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Sunday, March 6, 2011

VACATION - Bisbee and Tombstone on a day trip in the Tracker

(this post is about Friday, March 4, but didn't get posted until today) 

We are waking up to some frosty cold mornings here in the desert, but once the sun just pops over that mountain ridge, it's warm and sunny and not a cloud in sight!    

Some wonderful folks, Ray and Jeanie who kinda drew us all together here in some way or another, with knowing Al and Kelly, Rene and Jim and through their efforts we all kinda got to be blogging friends.  Now It was time to meet them in person!  

They popped over for a quick visit to where we were boondocking, and we chatted a while, with a promise to get together in a day or two. Plus Jeanie was coveting my socks, and needed to have a few pairs made up!   We met their friend Linda too, who kept Dukie busy with his frisbee, ball and sticks!   We knew we instantly liked these folks, as they seemed to like us too.  Such wonderful people we are meeting in our travels, and each time it's hard to say *goodbye* ... so we just say *See you Soon!*

After they headed out to do some things, we loaded up the Tracker with water, snacks and a map and took off to explore the area again.

First we went to Bisbee... my oh my what a quirky little town!  How fun!!!!   I lost the first 20 or so shots I took in the center of town... (drat)   hit the wrong button the camera!     But around Bisbee, it's quite artsy and there are some interesting studios and shops, street musicians all over, and the strangest tradition of The Bisbee Cars....  Article about the Bisbee Art Cars

 Take an ordinary vehicle, use a creative touch to paint it and decorate it with hundreds or perhaps thousands of items and what do you get? An art car.


 Even buildings are decorated in an artistic manner.....


It was kinda built into the hills, around the mines, and the houses are all tiny  things, willy nilly stuck into the hills!   They are right next to each other and share a lot of common walls.   We crawled all over in tiny alleys, twisty roads and interesting building structures arose outta the strangest places.


 Everything is just kinda slapped together in many of the places in the downtown.  You need to be a billy goat or have a tiny vehicle like our Tracker to get up and down and around ....

Along the major route, a deep channel was dug and cemented in, to let water rush through during a cloudburst.  Folks even had little bridges to get to their houses, across the wide *moats*


I had the address for the Bisbee Fiber Guild who has studio space in the lowest level of an old YMCA  building in Bisbee.  We found it and I managed my way in past a couple of *questionable* residents sitting outside, ummm with some rather aromatic smokes.  heh heh....  But I found the steps and went down to the their large guild room.  They had quite a few looms set up, some with projects on them.
 I snapped a few pics in their little store area of ready-made items for sale.  Their rugs were on display as well.   The gal, Lynne Morrow was just finishing up talking with a few other customers, so I roamed around snapping more pics (I asked first) ....    Once she was done, we had time to chat about this and that, and later another weaver came in, Andrea,  who also chatted a bit as she was working on a rug.

We shared some tips and ideas, talked about things to see in the area, and then it was time to go.... Steveio and the dogs were waiting in the Tracker....

Next we drove up the road to Tombstone.  We are not very *touristy* people, so we kinda drove around, saw some sights, and snapped some pics.   The little trinket shops were overpriced of course and the idea of taking a stage coach ride didn't appeal too much since we had the dogs along.











We did see another Safari rig parked in a cramped RV park in town.  It was like Mel and Paula's but we knew it wasn't them because they are in Yuma and meeting up with us on Sunday in Gila Bend.



 Take a look at what you get for an RV park campsite in Tombstone?  They are probably paying in the $35-40 range for this spot.  I tried to look up the park for the fees, but they don't have a website. 2 cement slabs for the tire, a hose and a plugin, and not even enough room to put out a slide if you had one!   No thanks....


Where are our nice spacious green-treed, surround by shrubs and natural grass landscapes of Wisconsin?



From there, we hopped on Gleeson Road and headed back east towards our boondocking spot.  It was smack dab through the middle of the Dragoon Mountains.


It was all washboard gravel for about 25 miles but we found if we drove the Tracker about 35mph we didn't vibrate as much, and rode along in comparative comfort.  The dogs sure enjoyed the outing and we enjoyed the scenery.


We got back and wipe off the dust, showered and shined up, and then threw some salmon on the grill.  Just as the sun was setting, we were feasting on our good meal, and thanking God for a wonderful day!



no miles traveled in the motorhome
97 miles traveled in the Tracker

11 comments:

  1. I am with you on the campsites that charge so much for a 'whole lotta nothing'..we would much rather be out in the desert enjoying peace and quiet!..great tour of Bisbee!

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  2. Bisbee no where resembles Harper's Ferry, WV, except for how it's built into the hills, all the narrow stairs from one level to another, etc.

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  3. I thought the same about Tombstone, that it was awfully touristy, interesting, but i've seen it, don't need to return.

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  4. Even after heing born and raised in Arizona, I can truthfully say there's not much to see in Tombstone other than what a million other touristas see. BUT, the courthouse has an interesting museum and there is a single rosebush there (famous, too) that covers at least one acre in size. Other than that, it's best to see Tombstones in the movies.

    Emjay

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  5. Wow, what a crumby RV park and they charge to stay there? They should pay people to stay there.

    They probably don't like it if you park at Walmart over night.

    Lovin' your trip report, keep up the good work, but don't let the blog get in the way of your fun!

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  6. fess up you are really missing the snow now aren't you?

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  7. I must have messed up the comment I tried to put in yesterday. (it happens) Your feelings about Tombstone are ours as well. So nice you got to spend some time with Jeanie & Ray. Great people as well as Jim & Rene. And you probably got to meet Gleeson & Pearce too along with Donkeys Pancho, Sarah & Nellie. And, the Chickens & maybe Charlie the cat:))

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  8. Have to disagree about Tombstone;-) I've been several times and always enjoy seeing all the locals dressed in their period costumes. Most are very knowledgeable about the period and delight in sharing their knowledge with interested visitors. The shops mostly are fair to quite reasonably priced IMHO, not overpriced like so many tourist locations. I've bought a wonderful crushable felt hat there for 20% less than I saw it anywhere else; my embroidered Western shirt was $30 - less than many flea markets! A pair of boots was the same price as at Boot Barn (a discount boot firm)...

    While you're nearby Bisbee, consider taking a tour of one of the mines... fascinating!

    Love the blog! Sure wish we were still down there instead of back in cold, rainy WA... sigh;-)

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  9. Thanks for a great report on Bisbee and Tombstone. I guess we are in the minority as we had a great time when we visited Tombstone. We normally don't like the "touristy" stuff either but we had fun there and loved the OK Corral show. But I certainly agree on the RV park. Would much rather be boon-docked in the middle of nowhere. Travel safe.

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  10. I really enjoyed your tour of Bisbee & Tombstone,I think like the others that Tombstone is for tourists and exists to collect the tourist dollar, your pictures are great and really show the area just nice. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  11. We were in Tomestone in 2005 and had fun just wandering around. We did do one touristy thing there though and that was go and watch the show they put on at the OK Coral. It was rather good, and we did enjoy it. I would never stay at the RV Park though!!

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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