wine Festival will have 16 wineries represented and there will be over 70 wines to sample. Good thing it is a two day event. The Willcox Wine Festival is held in Railroad Park in Downtown Willcox. The cost for the event is $15 per person and you receive a commemorative glass and 8 tickets to be used for tastings. Now 8 out of 70 wines just gives you a small sample of all the wines available. The choice is for you to pick your favorites or the go to wineries that you have never tasted before. One thing Angie and I do is go and share each sample. That way we can try 16 different wines. Food will be available at the park or at some of the local restaurants in the area. There will also be live entertainment on both days of the festival. Click here for more information on the event and directions.

Flag at Willcox Wine Festival & Sign Picture

The Flags at the Willcox Wine Festival sign greeted you as you entered Railroad Park

This year we will be checking on a couple of wineries that we don’t get to sample very often. These wineries are in the Central Arizona towns of Page Springs, Cottonwood and Jerome. The wineries grown their grapes in the Willcox bench so that is why they are at the festival. But we also have an ulterior motive. We are looking for a wine that we will use in out Wine Challenge at The River. We still haven’t totally decided on either of the wines we will be using but we do have some favorites that we like. We just have to narrow that down to 2. It will be a tough decision for us to narrow things down to just 2 wines. Decisions Decisions! If you want to go to this event stay at Down By The River and you will be pleasantly surprised at how convenient we are to all the activities in Cochise County.

Check Availability and Book Now

The Willcox Wine Festival booths of Arizona Stronghold, Kief Joshua and Gallifant were represented in the Spring Willcox Wine Festival..

Posted in Events and Things To Do | Comments Off on Fall Willcox Wine Festival

New Year’s Eve Get Away

September 30th, 2013 by Mike Hug

The New Year’s Eve Get Away is at Down By The River B and B

New Years Eve we provide a variety of snacks for our guests to enjoy

Every year Down By The River has hosted a New Year’s Eve Get Away celebration. Prior to the last two years the celebration was offered as a special on our website and we invited guests who stayed at the B and B on that evening to attend. It was sort of an extra something we did with our guests as a thank you. The evening has always been memorable. Our New Year’s Eve party has it’s origins back to the 1980s when we lived in Phoenix. We invited friends and neighbors over to ring in the New Year. After we opened Down By The River B and B, we decided to continue the celebration at the b and b. We also invite our old friends from Phoenix down to the b and b.

The celebration gets underway at about 8:30. Down By The River provides different finger foods and hors d’ouevres for our guests to snack on during the evening. Guests are asked to bring their own beverages for their enjoyment. We have music playing in the background and there is always the pool table for those who wish to demonstrate their expertise. We do have a new twist this year that involves some entertainment but I won’t tell you about that because it is a surprise. (We had some guests demonstrate this during their stay and it was a real hit.) We thought it would be a good ground breaker for the guests to get to know each other. At midnight we watch the ball drop at Times Square on TV, naturally tape delayed. As the ball drops, we toast in the New Year at Down By The River with some sparkling wine that we provide from an Arizona Winery.

Down By The River B and B invites you to consider this event. There is no need to drive home after the party since you already have the room for the night and as always we do provide a fine breakfast for you to enjoy on New Years Day. There are a few restrictions that are in place because of the costs that we incur for this event (we do not charge more than our normal rate) and because we have a limited number of rooms. We will keep a wait list in case of cancellation.

There are a few rooms already booked so make your reservation now so that you will be able to be At The River for the New Year’s Eve Get Away!

Posted in Events and Things To Do, Specials & Packages | Comments Off on New Year’s Eve Get Away

Archive for the ‘Events and Things To Do’ Category

A Place To Stay Near Kartchner Caverns

Place to stay near Kartchner Caverns – Try highly recommended Down By The River B and B

Place To Stay Near Tombstone

A Place To Stay Near Tombstone is Down By The River B & B

San Pedro River Lodging Birding

Ponds near our San Pedro River Lodging can provide some intimate bird watching without a lot of interruption of other birders.

Lodging Near Tombstone

It is well known that the best lodging near Tombstone is called Down By The River B and B and has the advantages of modern comforts for our guests.

From Our Saint David B&B Explore Bisbee

From Our Saint David B&B Explore Bisbee’s Wonders

Wings Over Willcox

Wings Over Willcox 2014 is coming in January

Southeast Arizona Bird Migration

Southeast Arizona Bird Migration is best in The San Pedro River Valley

Arizona Wine Tasting

The Arizona Wine Tasting – The Wine Challenge was held at Down By The River B and B

Fall Willcox Wine Festival

The Willcox Wine Festival will be held October 19 and 20 in Downtown Willcox.

New Year’s Eve Get Away

The New Year’s Eve Get Away is at Down By The River B and B

Because of our limited rooms and the cost incurred by Down By The River, there are special policies that are implemented during this event.

Our normal policy remains in effect with the exception of these modifications:

Archives

Categories

Recent Posts