Today we continued our adventure through southern Arizona, driving from Douglas to Bisbee to Tombstone and finally bedding down at the border town of Nogales.
Budget
Day's total: $204.58
Trip total: $1136.37
Highlights:
1) Bisbee
Tucked away in the Mule Mountains of southern Arizona, Bisbee got its start as a copper town in the 1880s and became one of the richest mineral sites of its time. By the early 1900s, it was the biggest town between San Francisco and St. Louis with a population over 20,000.
But in the 1970s the music died when the mines went dry—but as the miners left artists and hippies took over. They were drawn to Bisbee's weather, scenic location and Victorian buildings precariously perched on the hillside and filled with old west history and character. Saloons were turned into art galleries, performing arts spaces, cafes, book stores. The Smithsonian stepped in and built a first-class museum recounting the city's mining history.
I has heard about this artist's community and was looking forward to walking its streets but before we turned on main street we stopped to look at the enormous 5,000-feet Lavender Pit copper mine
We take some pictures and my husband gives the kids a lesson in mining through the interpretive signs. We've heard there's a great guided tour of the mines that take you underground but we know we'll be skipping it because both our time and budget are tight.
A stroll along Main Street lined with galleries, antique stores and cafes.
We drop by the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, with exhibits curated by the Smithsonian Institute, but we skip it because our budget is tight and it's lunch time. But if we were staying in Bisbee an extra day, we'd definitely check this out.
2) Poco, Bisbee
Walk into Poco, a vegan restaurant that occupies a skinny alley along Main Street and you're greeted by a burst of color.
Outside tables are covered in Mexican oil cloth and metal chairs are cherry red.
A musician strums on his guitar playing everything from Santana to Depeche Mode covers, with a country twang, and a little of his own stuff.
Who says vegan food isn't tasty? My kids can't get enough of this flavorful Mexican-inspired cuisine. My husband and I keep saying, "This food is too good to be vegan!"
Chipotle butternut squash soup with pepitos and cashew cheese. This soup has a strong kick!
Poco nachos with tofu cheese, and you'd never know it.
Fresh green salad made with a creamy chipotle dressing.
A few more photos of this cheerful restaurant...
3) Tombstone
Located in the middle of the parched southern Arizona desert with dramatic craggy mountain ranges in the distance, Tombstone is a place of cowboys and stage coaches, dusty roads and old west buildings. It has lent its name to dozens of movies from Sheriff of Tombstone (1941) to Tombstone (1993). And it was the site of America's most famous gun fight between Wyatt Earp and his brothers and some cowboys.
The town got its start in 1879 when a miner named Ed Schieffelin found silver and built a booming business that turned Tombstone into a booming city not anywhere near any major city. The town's population quickly grew to over 14,000. By 1881, the town was home to a bowling alley, 110 saloons, four churches, a school, three newspapers and some 3,400 ladies in waiting.
When the mines went dry in the mid-1880s, the town quickly died but today its 1500 inhabitants and people who are passionate about the romance of the old west are keeping it alive as a tourist attraction where you can watch a gun fight, buy a duster jacket or ride in a stage coach.
Everywhere you turn there's a cowboy in Tombstone...
There are many historical cowboy shows that you can catch in Tombstone and we decide on a reenactment of the infamous shootout at the OK Corral. This show is pricier at $10 a person (including kids) but we hear that it will give us a greater historical perspective on the town than some of the less expensive comic shows.
The infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place on October 26, 1881. The inevitable showdown between the Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday and a group of cowboys occurred after months of threats, romantic rivalries, stage robberies and arrests. I like the depiction because it's not given the Hollywood treatment and nobody is made to look like a hero. We learn that many of the books and movies about the O.K. Corral are inaccurate.
4) Best Western Sonora Inn & Suites, Nogales
Yikes, zebra stripes! The kids love the bright, fun decor at the Best Western in Nogales. What's more, the rooms are spacious and the beds comfy and covered in fluffy comforters.
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