Bisbee: A Retrospective

I never cease to be amazed how quickly time flies.  For one thing, it's been too long since my last blog post, and I'm hoping to remedy that now that things have somewhat settled, at least for the next few weeks.  Between dealing with some time-wasting personal issues, I also had to spend time packing for my Bisbee departure and helping my mom before/during/after her surgery.  Limited computer/internet access then became the main issue.

Thanks to the wonderful services of the Pima Co. public library here in Cortaro and their free WiFi, I am all set to resume postings to my blog.  The upside of my lack of computer and internet time is that I've been spending lots of time and collecting new material.

This post is about a week later than I had intended, but I still wanted to post it anyway.

My winter spent in Bisbee was really a positive and memorable experience for me, and I was sad to leave.  I tried to experience as much of the essence and energy of the town as I could, and was pleased to have made some lasting friendships along the way.  My experience working as an innkeeper was "interesting", but it did keep me busy for a few months, which was good.

I took many photos of the area during my stay, most of which were not urban-based.  However, Bisbee is a very attractive and charming town, and I offer here a sampling of images of the town.  At some point, I'll post the rest to the Bisbee album in my Picasa gallery, which I started last year when I was out.

Snow in Bisbee

Residual snowclouds are seen to the west in this view taken from Castle Rock sometime in December.  Snow is already melted off of the south-facing slopes of the Mules.

Abandoned 

One of the many abandoned silver or copper mine shafts seen on the side of the hills surrounding Bisbee.

This one is located along an un-named trail I called the "traverse trail" as it traverses the side of the hills on the north side of the town.

A View of Main Street

Taken in the morning, this shows the architecture of the buildings, all of which are original but either maintained or restored since the town was built in 1880.

"The Iron Man"

Bisbee's tribute to the "virile" [actual word on the plaque] men who worked the mines in Bisbee.  This sculpture made me laugh every time I walked by it.  It's located on Tombstone Cyn Rd, the main road through Old Bisbee and about 1/4 mile down from The Jonquil.

A View of Old Bisbee

Taken from Hwy 80, that circumvents the main town to the south, the canyon and hillside layout of the town can be seen.  

"B" on the Mountain

Typical of many towns and cities in the west, Bisbee also has its initial on the hillside.  The view is to the  northeast and shows part of the area known as "Brewery Gulch".  Terraced areas are sites of previous homes that did not withstand the tests of time.

Staircase with Ivy.

No description of Bisbee would be complete without showing at least one of the dozens of concrete staircases that are scattered throughout the hillsides.  Many are public; some lead to private residences and many lead to nothing at all anymore.  This particular staircase is adjacent to the City Hall building and leads past some homes to a public park on the south side of town.

"Perfection Bread"

One of Bisbee's many wall murals, this one is clearly old and is maybe 100 meters up Tombstone Cyn. Rd. from the Jonquil.