You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
‘Explore The Wild’: Your GATEWAY<br />
Online is discovergilacounty.com<br />
Gateway magazine<br />
is your quarterly<br />
update and invite<br />
to visit Gila County and<br />
explore scenic spots along<br />
the Copper Corridor. For<br />
the most up-to-date details<br />
about where to stay and<br />
what to do while you’re<br />
here, bookmark discovergilacounty.com<br />
as a<br />
browser favorite and connect<br />
on the comprehensive<br />
website’s companion<br />
Facebook and Instagram<br />
pages to see enticing photos<br />
of cobalt-blue lakes,<br />
tree-lined hiking<br />
paths and mouth-watering<br />
local food.<br />
Launched by Gila County’s<br />
Board of Supervisors<br />
two years ago, the<br />
stylish new website is a<br />
thorough portal to outdoor<br />
adventure ranging<br />
from the tall, cool pines of the Rim<br />
Country towns of Payson and Star<br />
Valley down through our Copper<br />
Corridor heritage here in Globe<br />
and Miami – including travel and<br />
tourism information about all three<br />
Apache Nations (San Carlos, Tonto,<br />
White Mountain), wilderness<br />
areas, hiking trails, unique local<br />
restaurants and event calendars.<br />
Centrally-located Gila County is<br />
truly the heart of Arizona, with<br />
53,500 residents and 4,796 square<br />
miles of desert, canyonlands and<br />
lakes. Bookmark discovergilacounty.com<br />
as a browser favorite;<br />
you’ll find planned itineraries<br />
for three-day-weekend trips that<br />
hit the highlights for shopping,<br />
relaxed hikes, Native American<br />
culture and history – and outdoor<br />
adventure.<br />
Gila County has seven wilderness<br />
areas: Hell’s Gate and the Mazatzal<br />
canyons and forests offer scenery<br />
that’s approachable, yet remote<br />
enough for peace, quiet and solitude.<br />
Arizona’s majestic saguaro cacti? See<br />
and photograph these desert icons at<br />
our lowest elevations; Gila County<br />
includes Sonoran Desert at 2,000<br />
feet above sea level – proceeding up<br />
to stately ponderosa pine forest (the<br />
largest stand of ponderosa pines on<br />
the planet!). Gila County lures outdoor<br />
enthusiasts choosing a place to<br />
live, work and enjoy the<br />
best mix of Arizona’s desert,<br />
mountains and lakes.<br />
Where to Stay?<br />
discovergilacounty.<br />
com lists our biggest<br />
hotels, of course –<br />
but gives equal space<br />
to singular bed-andbreakfast<br />
lodging in<br />
Pine-Strawberry, Payson,<br />
Globe and Young. Where<br />
to eat while you’re here?<br />
Restaurants are all listed,<br />
too - from family-owned<br />
Mexican restaurants of<br />
Globe-Miami to unique<br />
eateries in Hayden and<br />
Star Valley, a popular<br />
brewery in Pine and<br />
a vineyard-winery in<br />
Young.<br />
Etymologists tell us<br />
the word ‘Gila’ originates<br />
from a Spanish tion of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a<br />
contrac-<br />
Yuma word meaning “running water<br />
which is salty.” Gila County includes<br />
the towns of Payson, Star Valley,<br />
Christopher Creek, Strawberry and<br />
Pine. Mining, ranching and Old West<br />
traditions still thrive here. Payson<br />
takes pride in being the birthplace of<br />
rodeo, and the San Carlos Apaches<br />
still practice their ancient tradition<br />
of Sunrise Dances during the spring,<br />
summer and fall.<br />
Looking for a half-day hike, or<br />
a 2-3 day backpacking adventure?<br />
Explore the Mogollon Rim - a topographic<br />
and geological wonder that<br />
extends about 200 miles across cen-<br />
Continued on page 15<br />
Gateway to the Copper Corridor 2021<br />
13