Trip #23: Arizona-New Mexico Spring Tour

March 3 - 11, 2010

1,291 miles

 

SHOWLOW, AZ
TUCSON
BISBEE
TOMBSTONE

MONTICELLO, NM
ahem, SANTA FE (are we living in the wrong city?)

Catalina State Park, hikes, Shady Dell campground, had cable to watch the Academy Awards, Santa Fe shopping

Wednesday, Mar. 3 - 310 miles
Left Durango with tons of snow still on the ground, on a day that would reach 47 degrees in Arizona. Drove through Holbrook, AZ, but couldn’t get Bill to stop at all the petrified wood shops, dang. So many… Spent our first night in Showlow at a nice park called Fools Hollow which was along a lake. It was windy and in the 50s during the day, 29 at night.

Beautifully paved Camp Showlow. Just for a night.

Always.

Thursday, Mar. 4 - 173 miles

Today we'd go as far as Tucson, staying at Catalina State Park, we hope. Stopped for a quick lunch at a roadside park in Mammoth. Arrived in Tucson about 4pm to find the park was full, but they had one spot left with no hook-up. No problem, we took it. It was in the 60s when we arrived. The park handed us a flash flood notice just in case it rains. And our drive in over a low spot on the road showed where the mud would go; looked like it had been cleared recently. We got on a waiting list for a hook-up spot for tomorrow. Did a short hike through the woods and then went to civilization across the street to a bar/restaurant called Risky Business for a refreshment and wifi. Drove further down the busy highway and ended up at Macaya’s for dinner. Seems weird, but this place sure reminds me of south Florida. All the new and old strip stopping centers, the traffic, the warm weather. yep I feel like I've been here before.

And so the weary travelers stopped at a roadside park in Mammoth, AZ, for a bite to eat.

They were (or she was) fascinated to learn of the history of this little spot. GOLD!

Cool sculptures mark the history of the place.

Friday, Mar. 5
Believe it or not, I got out for a short hike before sunrise (what???). Also the camp host came around and said we got the upgraded spot, get moving now. Took to the roads again today, searching for two stained glass stores, found them both. This is a big city, I had no idea, sprawling. We had lunch on 4th Avenue in an old section. Had dinner in the trailer.

Saturday, Mar. 6
We were up early for a hike up Romero Trail. It was a pretty rough 6 mile climb; 3 miles to the mountain pools and back. Saw lots of interesting desert scenery, new to me, this Arizona look. Quite warm in the sun too. We were back by 2:30 with sore gams but soon left again to a big art show near our old haunt, Risky Business. Got a metal sculpture from a man in Texas and Bill ran into his old friend who is an artist. SMALL world is all I can say. Took another short walk before dinner and ate in the trailer. Looked like the weather might change, but it didn't, and tomorrow we head for the final destination of Bisbee.

Camp Catalina #1. We would move the next day when a spot opened up. early. and so we moved. The place was packed.

Camp Catalina #2. Even better: full hookup.

And you can't beat the view out the door. We'd hike those mountains today.

Cactus wren doing what he's supposed to.

Desert bloom

Hiked pretty high; 3 steep miles up.

No words needed here.

Pools from flowing water up high in the mountains.

Here I go again. A face on the stick. And I think it's talking!

Catalina State Park wanderings at sunset.

Sunday, Mar. 7 - 112 mi
Headed south on I-10 went though Benson where we stopped for provisions. Very windy today on our drive through the sage plains near Tombstone. Arrived in Tombstone about 1pm to a lot of action on Main Street -- it was a “walkdown” for someone who had passed away. 

Seemed the entire town got dressed in their western garb and walked down the street, dogs and all. Toured the Bird Cage Theater all the way down to the basement (where the girls worked) and saw tons of relics. It was great. Had lunch at the Crystal Palace which I was told still has the original bar (and there is a bullet hole in it somewhere, tho I don't think I saw it). Wyatt Earp's Oriental Saloon was across the street, but of course today it sells trinkets. Walked all around (it’s a small place) but had to get back on the road about 3:30 for Bisbee. 

The Tombstone walkdown is a unique tradition that has been around since the Earps, Clantons and McLaurys. This is the way that the people of Tombstone offer a final tribute to friends who have died.

Inside the lobby of the Bird Cage Theater.

There were SO many things to look at in here I was in a tiz. But here's the inside. This is where it all happened.

Found this online about the Bird Cage Theater: Original is a magic word for hard-core fans of the Old West, and the Bird Cage Theater Museum is a pilgrimage destination because it is so very original. Built of cement, not wood, it survived the fires that burned everything else to the ground in Tombstone in the early 1880s. When it closed its doors in 1889, everything inside was left in place. The doors weren’t opened again until 1934, and when they were, Tombstone found itself with a perfect window into its past.

Doc Holliday used THIS Faro Table. That's what the sign says.

OK! I believe it.

The dusty "Black Mariah." According to one website: Black Mariah, Tombstone's horse-drawn hearse and the first vehicle with curved glass. "That's documented by the Ford Foundation," a guide said, and he estimated the Black Maria's value as "a little less than two million dollars."

Here is where the high rollers went for their ladies, $40. In the basement.

Bisbee

A weird, quiet little town, but then maybe that’s because it’s early March and late on a Sunday. Reminded me of Jerome, but weirder. Maybe if we go back sometime during an event I might change my mind. Stayed one night at the Shady Dell just past the Lavender pit mine. It’s an Airstream and trailer hotel; a recreation of the 50s, even down to the proprietor who must take her fashion tips from Lucy. They did a real nice job with memorabilia all around the property. She said the property actually was a trailer park in the 1920s. But best of all, we had cable TV to watch the Academy Awards! (Hurt Locker won best picture.) A severe weather warning was on, but all we got was some rain, being under 5,000 feet in elevation.

Built in the 1950s by the pride of Wichita Kansas, The Valentine Manufacturing Company, this authentic diner was originally purchased by John Hart in 1957 and delivered to the corner of Ventura and Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Los Angeles. The diner was transported by flatbed truck to the Shady Dell in November, 1996.

Very cool, and a very good breakfast.

Available for rent!

Now this is a silver bullet!

Here's why I think it's quiet:

Bisbee on a late Sunday afternoon.

And here's why I think it's weird:

Found this online about Bisbee’s Brewery Gulch:

Not long after the small town of Bisbee official became a town in 1880 with the establishment of a post office, German-Swiss immigrants to the town founded the first breweries on what became known as Brewery Gulch on Brewery Avenue.

With the richest combination copper and gold deposits ever found in the United States, Bisbee quickly grew to become the biggest and richest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. The combination of thousands of miners and ranch hands ignited a boom of “beer and brothels” in Brewery Gulch lasting until prohibition (and some say much longer). In 1889 the terminus of the railroad was finally extended to Bisbee allowing for the importation of cheaper beer from St. Louis and San Francisco forcing the closure of the last brewery on Gulch in that year.

Another interesting tidbit for history buffs: 
The Bisbee Deportation was the illegal deportation of about 1,300 striking mine workers, their supporters, and citizen bystanders by 2,000 vigilantes on July 12, 1917. The workers and others were kidnapped in the U.S. town of Bisbee and held at a local baseball park. They were then loaded onto cattle cars and transported 200 miles for 16 hours through the desert without food or water. The deportees were unloaded at Hermanas, New Mexico, without money or transportation, and warned not to return to Bisbee.

The Lavender Pit is a former open pit copper mine, located near the famous Copper Queen Mine. It opened in 1950, at the site of the earlier, higher-grade Sacramento Hill mine. It was mined for copper, with gold and silver as byproducts. Turquoise was also a by-product of this mining activity. Bisbee turquoise, also known as Bisbee Blue, is amongst the finest turquoise found anywhere in the world. Mining operations in the pit ended in 1974.

Monday, Mar. 8 - 311 miles
Had breakfast at Shady Dell's small diner before heading out. Drove through light rain in the most desolate region in the US, or so it seemed: Southeast Arizona. Not even an AM radio signal. Passed lots of Border Patrol vehicles. Here we stopped at a monument which marked  the location of Geronimo’s surrender in 1886, in Skeleton Canyon. Thus concluded the indian wars in the US it said. wow, pretty cool. I was wishing I could roam these pastures and ranches with my metal detector, but alas, that won't happen. The day got sunnier as we drove but it was still quite windy. We drove on not sure where we'd end up, but settled on a pretty empty Elephant Butte State Park, past Truth or Consequences, NM. "Windy as sh*t" say my notes… 49 degrees at 6:10 pm.

Southeast Arizona, the one you see on the TV Border Patrol shows.

Elephant Butte Lake

The author posing with the treasure from the Tucson art show

Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 200 miles

oops - snowy morning in Santa Fe

Still windy in the am, and 32 degrees, and Bill said two dogs had visited him in the morning then moved on. We had left the trailer on the car to get an early start in the am, which we did, aiming for Santa Fe. Beautiful day for a drive; we made a stop in Socorro for coffee. Another throw-back city, what year is it? 1964? Made a stop in Albuquerque at a stained glass store for more supplies. And to drive Bill nuts…. Arrived early to Santa Fe, about 1:30, for the purpose of getting the car serviced once again. Yey! This means shopping and dining in my favorite city! Weather is supposed to be going downhill now, and there’s a winter storm warning out there. Dinner at Maria’s. The nights are down to about 23 degrees.

Wednesday, Mar. 10 - 200 miles
In the 20s again this am and snow on the ground! Just an inch or so but slushy. Bill took the car in and came back with a rental for our day's adventure: shopping! Lunch at Guadalupe's, walking in the cold and snow, a drive way up Canyon Road, just basically wandering all over. Later we had dinner at Harry's Road House, driving back in a light snow, and got a RedBox movie.

Snow on the adobe. A lovely sight.

Snow on the Plaza. Also lovely.

 

Thursday, Mar. 11 - 200 miles
More snow on the ground, but again, barely an inch. 27 degrees at 6 m, and all's well. We will head back today, but waiting for a little melt before the drive. The drive home proved high and dry. Another great trip to blog about!

You might think we choose to stay at Santa Fe Skies RV Park for the sweeping vista, but....

This is the real reason: Professional hairdryers in the restroom!