Sunday, February 5, 2017
Anita and Kevin are up early
and head to the Tucson Airport. We are
taking some of the rocks they found earlier with us and will deliver them to PA
one of these days…
Tom and Sue go for walks in
the morning while Beth and Greg do some catch-up on emails, computer, etc. It is another beautiful day and we spend some time watching the birds at
Tom & Sue’s feeder...
 |
| House finch |
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| Golden finch |
Greg installed a
hanging rod in Sue’s laundry room and we do a few odds and ends. Tom and Sue go to a friend’s cookout/fish
fry/Superbowl Party for a while, but we opt to stay here since it is the type of party where very little game watching is done.
We watch a little pre-game
and then the Super Bowl, enjoying some of the commercials as well. Atlanta jumps to
a surprising 21-3 lead at half time, but the second half is an about face. Chap and Mam arrive and I help fix a tasty Thai dinner of chicken curry and
a scrumptious soup.
Nice relaxing day.
Monday, February 6
Today's adventure will be a trip to the old mining town of Bisbee, about 60 miles southeast of Benson. Tom will be playing golf again, so Greg, Sue and I take off about 8:30 AM. Another beautiful day.
The heyday of the town was in the early 1900's when copper mining was the big attraction. The mining was first done underground and then later moved to pit mining. In 1900 the population was about 9,000 and by 1910 it was up to 20,000 (with 53 liquor licenses), so it was a hopping town! The mining ended nearly 50 years ago and the town has become more of an artist colony/tourist attraction/old hippy hangout.
After a coffee stop, we check out the Copper Queen Hotel, the oldest continuously operating hotel in Arizona.
Lots of interesting decor and as we look around, a friendly maid offers to show us the "John Wayne Room". Apparently he filmed quite a few westerns at nearby Tombstone and stayed in this room. Nothing fancy but several photos, posters and other of his items.
From here we walk up Brewery Gulch Street, which features a brewery as well as several shops.
We sample some flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars and continue up the street, climbing some stairs to a park.
The town is built on the sides of Tombstone Canyon. This mining town was not a company-store, company-housing type operation, so many of the minors simply climbed up the canyon walls, blasted out a level spot and built homes. It gives the town a terraced look and there are hundreds of stairs connecting levels.
Every October there is a race that involves the stairs - the Bisbee 1000 and Sue vows that she will do it this year!
We wonder up various stairways till we are as high as we can go. Occasional artsy decorations are sprinkled throughout town.
We find some pretty stones along a trail way up here, as well as some interesting views.
Some of the buildings are very nice and well maintained, others rather tumbledown.
We head back down to main street, which runs the length of the bottom of the canyon, and wonder through some shops.
A few of the buildings have giant flies on them.
The story is that back in 1912 the town had a plague of flies. They had contests to see who could catch the most flies, with the winner receiving $10. A different take on pest control!
We spend a little while in the Bisbee Historic Museum, which is a collection of items donated by locals. One item of interest is a high school diploma from 1936 - all of the diplomas were solid copper!
Some beautiful wedding gowns, hats and other clothing including this dress from 1902. Sue chats with one of the staff, a elderly but energetic man with a colorful history.
We make our way to the High Desert Market & Cafe for lunch.
A group of women are enjoying the patio there, complete with an accordion and singing. We are across the street from the courthouse and a statue known as IronMan which is a memorial to the miners.
We try a few more stairways and come across these art cars, some blooming daffodils and violets! What an interesting town!
From here we drive over to eyeball the Lavender Pit - which was operated in the 1950's till closing in 1974. Though there is still some copper-bearing ore in the area it is of poor quality and is no longer cost effective to mine.
We head back to Benson, stopping for a few groceries. We make a sausage/peppers/penne dinner which we all enjoy. Spend our short evening talking. All are early risers so no late owls here!
Monday, February 6
Today's adventure will be a trip to the old mining town of Bisbee, about 60 miles southeast of Benson. Tom will be playing golf again, so Greg, Sue and I take off about 8:30 AM. Another beautiful day.
Lots of interesting decor and as we look around, a friendly maid offers to show us the "John Wayne Room". Apparently he filmed quite a few westerns at nearby Tombstone and stayed in this room. Nothing fancy but several photos, posters and other of his items.
From here we walk up Brewery Gulch Street, which features a brewery as well as several shops.
 |
| The Brewery |
The town is built on the sides of Tombstone Canyon. This mining town was not a company-store, company-housing type operation, so many of the minors simply climbed up the canyon walls, blasted out a level spot and built homes. It gives the town a terraced look and there are hundreds of stairs connecting levels.
We wonder up various stairways till we are as high as we can go. Occasional artsy decorations are sprinkled throughout town.
We find some pretty stones along a trail way up here, as well as some interesting views.
We head back down to main street, which runs the length of the bottom of the canyon, and wonder through some shops.
A few of the buildings have giant flies on them.
We spend a little while in the Bisbee Historic Museum, which is a collection of items donated by locals. One item of interest is a high school diploma from 1936 - all of the diplomas were solid copper!
Some beautiful wedding gowns, hats and other clothing including this dress from 1902. Sue chats with one of the staff, a elderly but energetic man with a colorful history.
We make our way to the High Desert Market & Cafe for lunch.
From here we drive over to eyeball the Lavender Pit - which was operated in the 1950's till closing in 1974. Though there is still some copper-bearing ore in the area it is of poor quality and is no longer cost effective to mine.
We head back to Benson, stopping for a few groceries. We make a sausage/peppers/penne dinner which we all enjoy. Spend our short evening talking. All are early risers so no late owls here!
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