(to enlarge a picture click on it once, then click outside it to return to the blog)
Sandy, Richard, John and I headed out early one morning to Bisbee. This town has been on our list to tour since last season. Bisbee is a little over an hour south east of Tuscon and there is not much between here and there except beautiful desert views, mountains and of course Tombstone. Our first view of Bisbee did not disappoint us. Colourful homes and businesses perch on the hillsides reminding me of California and Sandy of France, but with the quirks of Arizona. We stopped first at the old Copper Queen Mine to find out when the next tour would be since that was high on our list of things to do. Next tour; high noon...so we went for a walk to pass an hour.
As we walked uphill through what seemed to be the "main" street we were drawn to many interesting window displays. As with many Arizona mining towns the stores are filled with art and artifacts that I am realizing are unique. It is as though time stopped and then moved along on its own windy path in another respect.
Metal art and designs are common here in the southwest and Bisbee had it's fair share. Some of these cost as much as $500! But that is nothing compared to the prices we have seen in Tubac.
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| This colourful hotel is at the base of Castle Rock and is so named. We thought we might have lunch there later but ended up elsewhere. |
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| This crazy menagerie in a shop window made me think of Alice in Wonderland, or perhaps a bizarre nightmare! |
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| He is filled with excited anticipation! |
After our stroll through town and a pitt stop at a quaint cafe (delicious coffee) we headed over to the old Copper Queen Mine. We got suited up with hardhat, flashlight and rain coat. When I asked if we were going to get wet I was told it was for protection in case we touched a wall or something! There was no water down below but it was cold. So the coat helped.
I was a bit nervous about the "in case we hit a wall" comment and became a little more so when I saw our train. We straddled this measly bench and headed through a narrow doorway to begin the descent 1500 ft. down into the mine, towed by a strange little engine with our guide driving. Once we got going my trepidation left and I really enjoyed the tour and all the information despite the dark and close quarters.
I can't tell you the name of our tour guide since I couldn't understand it. I should have asked him to repeat it. He was a retired mine worker who had worked this mine for 27 years. He had a great sense of humour and was extremely knowledgeable. There are over 2500 miles of tunnels in this mine and the deepest shaft goes down 3500 feet! Thank goodness we didn't traverse all of them. We spent an hour and a quarter down below and that was enough to make me realize what a hard life the miners had!
They took out 8 billion pounds of copper in the life of this mine. The Copper Queen is now open for tours only but significant copper is still mined all over Arizona in huge pitt operations. We toured the Pima Mine south of Tucson last year, a huge operational mine. Check back in the blog if you are interested.
In the early 1900's Bisbee was one of the richest mineral sites in the world. As a result the town grew to a population of over 20,000 and became a cultural centre and the county seat. The less savoury side of a mining town was evident as well in the notorious "Brewery Gulch" with it's saloons and "shady ladies." By the 1970's the mine had become unprofitable. "Artistic free spirits" moved into the town resulting in the galleries, restaurants and unique shops we see there today. The architecture of the mining town has been preserved and a museum documents the history of Bisbee.
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| If you look closely you will see that this is the commode! It was a two seater and was on rails. Our guide told us he didn't get the reason for the two seats since in his 27 years he never saw 2 people use it at once. No kidding! |
After surfacing from the mine we were cold and hungry. We headed over to the Copper Queen Hotel for a brew and lunch. While we were enjoying the sun on the patio a persistent bee kept pestering us and of course my brain went off on a tangent wondering why BisBEE was so named. I have since learned that it was named for Judge DeWitt Bisbee, one of the financial backers of the Copper Queen Mine.
Now a driving tour of the areas we didn't see while on foot was in order.
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A view from the Copper Queen
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| Evidence of Artistic Free Spirits! |
Bisbee reminded me of Jerome, a mining town we visited in Northern AZ last year. Not only is it perched precariously on the mountain sides full of windy roads: it had also been taken over by artists in the 1970's after the mine closed. This phenomenon makes for very colourful scenery, not to mention colourful characters! Check out the website below for more on Bisbee.
http://www.discoverbisbee.com/about_hist.htm
Windy Point was one the most spectacular vistas. Huge boulders were perched precariously and as far as the eye can see are layers of mountain ranges, their depth and numbers more evident from up here than from Tucson below. 
Hoodoos!! Erosion and wind blow around making hoodoo formations. 
Just below the ski hill is a town called Summerhaven. It is small but picturesque and I realize now that many of the cabins and chalets looked new because of a huge and destructive fire in 2003. This fire, named Aspen Fire destroyed 325 of the 450 structures in this town! Many of these homes are summer residences but there are a few people who live there permanently. It is a strange reversal of snowbirding! People here go north in the summer to escape the heat. (desertbirding?)
