12 <strong>Gateway</strong> to the Copper Corridor <strong>2021</strong>
‘Explore The Wild’: Your GATEWAY Online is discovergilacounty.com <strong>Gateway</strong> magazine is your quarterly update and invite to visit Gila County and explore scenic spots along the Copper Corridor. For the most up-to-date, thorough and comprehensive intel about where to stay and what to do while you’re here, bookmark discovergilacounty.com as a browser favorite, and connect on the award-winning website’s companion Facebook and Instagram pages to see enticing photos of cobalt-blue lakes, tree-lined hiking paths – and where to find local, family-owned restaurants for a unique taste of this region. Launched by Gila County’s Board of Supervisors two years ago, the stylish website’s a thorough portal to outdoor adventure ranging from the tall, cool pines of the Rim Country towns of Payson and Star Valley down through our Copper Corridor heritage here in Globe and Miami – including travel and tourism information about all three Apache Nations: San Carlos, Tonto and White Mountain. Wilderness areas, hiking trails, singular local restaurants - and the area’s most comprehensive event calendar, too. Centrally-located Gila County is truly the heart of Arizona, with 53,500 residents and 4,796 square miles of desert, canyonlands and lakes. Bookmark discovergilacounty.com as a browser favorite; you’ll find planned itineraries for three-dayweekend trips that hit the highlights for shopping, relaxed hikes, Native American culture and history, and outdoor adventure. Gila County has seven wilderness areas: Hell’s Gate and the Mazatzal canyons and forests offer scenery that’s approachable yet remote enough for peace, quiet and solitude. Arizona’s majestic saguaro cacti? See and photograph these desert icons at our lowest elevations. Gila County includes Sonoran Desert at 2,000 feet above sea level, proceeding up to stately ponderosa pine forest (the largest stand of ponderosa pines on the planet!). Gila County lures outdoor enthusiasts choosing a place to live, work and enjoy the best mix of Arizona’s desert, mountains and lakes. Where to Stay? discovergilacounty. com lists our biggest hotels, of course – but gives equal space to bedand-breakfast lodging in Pine-Strawberry, Payson, Globe and Young. Where to eat while you’re here? Restaurants are all listed, too; from family-owned Mexican restaurants of Globe-Miami to unique eateries in Hayden and Star Valley, a popular brewery in Pine, and vineyard-wineries in Young and Globe. Etymologists tell us the word ‘Gila’ originates from a Spanish contraction of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a Yuma word meaning “running water which is salty.” Gila County includes the towns of Payson, Star Valley, Christopher Creek, Strawberry and Pine. Mining, ranching and Old West traditions still thrive here. Payson takes pride in being the birthplace of rodeo, and San Carlos Apaches still practice their ancient tradition of Sunrise Dances during the spring, summer and fall. Looking for a half-day hike, or a two-three day backpacking adventure? Explore the Mogollon Rim - a topographic and geological wonder that extends about 200 miles across central Arizona. It forms the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau - providing out- Continued on page 15 <strong>Gateway</strong> to the Copper Corridor <strong>2021</strong> 13