Bisbee, Arizona

Saturday - 3 January 2004 - Tombstone, Arizona: Finally, maybe, we are getting the hang of this RV life style? There is no reason to hurry. No reason to not linger. Yesterday we had to drive through Bisbee because there was no room at the inn, but it did look interesting, so we decided to drive back in the car today. But first I had to suffer through another Colonial basketball loss. My Boys from The George Washington University are having quite a time this year. They have already had to play Gonzaga and #19 Texas, and today they had to start A-10 play by losing to #10 St. Josephs. Still, I enjoyed the game - the improvement over the break was noticeable, so I know the kids didn't have much of a vacation. Duck football fans have their misery, that is for sure - but do they have it twice a week for 16+ weeks?

Speaking of colleges and misery! Today, parked in front of the famous Tombstone Cemetery was the equipment truck (an 18-wheeler!) for the University of Michigan football team. (No kidding! I assume the driver was taking the scenic route back to Michigan from Pasadena??) We will visit the cemetery tomorrow and will be sure to look for freshly dug graves.

The drive to Bisbee was the exact reverse of our drive to Tombstone yesterday - except it was daylight so we could see the 23 miles of mesquite, cactus, sage brush and rock. Actually, it sounds more boring than it is - all the plants are green and the mountains in the background are so pretty. It was 62 degrees today. Bisbee, just a few miles north of the Mexico border, is a small mountain town founded in 1880, when the Copper Queen Mine opened. According to the brochure: "The mine proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world - producing nearly three million ounces of gold and more than eight billion pounds of copper, not to mention the silver, lead and zinc." In the early 1900's Bisbee was the largest town in America between St. Louis and San Francisco with 20,000 people. The Copper Queen mine is now affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute and is world-famous, but to me it is nothing but a big, ugly hole in the ground.

Copper Queen Mine

However, Bisbee itself is quite charming. By the looks of things, they are about half-way finished with a revamp of the entire town. The town burned to the ground in 1908, and was rebuilt with only brick or stone buildings and all of these buildings are still standing. We walked through a few shops, walked to a few historical homes and had a nice lunch a local hang-out. DT tried a local brew - OK Corral Lager. It is amazing some of these homes are still standing - they simply hang off the sides of the hills, and stand on stilts above the stream along Tombstone Canyon.

Main Street


Bisbee street scene


Bisbee street art

In the height of the mining days, the Copper Queen miners were a rowdy bunch and partied at night in the many saloons and brothels along Brewery Gulch. Now the saloons are boutiques and house the many artists and craftspeople who have made Bisbee their home. We found an adorable piece of "art" for the motor home - a very small yellow ceramic colander with a pretty olive branch pattern painted inside and out. Just the thing for rinsing your olives or berries while on the road and a useful souvenir of our fun afternoon walking the streets of Bisbee, Arizona.

RV Park: The Tombstone RV Park