Arizona, Part II

So let’s see, where was I.. oh yeah.. Tombstone was great but Friday morning rolled around and it was off to our next destination. We decided to head out to Bisbee and we’re joined by the lovely Bonnie, a friend and associate of Mona’s. Again not too far from Mona’s place and rich in history. Bisbee was known as the “Queen of the Copper Camps” during its heyday and its mines remained open until the 1970’s when mineral harvesting ceased. This didn’t kill the town entirely and we’re all the better for it as it has great architecture and a nice slow pace to it. First stop was just outside of town at a place called the Lavender Pit. This site was part of the Copper Queen Mine and yielded quite a number of minerals and stone. It isn’t named for its color as one might imagine but rather for the then manager of the Copper Queen Branch of the mining company whose name was Harrison Lavender. It is as the name implies a pit!!! It covers about 300 acres and is terraced and is somewhere around 950 feet deep. Would have been something to see it being mined in its heyday.



Just a short jaunt down the road is Bisbee proper. This former Mining Town is now somewhat of an artist community known for its Galleries, Antiques, Community Theatre and well kept historical homes. This place was great to just relax and walk around. First stop was the Mining and Historical Museum. It was a nice walk thru set up in what once was as I recall the headquarters of the Phelps-Dodge Mining Corporation. Tons of artifacts from the 1880’s and displays involving the multi-cultural population of the day. The President’s office is gorgeous with beautiful wood everywhere and a number of portraits of corporate officers as well as furnishings and tools of the trade. Well worth the time spent strolling the halls. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed at present. I believe they’re working on a photo gallery at the museums’ website.



Next stop was the "Copper Queen Hotel". Nice place. Rustic old world charm as it was built in 1902. It was the primary stop for visiting dignitaries and guests when the mining boom was on. We of course managed to find the Saloon in short order. Knocked down a Newcastle there if I'm not mistaken and snapped off a couple of pics. Naked lady portraits are very popular in this part of Arizona.



Out the front door and a quick jog around the corner found us at the steps to the “Stock Exchange” bar. What a neat little place. Well it's not all that little actually. The bar section is but the building itself is pretty good sized. The bar area is really laid back (like everything else in Bisbee) with nice wooden accents, plenty of stools, a really lousy billiard table and a shuffle board table along the back wall. The usual fare of beers as well as some local brews were available. This bar is in what once was the actual stock exchange building during the copper boom. The original blackboards are still in place with stock prices from that era. I really liked the layout of the building. From the sidewalk you go up a short brick staircase to enter the bar but just around to the right you can also go down to a subterranean level which used to house a restaurant. Much to my chagrin it has been closed and is locked up. I really wanted to take a look around in there. At one time you could enter from the restroom area as well. The building's layout was just great and would probably be very popular if such a facility was open out here. Really cool stuff. Erik beat me at the cheesy pool table (bad cushions) but I waxed him at shuffleboard. Mike, Mona, Bonnie and myself had a couple of dark beers and then set out for short walk up to Main Street and the many shops and bars. Sampled some Killer Bee Honey by dipping pretzel sticks in the various flavors. The owner had tons of samples to choose from. Honey Mustard was excellent as were most of the others. You can take a look at his story here. Stopped in and had another beer whilst Mike was perusing the headgear at the Optimo Hat Shop. Other points of interest on Main Street were the Bisbee Restoration Museum, Bisbee Trolley Tours, Café Roca, Café Cornucopia and any number of shops up and down the street.



We had worked up an appetite at this point so we meandered over to Brewery Ave. looking for St. Elmo’s Bar and an eatery nearby. Ended up at a place right next door to St. Elmo’s the name of which I can’t recall but we had a monster plate of nachos and one burrito each. Then of course it was into St. Elmo’s to wash it all down with some grog. Two things Bisbee isn’t short on are historical venues and taverns. We had planned a BBQ back at Mona’s digs that evening but we were so stuffed by early evening we just fell all over the living room trying to digest all the stuff we had consumed that day. I thought I was going to burst!



The final day of touring (Saturday) found us in Nogales, Mexico and Patagonia, Arizona. Lots of shopping opportunities in Nogales and when we hit Patagonia on the way back we stopped at the famous “Velvet Elvis Pizza Company” for dinner. Really unique designer pizza recipes there. Very tasty! Check out their menu.



Back on the road bright and early Sunday morning for our return trip. Left Mona’s driveway around 6:45am and hit Lake Forest somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:30pm. Not bad time at all. Had a great time on this road trip and would highly recommend a visit to this area for anyone looking to get out of the city for a day or two. Hope you enjoyed the read…..

-Scott