Photos by Nicole Roegner Back road on the base of Fort Huachuca

This quaint corner of southeastern Arizona boasts thrills for nature lovers and foodies alike.

Southeastern Arizona is magnificent: Expansive valleys undulate gently upward into imposing mountain ranges with soft color palettes. Dotted with former mining towns, vineyards, spectacular caverns and sprawling ranches, the area is infused with the spirit of the Old West.

This is the home of Tombstone, the town too tough to die. It was the ancestral land of Geronimo and Cochise. Here, the Apaches first fought the invading Spanish and Mexicans and then resisted the American ranchers and prospectors who began settling the area. Fort Huachuca, founded in 1877, was intended both to provide defense against the Indians and secure the Mexican border.

The 73,000-acre fort was annexed by the city of Sierra Vista in 1971, and the resulting amalgamation is the hub of Cochise County. Sierra Vista is a modern community of well-kept neighborhoods stitched together with strips of commercial and retail. It’s a congenial, convenient and surprisingly foodie-friendly place to headquarter when exploring the region, which is easily done over a well-planned weekend.

Food
After checking into the comfortable Windemere Hotel, we relaxed with a complimentary evening cocktail and commenced plotting our his-and-hers weekend. Nature and history were on the agenda (his), as was some serious eating (hers). There are a disproportionate number of noteworthy restaurants in Sierra Vista, thanks to the busy fort and the international community that has colonized the area.

salmon with asparagus and crème brûlée at The Mesquite Tree

That evening we headed to Sophia’s Italian Ristorante. Open less than a year and located in a strip mall, tiny Sophia’s has a chic, understated look and the happy bustle that promises a good experience.

We put ourselves in the hands of chef/owner Zeke Wray. Smart move. His cleanly executed, contemporary take on Italian cuisine is built on flawless ingredients. We chomped happily through a menu that included traditional bruschetta with the addition of satiny, house-made mozzarella and a dollop of balsamic reduction followed by prosciutto cradling a layer of cream cheese and matchstick asparagus. Rollatini of mozzarella and tomato pesto on greens was a welcome salad substitute. The rolled technique also worked nicely for fresh spinach pasta and sausage with bright-tasting marinara sauce. For the main course, cloud-textured sea bass and a flawless chunk of filet mignon with stone ground mustard sauce cozied up to a buttery-rich purée of leeks and potatoes.

along the banks of the San Pedro Rive

History
The next day we made the short trip to Fort Huachuca. (Entrance is contingent on producing a current photo ID, vehicle registration and proof of insurance.)

Past the front gate, the curving streets and pleasant housing could be the marks of any small town, but suddenly we could feel the years start dropping away as the Old Post and Parade Ground came into view. The territorial-style barracks look little different from pictures taken when they were built in 1889.

It’s an appropriate introduction to the remarkably complete museum. Housed in a building that was bachelor officers’ quarters in the 1800s, the displays whisk you through the decades of the fort’s service. Special attention goes to the famed African-American regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The nearby Army Intelligence Museum with its code machines, decoding devices and a big hunk of the Berlin Wall was like catnip to the James Bond fan in our small party.