What did we find in Bisbee, AZ?

A quirky Europanesque town on the side of a hill.

The Wanderer was parked overlooking the town on one side and the Queen Copper Mine on another side.

Located not far from the Mexico border, Bisbee was once a prosperous mining town that became a ghost town. In the 60's hippies moved in and, well some of them never left.

We found stairs, lots of them 

(Our running friends might want to check out the Bisbee 1000 race where the participants run a course that takes them up and down 1000 steps.)

and a vibrant art community with fine art, repurposed art, jewelry, graffiti and everything in between.

We found Bruce at the RV park.

 A self-described old hippie (age 77) from Minnesota, Bruce stays in Bisbee six months of the year. The other six months he says he lives in a nudist RV park in Minnesota.

Bruce told us about a jam session at the old Moore's Storefront on Monday evenings. Okay, we are on an adventure so we decided to check it out. Steve, the owner is not only a woodworking craftsman but also an artist. On Mondays he opens his shop for local musicians to hang out and jam. It was incredible! There were 25-30 musicians with a huge variety of instruments, some of which we had never seen.

 At the jam session we found Keith, who invited us to stop by his studio.

Keith (also known as The Blues Wizard) builds guitars using re-purposed items. He especially likes using vintage suitcases as they are made with wood. 

While we were in Keith's studio, a friend dropped in, the friend said he lives in a cave just on the edge of town (apparently that is not too unusual.)

 Captain explored the Historic Queen Copper Mine.

What else did we find?

Old Bisbee Brewing Company,

Best stout we have ever tasted, as smooth as a porter.

 a lot of support for "Bernie",

community information board,

 music from the locals almost every evening,

Bisbee Coffee Company and  Roaster,

Screaming Banshee Pizza (seated by the wood fired oven, Captain took notes on pizza making,)

and of course, a farmer’s market.

We found in Bisbee what we hoped to fine as we explore this diverse country of ours. We found folks that dance to the beat of a different drum. While we are not inclined to join the aging hippies permanently, we totally enjoyed our time here. 

Good-bye for now, Bisbee; we will return.

Today we will head north toward Tucson and none too soon. While we have enjoyed temperatures in the 60’s with plenty sunshine, the weather forecast for Monday is high 40° with a high wind and a snow blizzard warning.

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