We were met today with traveling mercies that allowed us to reach the Queen Mine RV Park in Bisbee a little before 1 P.M. It's just as we remembered it: a large gravel circle with RVs of all types and sizes circled like pioneer wagons on the trail West. We're snuggled into Site 16, and we've put a cone in site 17 to save it for our buddy, Liz, who plans to arrive Tuesday. We've heard tell that the Drouin's will arrive tomorrow about 4 P.M. In the meantime, we'll settle into life as temporary Bisbee-ites. If we look out our back window, we can see into the depths of of the unbelievably giant hole in the ground that represents the remains of Bisbee's long history of copper, silver, and gold mining. The town, much more attractive than the scar it left behind, was founded in 1880 and named in honor of Judge Dewitt Bisbee, one of the backers of the adjacent Copper Queen Mine. The city charter was approved in 1902 and the city was incorporated. The newly appointed city council set to work on sorely needed improvements. By 1910, the population was over 25,000, and the city was considered the largest in the territory. In 1929, the county seat was moved to Bisbee from Tombstone where it remains to this day. The big hole outside our back window, the site of the Sacramento Pit Copper Mine is 435 ft deep. Some claim that Bisbee is a ghost town, and surely many a man died trying to find his fortune. But today, when we walked the streets a bit, we felt just the change tinkling into the local vendors pockets. For them and us, life is good, especially today.
In Bisbee, it's clear everyone dances to their own tune.
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