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Continue east another 6 miles to see the center of Chinese food and shopping in Phoenix today, the COFCO Chinese Cultural Center. Imagine a strip mall where all the buildings look like pagodas. There are more than a dozen places to eat and shop here, and the Super L Ranch Market is worth a peek inside for the live fish tanks. Stroll through the on-site gardens – laid out according to the principles of feng shui – to check out replicated landmarks from five ancient Chinese cities. On Chinese holidays the center hosts dances and celebrations.

Let that good Chinese food settle on the 120-mile drive to Tucson through long stretches of suburb that finally give way to citrus fields and patches of tan sand. Spend a night at the Arizona Inn, another bit of respite from modern times. Sip coffee on the porch, take high tea in the library, lounge by the small pool or join in a game of croquet.

The next morning, take another time warp at the Arizona State Museum, the oldest and largest anthropology museum in the state. The museum follows the cultural history of the Southwestern tribes, from Stone Age mammoth hunters to the present. With signs in Spanish all over the city, you can bet Mexican culture is alive and well in Tucson. Be sure to cruise through the barrio historico, a neighborhood bounded by I-10, Stone Ave, and Cushing and 17th Sts. You’ll be treated to great examples of typical Sonoran architecture; houses have colorful, thick adobe walls and those sleeping porches make another appearance.

For a taste of the wild and woolly history of mining, and copper’s huge impact on early Arizona (really), take I-10 east to Hwy 80 south to get to Bisbee, once the biggest city between St Louis and San Francisco thanks to the Queen Mine: a major source of copper for cities installing electric lights in the early 1900s. This town on a hill with crazy up-and-down streets was revived by flower-power types in the 1970s who snatched up the Victorian-style houses for a song once the mine shut and the town emptied.

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DETOUR

To experience more of the Spanish influence in the region, head 10 miles south of Tucson on I-19 to Mission San Xavier del Bac. Blindingly white on the outside, candles and the murmured prayers of the faithful fill the dark interior. Franciscan friars have been conducting services here for two centuries, primarily for the Tohono O’odham. The Spanish, by the way, are the ones who called the Tohono O’odham people Papagos – a slightly insulting term that means “bean-eater.”

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The Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum does a fantastic job of explaining the decisive role that copper mining played in Arizona’s history and traces Bisbee’s journey from small copper camp to rip-roaring boom town to ghost town. End the trip with a few days at the Bisbee Grand Hotel to relive history – or make some of your own – in one of the themed suites: the Victorian, the Oriental, the Hacienda, and the Western, where you sleep on a bed set inside a covered wagon. Yee-haw!

Josh Krist

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TRIP INFORMATION

GETTING THERE

Prescott is 95 miles southwest of Flagstaff via I-17.

DO

Arizona State Museum

Billed as the oldest and largest anthropology museum in the state. 520-621-6302; www.statemuseum.arizona.edu; 1013 E University Blvd, Tucson; suggested donation $3; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun

Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum

A two-level museum that brings Bisbee’s riotous heyday back to life. 520-432-7071; www.bisbeemuseum.org; 5 Copper Queen Plaza, Bisbee; adult/child/senior $7.50/3/6.50; 10am-4pm

COFCO Chinese Cultural Center

After wandering the gardens for free, check out one of the four restaurants here that serve the spectrum of Asian food. 602-273-7268; www.phxchinatown.com; 668 N 44th St, Phoenix; garden 8am-8pm

Heard Museum

Guided tours run at noon, 1:30pm or 3pm (no extra charge) and audio guides are available for $3. 602-252-8848;