Cheering on the Rex Allen Days Parade at Willcox, Arizona

I'm a sucker for a small town parade. 

From the quirky homespun floats to the interaction between the entrants and their friends and neighbors who line the streets, a good small town parade beats the heck out of stuffy, choreographed big-city processions. And no one does it better than Willcox during the Rex Allen Days festival.

For the uninformed, Rex Allen Sr., known as "The Arizona Cowboy," was born and raised on a ranch 40 miles from Willcox and went on to become the town's most famous son. Along with Koko, his gorgeous stallion, Rex entertained his devoted fans as a singer, actor, and as the much-loved, unforgettable voice that narrated dozens of Walt Disney films. Despite his fame and being in the company of entertainment legends, Rex never forgot his Willcox roots. Willcox admirably keeps Rex's memory and legacy alive with  multiple events, including the parade, rodeo, gun show, car show, concerts, and town-wide air of celebration. Multiple members of the Allen family, most notably accomplished singer - songwriter Rex Allen Jr., return annually to Willcox for the festival. 

Proceeding southbound along Railroad Avenue, the parade wraps around the corners of the historic city block that borders Railroad Park (with its wonderful bronze of Rex Allen watching as it passes, across from the Rex Allen Museum). This year, 2026, celebrates the 75th anniversary of the festival. Rex Allen Jr. delighted the children as he threw candy from the back of a historic pickup truck, later cutting the anniversary cake and sharing stories at the Rex Allen Museum. 

Following Rex Jr. were other members of the Allen family, each in gleaming vintage vehicles.

Like most of the parade entries, the classic trucks carrying the members of the Allen family were decked out in patriotic accoutrements celebrating America's 250th birthday. 

No self-respecting Arizona parade is complete without royalty. Not the Harry-and-Meghan type of royalty, thankfully, but rodeo royalty. Past Rex Allen Days Rodeo Queen, Alyssa, joined the procession on a sorrel Quarter Horse that didn't even blink at the fast-moving train in the background. 

Miss Teen Rodeo Arizona was among the royal entries, as well. 

Mounted not on a Quarter Horse, but on an impressive Ford pick-up wrapped with images both patriotic and depicting Arizona landmarks, was current Miss Rodeo Arizona, Rosie Winthrop. Her splendid truck didn't spook at the passing Amtrak, either.

I'd have to say my favorite members of the parade were entered by Riverview Dairy, the entity that owns the massive Coronado Dairy along Kansas Settlement Road south of Willcox. Those cow-costumed dancers! They brought hilarious energy as they preceded the Riverview floats. Riverview members distributed cheddar and string cheese to the crowds. 

And the Riverview flatbed, in keeping with the small-town America theme, featured a dairy cow, wishing well, patriotic USA regalia, and cornstalks. Well done, Riverview.

A good parade must have heroes, too. These gentlemen were submariners. 

In the background of several of the photos I've embedded, you can see our incredible Chiricahua Mountains. Their guardians, the National Park Service, sponsored a float featuring a stern-looking Coronado (in honor of Coronado National Memorial), a depiction of the wilderness of rocks within the Chiricahua National Monument, and replica cannon in honor of Fort Bowie National Historic Site (my favorite western fort, and well worth the hike to visit). Park Rangers passed out stickers and bandanas to spectators. 

Another personal favorite: the Dos Cabezas Cattle Co. brought a terrific cadre of participants. In front, their stock hauler, powered by a camo colored truck, boasted the US flag and their many brands. Tethered to the rear of the truck? A gorgeous longhorn. 

And behind the Dos Cabezas longhorn caboose? A longhorn saddle steer!

Riding drag behind the longhorns were some of the Dos Cabezas cowboys and family members, including youngsters - foals and children. I've seen some of these horses, ponies, and riders at local ranch rodeo events, where they never fail to impress.  

What could be more American than the little cowgirl on her festively-decorated pony, foal at side, with the passing train in the background, festooned with the American flag? 

Our county's GOP float celebrated open carry and patriotism. Our terrific sheriff, Mark Dannels, appeared in a Cochise County S.O. car earlier in the parade.

The Tucson Wagon and History Museum brought several horse-drawn carriages labeled with iconic films they'd appeared in, including vehicles from High Chaparral and Oklahoma (both of which were filmed in southern Arizona). 

Tucson and parts of southern Arizona were, for a very brief period, part of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Confederate re-enactors made an appearance.

Tirrito Farms, that gorgeous place along Kansas Settlement Road, brought out their Cybertruck in addition to dancers and a float. 

These dancers, which my other half described as "somewhat disturbing," are definitely mesmerizing. 

Post-parade, we joined Rex Allen Jr. himself at the Rex Allen Museum. Forty-five years ago, Rex Jr. wrote our iconic Arizona song (and alternate state anthem), I Love You, Arizona (not to be confused with Arizona - the one with the dismissive lyric "take off your Indian shoes" - which many people mistakenly believe is Arizona's official song). Rex talked about growing up in the entertainment business, song writing, and other anecdotes for the intimate crowd. Should you make the trip to Willcox, don't miss the Rex Allen Museum. It pays homage to area ranchers, western entertainers, the Allen family, Koko the stallion, and - of course! - the two Rexes.

Plan on joining me at the next Rex Allen Days festival in October, 2027 - or make a trip to this historic, welcoming town any time at all. It's one of the most unpretentious western towns in Arizona. (Yes, I know it's an official city, but it has that small-town charm.) It offers wine tasting from local wineries, historic buildings, a top-notch feed store, historical societies, antique stores, and great food (my favorite: Big Tex Barbecue, where you can sit in a dining car if you choose). The cemetery is the final resting place of many outlaws and lawmen and other pioneers, including Warren Baxter Earp (the ne'er-do-well brother of Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil).

If you share my love of Arizona history, you'll want to add this book to your library: Images of America: Willcox (affiliate link - I may earn a small commission from your purchases). The wilder history of Willcox has everything from the shooting death of one of the lesser-romanticized Earp brothers (Warren Baxter Earp) to the presence of several Arizona Rangers, two of whom are buried in the local cemetery. The wider legacy of Willcox's pioneers includes the influence of legendary cattlemen such as Henry Hooker and the ambitious, educated men who served as elected officials, lawmen, businessmen, and medical / dental practitioners. Throw in the wartime use of the Willcox Playa as a bombing range, and you'll find fascinating historical sites in every corner of the area. Kathy Klump and Peta-Anne Tenney did an outstanding job balancing the town's history and sharing historic photos. So many historic buildings are still standing, you'll want to use the book to guide your own "then and now" scavenger hunt around town.

 

Copyright (c) 2026 by Marcy J. Miller * No part of this content, including photos and videos, may be reproduced without the express permission of the author * Links, however, may be freely shared * Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for sharing my love of the great southwest!

Little Boquillas Ranch

Front gate, Little Boquillas Ranch

 "Two miles in, two miles out," the Husband Person told me. Lately I've been making an effort at learning the techniques used by the Urban Sketch artists - on site, quick, drawings and paintings that capture the feel and essence of a place, rather than photographic detail - and so I've been packing my art supplies to local ghost towns, plunking my butt down on sticker patches and rocks, and doing some hasty sketching. Our destination was to be the headquarters of the vast Little Boquillas Ranch, with an easy flat (but not level) hike in along the railroad bed. I loaded up my day pack with plenty of water - a few bottles for me and my problematic kidneys, and enough to rinse my brushes - and far too much art paper, paints, and watercolor pencils for this particular mission. Add the other essentials - pencil sharpener, graphite pencils, a towel, some trail mix, and so on - and my pack was now about 25 pounds. No problem for a four mile hike. I looked forward to some quiet outdoors art time while HP hiked off farther to some more remote points of interest.

But the "two miles in, two miles out" turned out to be a total of 5.4 miles. I'm not sure I like new math! Still, no problem ... except the pack I chose to load my art supplies in did not have a waist band. This little oversight turned an otherwise-easy hike into thousands of steps of misery. 

We hiked the railroad bed in, stopping at the old gathering pen and loading chute and the boiler shed near the trailhead first. The railroad bed was mercifully easy to hike, not as deep in the slag track ballast as many abandoned tracks, and sloped gently upwards toward the ranch headquarters. Still, it was 3.1 miles of gentle upwards slope via the tracks. Along the way, where the tracks are closest to the actual trail (which it parallels, for the most part), we encountered a rider on a green horse moving briskly back towards the trailhead. As we reached the ranch gates at Little Boquillas, we met the rest of the riders, one on foot holding a badly injured horse. Their friend had ridden in haste to try to get help and bring the trailer back to pick up the badly lacerated animal. They'd run into some concealed barbed wire. Should you do this otherwise-beautiful ride, keep your eyes open. I didn't find the exact site of the guilty wire, so can't give you more specific detail - just know it's there, lurking, waiting to cause your horse some major grief. 

The railroad bed

By the time we reached the ranch house, I wished I was on my mule - or that I'd had my little pack donkey along to carry my gear. The hike was pleasant, but I am vintage. There were plenty of places to hitch livestock and it would have been an easy ride.

The historic Little Boquillas Ranch is well preserved for a vacant ranch, with a pair of residential buildings and several outbuildings. Purchased by George Hearst (William Randolph Hearst's father) in 1880, it was originally part of the 1833 San Juan de las Boquillas and Nogales land grant and, of course, still part of Mexico until the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. Long before that, though, it was occupied by the Sobaipuri tribe. By the time Father Kino visited the nearby village of Quiburi in 1696, over 2,000 Sobaipuri resided there. In 1912, the Boquillas outfit bought out the former Greene cattle company in its entirety, including 17,475 acres of land, 2000 head of cattle, 162 dairy cattle, 153 horses and mules, and sundry other essentials to operating the ranch - all for $175,000. This merger made the Boquillas cattle company the largest range and land holding in the entire newly-minted state.

The smokehouse, with ranch house in background

I was thrilled to see the buildings still gracing the property and decided the lovely red brick ranch house would be my first sketch. After touring the large red barn, the blacksmith shop, and poking around the corrals, the smokehouse, and the foreman's house, I sat on a concrete slab with a good view of the ranch house and started to organize my art gear. Out came the watercolor paper, the brushes, the pencil ... and then I realized Husband Person hadn't vanished as planned. "Where are you heading off to?" I asked. "Just walking around here," he said, "It'll take an hour to get back and we'd better start now." Back went the art gear into my backpack. With my sore feet and screaming hips (thanks to a pinched nerve), I might be forgiven for momentarily comparing myself to climbers who travel to Everest and never make it farther than base camp. Without so much as a pencil mark on paper to show for it, we started back. 

The old barn at Little Boquillas

I did, however, get plenty of photographs to show for it. Next time, we start out earlier ... perhaps with pack donkey. 

Scary movie! The interior of the smokehouse has plenty of meat hooks to inspire the imagination.

Meathooks! Beef (this WAS a cattle company, after all) would hang here to cure.

The wood barn, remarkably intact for its age, was likely present prior by 1910. Large and roomy, it featured a lengthy manger that allowed ranch hands to feed livestock from the inside of the barn.

The barn

Thankfully, the interior of the barn and other outbuildings still contain old relics and have not been completely looted or destroyed.

Old fittings within the barn work area.

The blacksmith shop is a gem of old adobe walls, the mud bricks exposed through the weathered stucco exterior.

The blacksmith shop

Beside the red brick ranch house is the foreman's house, of wood construction.

The brick ranch house has an interesting floor plan, much more complex than it would appear from the front. 

Rear of the brick ranch house.

On the way back, we stuck to the Boquillas trail, measuring a merciful 2.3 miles of gently sloping downhill terrain. Shorter in part because we didn't explore the boiler shed again, and because I didn't include the roaming-around-the-ranch-buildings leg of the trip, it was pleasant but decidedly less interesting than the railroad bed. The abandoned tracks had crossings over washes and a few ruins of old structures and a couple of lazy javelina. The designated trail, though, had good sandy footing and ... vulture feathers stuck to a power pole, so there's that.

The return path

IF YOU GO:

Access the trail at the designated Little Boquillas Trailhead site across from Fairbank on Arizona Highway 82 between Tombstone and Huachuca City. Ample parking is available with plenty of space for horse trailers. On the Fairbank side, across the highway, there's more parking as well as a bathroom (no hand washing facilities, but hand sanitizer is available). There are picnic tables at Fairbank. 

Wear appropriate gear for your hike. I did this hike in mid-January and it is unseasonably warm this year, so taking water was a necessity. There is no water available at the ranch site, nor are there any restroom facilities or other amenities. Watch and listen for rattlesnakes! And a reminder, since every year it seems people need it: Do not approach or pet "sick" wildlife. Cochise County seems to perpetually have an issue with rabies, from coatimundis to skunks to bobcats to grey foxes to everything else with fur. If you see a sad little fox lying on the trail that looks like it needs your help, DO NOT APPROACH IT, people. Do not take it home with you.  Do not get close to snap a selfie. Wildlife that does not appear frightened of you is potentially rabid.  

 Copyright (c) 2026 by MJ Miller * All rights reserved * No part of this content, including photographs, may be used without the express permission of the author * Thanks for stopping by!