Bisbee Bombers

With Micki's mother in town for Thanksgiving we decided to drive down South and check out the town of Bisbee.  I had been there once for a mine tour with my Grandparents many years ago and since we rarely travel in that direction the entire trip was going to basically be covering new terrain for us all.  We filled up the HiHy with gas and I filled up my tank with my current morning addiction the Wendy's Mornin' Melt panini.  It has real apple-wood smoked bacon and is for all intents and purposes the perfect breakfast.  Replacing the once unsurmountable Mc'D's bacon egg and cheese McGriddle... but I digress.


After a multi-hour dinner plate flat drive to and then through Tucson I finally had to turn the steering wheel once or twice to navigate through the tiny towns of Benson, Saint David and Tombstone.  Tombstone is the site of the OK Corral gunfight.  The town slogan states that Tombstone is  "the town that was to tough to die".  Bad ass!  To us the most noticeable thing about the town was the missing pedestrian bridge located dead center.  Stairs spiraled up from both the left and right sides of the road only to make abrupt, opposing dead end diving boards with asphalt directly below. What made this even cooler was the fact that the missing concrete span was sited a few miles after leaving town placed neatly in some sort of deserted storage yard.  Ever curious I had to search for a reason why such a small bridge would have been so carefully separated by that many miles.  Google is awesome, and ADOT says this :  "The Tombstone Pedestrian Bridge #779 on SR 80 at MP 317.65 substructure needs to be raised for overheight vehicles while superstructure is off."  


Mystery that no one was aware of now solved.


The terrain at this point was rolling hills with a ton of ocotillo plants grouped together. The thickest grouping we have ever seen with sections almost disguising themselves as forest.  Must be impressive when they are in bloom.  The occasional century plant sprouted up here and there.  Eventually we entered a tunnel and popped out the other side with the town of Bisbee in our sites.  It's a lot like Jerome, except the town site resides more in a valley as opposed to a single mountain side.  Lot's of old building and ruins perched along the carved hillsides.  We parked in town and started to walk around a bit.

Sign for one way street:

Wall mural:

As we walked down main street, Micki drew my attention to possibly one of the most wonderful signs I have ever seen.  I had to laugh and snap a picture.  We did not actually find Danny or any of his associates during our visit.  If we had, it might have been worth handing over a beer or two in appreciation of his business plan.

Doesn't get much more clever than this my friends:

Believe it or not, the town got weirder and possibly even more creative from there.

Rolling hot glue experiment:

Karate lessons anyone? :

As we walked I snapped some pics of downtown.  Lot's of shops and restaurants.  Some really nice detail on the older buildings.

Looking up and out:

Just looking up:

At this point, Micki and her Mom decided to go on a home tour.  They bought tickets for the shuttle bus that would take them to the start of the tour.  I decided to walk the town and meet them somewhere along the way.  As I started to wander, I came across a set of steps leading up and away from main street.  I decided to see where they might lead.

Better shift down to Granny for this ascent:

The concrete steps just kept climbing.  Uneven and worn, chipped and broken with plumbers pipe for railing. Eventually the galvanized piping my hand rested on started to change colors... very frequently in fact.  From orange, to green... then red, purple, blue and back again.  Winding all the way with house leaving the path from both sides.  Eventually I made it to the patio of a really artsy home, and most likely the source of the busy rail painter.

Sweet gate:

The stairs crossed a road and after searching a bit I found a continuation of the route.  I couldn't believe how far I had climbed already and how much was still left to go.

Sherpa required? :

I found a break in the handrail and headed off through a forgotten lot to an old ruin.  High walls with pealing stucco were all that remained of this impressive structure.  An old steel bathtub was stuffed behind the building and the open windows framed the town below pretty well.

Room with a view (and a tree)

A bit further up now and another break was found heading off the other direction. A empty field had been filled with a rather large flower. Maybe 8' tall with a birds nest right in the center. Some sort of steel with mesh plastered over the petals.

Big hummingbirds in these parts:

Entry to the monster flower:

From there I just kept climbing and stepping up.  Finally making it to the top and getting a really good look over the town.

Back down the steps:



View of the mining South of town:



Overview of the town:



Architectural detail:



Walking "above" the town I started to find all sorts of artistic embellishments on the houses.  I really liked the uniqueness of it all.  Everywhere looked was another detail.  Some just comprised of junk, some truly artistic sculpture.  Either way... I was smiling.

Gotta admire any type of bicycle art:



Scary seat:



Pick axe:



Iron Maiden:



From here I ran across two old Chevrolet's.  The blue one had current plates and was most likely a daily driver.  The pinkish one was a forgotten gem basically wedged in between two aging concrete walls.  A tomb if you will... or open casket for those lucky enough to view as we wandered by.

The driven:







The forgotten:







From there I followed the road back down into town.  Connecting with Micki and her mother at about house number four, I was quickly distracted by something red and shiny mostly obscured by a high wall across the street.  Finding yet another stairway, I reached the treasure.

B is for...? :



Bentley:



Right hand drive and all:



With the girls distracted by houses, I was to find yet another example of "art".  Ever seen fireman's helmets, Etch-A-Sketch and a Spaceliner bicycle so well utilized?  I submit you have not.

Stellar redness:

I tell you at this point I was all over the place.  Up steps, down hills, through alleys and a few backyards.  Dogs barking out their appreciation of my quick study in capturing all that is the oddness of Bisbee.

Lawn ornamentations:



Sweet mountain style cabin:



Yummy... sanitary bread:



Mom was getting tired from all the miles between houses so I jogged back to downtown and grabbed the car.  We all toured the road I had stair climbed to as I had already began to tell the tales of what lay high above this sleepy little town.  We then attempted to do the Queen Mine Tour only to be disappointed with a overfull situation. Next time we'll be sure to sign in earlier.  We decided to drive around some of the remaining parts of Old Towne Bisbee.  Very skinny and steep streets reminded Micki and I a lot of English back-roads.  Many of the grades would be difficult by bicycle and it was very hard to imagine how anyone could ever move any item of furniture into their houses with endless steps and perilously skinny walkways.

Accidentally we came across the "Bisbee Bicycle Brothel" and I was ecstatic to see they were actually open on a Friday.  The website had stated weekdays were by appointment only and my attempts at calling had gone straight to voice-mail.  I found an awkward parking spot and in we went.

Didn't seem like much:



Until one steps inside:



The place was literally crammed from end to end with all sorts of cycling paraphernalia.  Endless stacks of road bikes from the '40's, '50's and beyond.  Posters and pictures hung everywhere as well as frames, hats and jerseys.

Wall of fame:

Unknown magnificence:

I even came across an original Fat Chance titanium framed bicycle.  I don't think I have ever seen one or these rarities in person.  Was a thrill to see the handcrafted gussets and creative workarounds found at all the tube junctions.  I think there was even a pair of Cook Brothers cranks hanging off the BB.  The bicycle itself had been converted to singlespeed, so it must have a fairly recent history of use.

Really great place for a cycling enthusiast to visit.  Probably could have spent and hour or two there just trying to take it all in.  The proprietor was friendly enough, and I think with more time would have been happy to relate the history of all his treasures to an interested ear.

www.bisbeebicyclebrothel.com

Leaving town we searched out a bird sanctuary to see if we could catch a glimpse of anything unique.  Unfortunately, the cabin and viewing area was very run down and didn't offer much to see. It did however offer a challenge, which I was happy to accept.

Bring it:

The view back from my successful crossing:

Back on the road we crushed the miles back towards Scottsdale.  The sun wained into a really nice sunset and the reflective cat-eyes on the road started to perk up.  Traffic was heavier than I expected but the miles ticked away pretty easily.  Before we knew it, Mousse was anxiously  waiting at the door for her dinner.

All in all it was a good day trip that we'd recommend to others.  Jerome probably takes Bisbee in terms of overall aesthetics, but the artistic and free nature of Bisbee a bit more intriguing.

Parting shot: