Travelled to Bisbee

After completing our usual tasks we decided to drive to Gleeson a ghost town about 26 miles from here 15 miles of gravel road but on the way changed our minds and drove to Bisbee instead, 35 miles from our park and about 10 miles from the Mexican border sitting in the Mule Mountains and were very happy we did, the mountains are beautiful. Bisbee is a appealing, unique, interesting town well worth visiting.



One of the interesting aspects of travelling in this area you never know what to expect. The change from desert to mountains is usually abrupt, not gradual, the flora and fauna is different as are the make up of the mountain ranges, so very different than being in the Rocky Mountains where you can travel many miles, here the ranges are smaller in stature and do not look that interesting until one takes a closer look. Pictures just cannot catch the feeling of amazement that we experienced when we drove into these mountains. The Mule Mountains are a north/south running mountain range, the highest peak, Mount Ballard, rises to 7,500 feet. Prior to mining operations commencing there, the mountains were heavily forested with large Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir and other conifers, but these were all cut down for housing needs, and to feed the furnaces for smelting the ore in Douglas, Arizona, approximately 20 miles due east. Now, the primary vegetation of the Mules consists of Manzanita brush, juniper, lowland oaks and pines, and various grasses. The terrain is very rough, with very steep slopes descending into deep canyons. Common wildlife species include mule and whitetail deer, javelin, various types of rodents, lizards and a wide variety of birds. The upper ridges of the mountains consist primarily of a very hard brecciate limestone, and it is very common to find fossils of clams and snails imbedded in them.

You enter this tunnel and when you emerge on the other end you see Bisbee.

It is so cool! Wandering around town we felt like we had just stepped back into 1910.

Bisbee was founded as a copper, gold, and silver mining town in 1880, and named in honor of Judge DeWitt Bisbee, one of the financial backers of the adjacent Copper Queen Mine.
In 1929, the county seat was moved from Tombstone, Arizona to Bisbee, where it remains. To read more history of Bisbee follow this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisbee,_Arizona

Old Bisbee has so many interesting sites to see we will come back, we mostly wandered the streets today just taking in the atmosphere of the town.

Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum was closed so will go back another day to visit.

We stopped at this very interesting shop, Optimo Custom Hatworks.

S. Grant Sergot owns this shop, the shop is set up so the public can view hat making. All the basic hat styles are ordered from the paja toquilla plant of Ecuador and Central America. His hand woven Panama straws come from Ecuador where they are crafted by descendants of the Incas who first wove the plant for water vessels. These weavers learn their art as children and devote their entire lifetimes to it, he is eager to explain to customers who come to browse or to learn about his product line. From the basic hat styles, he styles and finishes them to suit his customer, which contributes to the uniqueness of each creation.The grade of the weaving and the intricacies of the pattern determine the value, a little too rich for our meagre budget. Sergot said once a customer has chosen a particular shade and grade of weaving, picking the specific brim and crown height, he begins his artistry. Using Eastern closed-grain wood hat blocks and steam for the shaping process, Sergot puts the soul into the hat. He is one of four persons in the North America to do what he does.

The streets are narrow, winding through old Bisbee, reminds both of us European streets.

The sidwalks are narrow with storefronts along the street, most sold pottery, art, crafts, it really is town created by old hippies. We chatted with a couple of store owners, one fellow said he stopped here in the 1970's to get flat tire fixed and just stayed on he loved it so much.



Another business owner said when he arrived in the 70's real estate was so cheap he decided to settle there and open his business (pottery).

The third smallest store in North American, this fellow sells honey and mustards that are made from killer bee honey, we bought some special flavoured honey (a way to tasty) and some mustard. The owner of Killing Bee Guy told us that years before the previous building owner's wife wanted her own business so he removed a stair case and gave her that space for her store. He has worldwide recognition and has appeared on National Geographic.

If you want more information or order some of his products follow this link:

http://www.killerbeeguy.com/ The products are not cheap but very good!

The sun was setting on our way home colouring the mountains pink. The buildings you can see in this picture is part of Tombstone.

Arriving home we took the dogs for a walk and settled into our usual evening routine.

We definitely will be returning to Bisbee!