Sunset at the Mescal Movie Set--8/30/2025
Trip Cost $22
A sunset tour is scheduled at the Mesal Movie Set, offering a chance to photograph the set with a scenic sunset backdrop. We will be having an early dinner in Benson at Magaly's Restaurant prior to going to the movie set.
The Mescal Movie Set is a well-known filming location designed to resemble a town from the 1880s. It has served as the backdrop for films such as Tombstone, The Quick and the Dead, and more than eighty other westerns. Actors including Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Lee Marvin, and Clint Eastwood filmed scenes there.
Located in Southeast Arizona near the Rincon Mountains, Mescal has a film history spanning over 70 years. Its set was constructed between 1968-1969 for Monte Walsh, reflecting changing times in the West. Notable films shot here include Winchester 73, The Big Country, Cimarron, Dirty Dingus Magee, and Poker Alice, featuring stars like Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor.
A succession of movies followed, including The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean starring Paul Newman, The Outlaw Josey Wales with Clint Eastwood, and Tom Horn with Steve McQueen. The 1990s had major big budget productions. Tombstone starred Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, and many other notables such as Charlton Heston, Harry Carey Jr., and narration by Robert Mitchum. It has become a cult classic and easily the most quoted western of all time. The Quick and the Dead followed with Hollywood "A-Listers" Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman, and a very young Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 1986 remake of Stagecoach, featuring the Highwaymen—Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson—was filmed at Mescal. Mescal was also a filming location for The Gambler with Kenny Rogers. The Mescal Set served as an alternative town set for several western TV series, such as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Magnificent Seven, and Little House on the Prairie. It was also used as the town of Sweetwater in The Young Riders series.
Mescal was a filming location for several TV movies, such as The Sacketts (Tom Selleck, Glenn Ford, Sam Elliott), Maverick (James Garner, Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster), and Buffalo Soldiers (Danny Glover).
Mescal Movie Set is now an independent site and is no longer associated with the Old Tucson Studios group as a secondary filming location. The set operates separately, and Kartchner Ventures is involved in supporting efforts to develop the film industry in Southern Arizona.
Please join us for the Photography Club's first sunset tour of this western treasure!
Contact the Trip Leader Danny Valenzuela at 602-568-5759 or dvsundevil@gmail.com with any questions.
Meet at the upper-level parking lot adjacent to Photography Club at 2:15 PM for departure at 2:45 PM to Magaly's Restaurants prior to the movie set. Please do not leave on your own. If you wish to carpool, $15.00 is an appropriate amount for the driver.
GVR is requiring that every person participating in club's field trips sign a one-time waiver absolving GVR of any liability. You will be required to sign the waiver at the Photography Club before the trip departs if you haven't already completed one.
If you need to canceI, please contact Field Trip Facilitator Monica Parker at 618- 304-1164 or email mparker582@aol.com. On the day of departure call Danny.
Last refund date is August 23, 2025.
NOTICE:
This is a walking tour over mostly smooth dirt/gravel. All participants need to be responsible for an assessment of their mobility and health issues relating to field trips. Some trips may not be appropriate, but you must make that determination. The trip leader may deny participation in a specific field trip to anyone deemed not suitably prepared or able to walk with the group.
The club strives to provide several field trips specifically designed for members with physical limitations.
In order to participate in this event, you must be a member of the GVR Photography Club and GVR.
The GVR Photography Club is located in the Recreation Village of Santa Rita Springs.