Read Mexico Travel Tips from US State Dept.
It is no longer quite as easy as it used to be for Americans to pop down into Mexico for a little shopping or sightseeing. Before you enter Mexico make sure you have the proper documents for getting back into the U.S. after your visit. A passport is required. If you are a seasoned traveller and already have a passport, you probably just need to check out the changes in procedures that have recently gone into effect.
But, if you have never been to Mexico before or if your trip was longer ago than a year or so, you probably should check out the Travel State “Tips for Travellers” prepared by the U.S. Department of State. Even though it is a long document, read it carefully so you know just what to prepare for so you can enjoy your visit with peace of mind. There has been a recent increase in crime due to drug trafficking in the Mexican border areas; please read the Mexico warning from the U.S. State Department.
Magdalena de Kino
The final resting place of the famed Jesuit missionary and explorer Father Eusebio Kino is in the town of Magdalena de Kino. When his grave was discovered there in 1966, a 15-acre memorial plaza was constructed including a museum and a library. Magdalena is southwest of the town of Cananea (see below).
Cananea
Cananea is an important copper-mining town. There you can view the mansion of copper king, William Cornell Greene, and visit the old Cananea Jailhouse Museum, which commemorates, among other things, a 1906 strike and uprising against Greene’s mining company from the Mexican point of view.
Agua Prieta
Agua Prieta is the Mexican border town that corresponds to Douglas on the U.S. side.
Missions
The missions of the northeastern river valleys of Sonora can be reached from Douglas via Agua Prieta. From Agua Prieta take Mexican Highway 17 south to Moctezuma.
Moctezuma
The mission of Oposura, today Moctezuma, was founded by Father Egidio Montefrio in 1644.
Bacadehuachi
Around 1645 the Jesuit Cristobol Garcia established a mission site to the east of Huasubas, San Luis Gonzaga de Bacadehuachi. Although the church was badly damaged during the earthquake of 1887, it has been repaired and is one of the most strikingly beautiful mission churches in Sonora.
Casas Grandes, Chihuahua
Southeast of Agua Prieta in Chihuahua is a famous archaeological site of the ancient Americas, Casas Grandes or Paquime. The site covers 89 acres and is thought to have some two thousand rooms. The complex was explored by the Joint Casas Grandes Expedition in 1958-61, under the direction of Charles Di Peso of the Amerind Foundation. The Casas Grandes culture flourished from about AD 1200-1450. The Mexican government is endeavoring to stabilize the site and is constructing an archaeological museum there. A number of tour operators and guides based in Cochise County offer trips to this fascinating area.