The rain finally stopped around 4 am this morning and although the day started out overcast and gray it soon progressed to blue skies, sun and moderate temps. We were up early and headed into Tombstone around 10 am. It was pretty dead there so we opted to take a ride into Historic Bisbee a town tucked into the mile high Mule Mountains.
Bisbee is an old copper mining town. Did I say mine – oh yes – if there is a mine we will tour it! We arrived just in time to miss the 11 am. tour. We spent the hour we had before the next tour to explore the Historical Museum. The displays were well presented and the films captured the history of mining in this lovely town.
We were dressed for the tour in hard hats, rain coats and lights. This is the first mine tour we have done that was not lit inside – hence the personal light source.
Any of the the mine tours we have done in the past we sat in a seat looking forward. On this tour we straddled a bench with our feet on running boards. I did well with the straddle despite a little knee bending limitation.
Our first stop was, of course, a walk up 36 stairs. OK then – stairs have been my nemesis but I was not going to be the one left behind. There were handrails on both sides of the stairs so I was able to make the climb fairly well and quickly. Yeah! The walk down was a little – catapulting was the method I used. Looked a little strange but worked.
Our tour guide was excellent and presented us with a few tidbits of info we had not heard before. Never really thought about what the miners used for toilet facilities and this was the first tour we took that addressed that issue. Emptying out the toilets fell to the responsibility of the older miners who needed to continue to make money for their retirement. They no longer were able to work the mines so this was a way to ensure a good retirement. HMMM!!!!
Interestingly, he told us that there were over 2000 miles of tunnels running beneath Bisbee. Makes you wonder how stable the ground really is under Bisbee.
After the tour we drove into town and stopped at a place called “The Table” for lunch. Ron had his signature meatloaf and I had salmon – both delicious. The restaurant is adjacent to a small mall with a theater in the center.
Looking down at the stage from the second floor.
Bisbee is another pretty little town filled with artisans and interesting storefronts.
The Brewery was once the Bisbee Mining Stock Exchange.
We were told the Superior court was a must see. It is a beautiful building with copper entrance doors.
We were also advised to stop at Saint Patrick’s Church and check out the stained glass windows that were quite beautiful. The sun was reflecting off the glass so couldn’t get a clear picture.
We like to take a ride around local neighborhoods and check out the homes. Everything is built on the side of the mountain and quite unique. Also, the roads in the neighborhoods are really narrow. Check out the road to the left of the vacant building. Only one car can pass at a time. These roads were built for the miners before cars!
Original miners’ cabins.
And Very Colorful!!!!
On our way back to the CG we stopped to check out the open copper mines that are now left abandoned. The change from underground to open mining has certainly changed the landscape around here.
An overview of the entire mine below.
As we were turning around to head back to the CG Ron noticed an old Greyhound bus parked along a side street. We checked it out and found another part of town that was like a ghost town with empty storefronts and old cars parked along the road. It looked like a town out of the 60’s. We were told by the woman at the information center that Bisbee was cut up into sections – so this section called Lowell is one of the sections that is obviously now uninhabited.
It is amazing what you can find when you ride around and explore.
Bisbee was a very interesting town and we had a great day. Our ride home was uneventful but very beautiful with panoramic views of the mountains.
As the sun set the skies were also amazing!
We will spend another night at the CG and tour Tombstone tomorrow. We do feel at a loss because here at the CG we have spotty cell service and no internet. It is amazing how dependent you get on technology.
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