* Take Interstate 10 East to Willcox, Exit 336, and drive through the town until you get to the stop light at the corner of Haskell Avenue and Maley Street. Turn right to Railroad Avenue. While most of the tourist draws are along Railroad Avenue, a good place to start might be the Willcox Chamber of Commerce, open weekdays and weekends, at Maley and Railroad in the restored railroad depot.
You can see the cranes now through February. One popular viewing place is a few miles shy of Willcox. From Interstate 10 East, exit at U.S. 191 and head south in the direction of Sunsites. Across the street from the AEPCO power plant, take the gravel road to the end, where there's a viewing area. Take binoculars because you'll need them.
More formal tours take place for Wings Over Willcox, Jan. 16-18, which offers a variety of outings for a variety of prices. You can learn about the area's geography, "stalk" 15 species of hawks and eagles, visit a working cattle ranch, take a mine-history tour or embark on a full-day photography wildlife tour. A tour for beginning bird-watchers costs $5, for example, while a smaller tour allows a handful of people to hike half a mile past the power plant viewing area to try to approach the cranes. That tour costs $60.
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* For more information, check out www.wingsoverwillcox.com or call
1-800-200-2272.