Day Trip to Bisbee, Arizona

A town of less than 6,000 nestled in between the 

Mule Mountains and only 6 miles from the border.

Bisbee started as a mining town in 1880. 

Tons of copper, gold and silver were removed from 

the mountains surrounding the town. 

The Courthouse Plaza Miners' Monument 

is 9 feet tall and made out of cement covered 

with copper plating. 

Copper Man represents the city's mining history.

On the south end of town is the Lavender Open Pit
which is 900 feet deep and covers 300 acres.
The name comes from the manager, Harry Lavender.
Mining ended in 1974.

To help their declining economy, they opened up
the world-famous Queen Mine Tour.

We helped out their economy by going to the vintage
Dairy Queen.
No indoor seating or food - just ice cream.

The town was built on steep hills and winding streets. 

It reminds me of the campground at the Iowa State Fair.

Stairs are everywhere so people can get to the main streets.

The town hosts The Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb
which is a 5K run and includes 1,034 steps. 

We did enjoy walking through the narrow streets and sidewalks.

During the late 60's and 70's hippies flocked here
and some stayed!

This picture is a great example of Bisbee.

Zoom in on both cars and see all the interesting things glued on.
Did you find the Bic lighters, bottle caps,
wine corks, and Sesame Street characters?

                    An artistic town with interesting people.

An eclectic mix of really old, old, and new.

On our way to Bisbee we had a large fox run
across the road in front of us and later that night
we had seven javelin's knock over two garbage cans.
They rummaged through the garbage for 30 minutes.

Always something interesting happening in our world!

We love to take day trips around the area
but we also like to relax. Since we have cable
Scott has been enjoying watching lots of football.

After so many sunny days we had one morning with a little rain.

We are blessed to be in a small family owned RV park.
For anyone who wanted to attend,
they cooked and made everything for Thanksgiving dinner.
About 70 people gathered and were entertained at the end by
a cowboy storyteller. What at treat!

In a world where you can be anything ... be yourself.

Ghost Towns

We have taken a break from hiking because 

we have gone through several border checks, 

regularly hear helicopters overhead, 

pass the Border Patrol in their trucks 

while we are exploring the back roads and

they make regular rounds through our campground.

So why not drive around and find some ghost towns?

This is mining territory so there were many boom towns. 

Gleeson Jail. 

The jail has been restored but the original gate 

from 1910 is in the center.

This was the school.

Gleeson was know for Turquoise 

and later they found Zinc, Copper, an Lead.

Hotel

Abandoned Mine

Another beautiful sunny day! 

We are not use to so many sunny days in a row.

Wandering the back roads on Ghost Town Trail 

from Gleeson to Courtland and Pearce.

Courtland Jail
Notice how similar this is to the Gleeson Jail.

We saw a guy using an excavator just behind
this sign. He is probably digging for Gold.

The jail has two cells, the walls are 10 inches thick
and made of concrete with rebar.
The only ventilation were the six tiny windows at the top
and it was stilled used in the 1930's.

Sgt. George Hart Platt 1832 - 1906
was Abraham Lincoln's bodyguard.
He was reassigned to Tombstone's GAR Post
and served as chaplain.
He retired to Pearce in 1892.

We learned all this information from a nice lady who
was documenting graves and was a wealth of knowledge
about many of the families who are buried in Pearce.

The Super Moon from Tombstone on 11-14-2016.

To all our readers.
Ghost Hug! You can't feel it but it is there.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tombstone, Arizona "The town too tough to die."

Did you hear about the time when Randolph Scott 

returned to the Southwest?

I guess both of them did!

We started by taking the Tombstone Trolley Tour 

and then participated in the comedy gun fight show.

 You can take a ride on the stage coach
and go down in the silver mine which is why
the town drew so many people back in the 1880's.

We stepped inside the Bird Cage Theatre 

to see the Polyphon and the "Belly Up" Bar 

made out of cherry wood. 

They also have nightly ghost tours.

Lots of history so click on the link to learn more.

Big Nose Kate's Saloon

Kate was "Doc" Holliday's girlfriend.

After 43 years in the printing trade, 

Scott saw several familiar items. 

They actually have printing presses

older than the ones he ran! 

The Courthouse was built in 1882, 

in the shape of a Roman cross and is still used today.

Looking down Allen Street with the 

famous Crystal Palace on the right.

Scott did get caught in the trap at the

Fallen Angel Sweet Sin Parlor and bought some fudge.

Most of the businesses are overpriced tourist souvenirs.

Wyatt Earp

The O.K Corral is where the most famous gunfight took place.

Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury & Frank McLaury

Murdered on the streets of Tombstone, 1881. 

Tragic results of the O.K. Corral battle, which took place 

between the Earp Brothers with "Doc" Holliday 

and the cowboys. 

Three men were killed and three were wounded.

Here lies Lester Moore,

Four slugs from a .44,

No Les, no more.

Moore was a Wells Fargo agent at Naco 

and had a dispute with a man over a package. Both died.

George Johnson was hanged by mistake.

He innocently bought a stolen horse 

and suffered the consequences.

Boot Hill has more than 250 graves.

 Ed Schieffelin Memorial

He was responsible for the town of Tombstone, Arizona 

being established.

 At a height of 15 - 20 foot, this memorial 

can be seen from a long distance.

 Read more about Ed's interesting life story 

by clicking on his name.

We had to laugh when we were flipping through the channels

 and found the old black and white 

television show Tombstone Territory.

To learn more about the wild, wild, West and Tombstone 

 watch the movie O.K. Corral or Tombstone.

"If you think you have it tough, read history books." 

Bill Maher

Pinch us please!

Outside cheering on the Cubs!

We made it to Arizona!

It has been our dream to spend a winter in Arizona.

Notice how they mark your site. Here lies #31.
So appropriate for Tombstone, Arizona.
We will do the tourist things and show you later.

Exploring the mountains and going for a hike
is what we like to do.
Cochise Stronghold is in the Dragoon Mountains.

We found this guy sunning himself along the nature trail.
I am guessing that it is a Yarrow's Spiny Lizard
because it was so black.

Can you find him on the rock?

Pointleaf Manzanita has an interesting red bark.
The fruit from these shrubs are eaten by bears,
birds and javelinas.

Cochise Stronghold was a hideout and natural fortress 

for Apache leader Cochise and his warriors 

during a long conflict with U.S. forces.

The green on the rock is lichens which is fungus
and algae living together.

After our hike we saw this bumper sticker. Love it!

Holy Cow! The Cubs won the World Series!
We had fun watching Game 7 in the clubhouse
with another couple.

"When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach 
your goal; you do not change your decision to get there."
Zig Ziglar