GOT GOOIE LOUIED AT THE BBC IN BISBEE TO-DAY

I'M ABOUT TO GOOIE LOUIE MYSELF

We had some DVD's from the Bisbee library to take back before we leave soon so it was off to Bisbee we went this morning. Before we left I spent some time checking the motorhomes tire pressures, oil, trans fluid, radiator fluid, etc. Wanted to get that done early in the morning when the air is still cool & comfortable enough to do things like that. Grabbed a shower & we were westbound for Bisbee by 10. No Mexican back-packs along the way on Frontier road this morning. Got me a real nice fleece lined denim work jacket out the last backpack we found but feel bad for the fellow who lost it by suddenly having to shed his heavy load. If I knew who or where he was I would return the jacket to him but that's not likely to happen. LOOKS LIKE KELLY'S GOT SOME HEAVY READING AHEAD OF HER

First stop in Bisbee was a Thrift store & I actually made it in & out of there without spending my dollar. Next was Safeway for groceries & then off to the Bisbee Breakfast Club for lunch. That is one very busy place & we had to wait a few minutes for a seat. We had heard they have good burgs in there so I immediately went to that section of the menu. Just below the standard burg was something called a Gooie Louie so without further hesitation I knew anything with a name like that has got to be good. And so it was. Topped with mushrooms, onions, & Jim Bean's barb-e-que sauce it had a great flavor. It comes complete with home cut fries on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, & ucky pickles. I'm not a pickle person!! This was a great burg & lived up well to it's name. Two thumbs up for the BBC's Gooie Louie:)) Kelly had something called a Grilled Coffee Chicken Breast. Don't ask, I have no idea what the coffee has to do with it. She said it was really good & ate the whole darn thing all by herself. BISBEE'S CITY PARK

Next stop was the Library to return the DVDs. Really nice old stone & brick building right in the heart of downtown Bisbee. This is one great little town & the more you get around to see, the greater it gets. You have to drive the narrow hillside streets as well as walk them. Everytime we go there we discover new things. It's hard for me to find the right words to describe this town so if your in the area just go to Bisbee & take a few days to walk the town & it's cliffhanging back streets & alleys. Climb it's thousands of steps, & enjoy it's quaint little cafe's & shoppes. This town is a photographer's paradise. Everything is here. Architecture, color, ambience, nature, landscapes, old cars, characters of all description, flowers, trees, an abundance of old buildings, history, birds, etc. etc. etc. The absolutely rare Abyssinian Asscrather bird has even been seen here nesting in an old sleeping hippies beard. Art studios & crafts are everywhere. Of all the towns & cities I've seen in my lifetime I would have to say Bisbee is at the top of my list as far as interesting places to visit. If I was forced to live in a small town again I would choose Bisbee Arizona & if I was a talented young professional photographer I would definitely make Bisbee my home for awhile & absolutely photograph the complete heck out of the whole darn place. I LOVE THE BOLD COLORS IN THIS TOWN

Last week when we visited the Texas John Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas & forgot to mention something about the road leading to the ranch. It's called The Geronimo Trail & it was the inspiration for Stan Jones's 1948 country hit song, "Ghost Riders In The Sky." I have misplaced the literature but it was along this trail either during or after a thunderstorm that he was inspired to write the song. One of my favs & I have the Vaughn Monroe version in my music library.

Checkers let the chickens out to-day again................................. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

BISBEE & THE UNDERGROUND QUEEN MINE TOUR

ALL SUITED UP & READY TO GO

We had to get ourselves moving a little earlier than usual this morning because we wanted to have breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club before taking the Queen Mine tour at 10:30. A cloudless sky made for some heavy frost in the night but the weatherman tells us we're right on the doorstep of a healthy warming trend. That would be nice!! WE FINALLY MADE IT TO THE BISBEE BREAKFAST CLUB

It was a relaxing 25 minute drive to Bisbee despite the Border Patrol helicopter flying at tree top level on Frontier road with boots on the ground beating the shrubs for rabbits wearing sombreros. The land is flat here on the valley floor but we were soon into the foothills of the Mule mountains heading for the fascinating little alpine like town of colorful Bisbee. This is a town like no other and I must say that it is probably the most interesting little place I've ever been.

INSIDE THE BBC

We found the Bisbee Breakfast Club located in a very old part of Bisbee that we had not seen before. http://www.bisbeebreakfastclub.com/ It has one mainstreet & most of the stores are vacant. Looks like everybody just dropped everything & left one day many years ago & never came back. It's almost as if the town decided to move about a mile to the northwest on the other side of the big open pit Lavender mine where the heart of Bisbee now lives. It's nice that the Bisbee Breakfast Club is located in this 1940's section of town because that means lots of easy parking. Even so, there were a lot of cars on the street around the restaurant. We hear that people are lined up to get in on the week-ends. As soon as you walk into the BBC the open spaciousness, creative designs & warm breakfast smells make you feel at home. Didn't matter if they brought me a stone on a plate, I was still going to like it here. Breakfast was great & the staff was friendly. Be sure to have a look at to-day's web album because I even took a picture of my breakfast. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ AN OLD SECTION OF TOWN

We arrived at the Queen Mine building near an RV Park about 10 & got our tickets. $12 each. http://www.queenminetour.com/ The building is large with a big cozy fireplace in the corner. Lots of mining displays & exhibits here. About 10:20 we were all summoned up to a counter where we were outfitted with raincoats, mining helmets, and a battery pack with a light attached to it. There were about 40 people suited up for the tour. Lots of picture taking because we all looked like a bunch of yellow hard hat penguins or something. Outside the building everyone boarded a train like affair unlike any other train like affair I've ever seen. Pulled by a small orange iron engine of sorts it's 10 cars or so had to mounted much the same way as you mount a horse. You stepped up & swung a leg over a raised but cushioned board or something. Some folks raised their leg better than others, if ya know what I mean. Two ex-miners were our guide tours. The main fellow said his Grandfather & Father both worked this mine & he had worked here for 30 years before retiring in 93. ALL ABOARD FOR THE MINE TOUR

The Queen Mine goes straight into the mountain for 1500 feet unlike most other mines that would go straight down that distance. Temperature in there is about 48F at all times so we were all dressed warm. The guide might have told us his name but if he did I didn't hear him so from here on I'm going to call him Rocky. I will call his assistant, Stoner. Rocky & Stoner boarded the small orange engine & away we went bumping & rocking our way into the long dark mountain tunnel. First stop was at about the 300 foot mark where we all dis-embarked the straddling train & walked single file up a set of old wooden steps into a cavernous room. Reminded me right away of the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico & the Kartchner Caverns not far from here over near Benson. However there was a big difference. Those large caverns were made by Mother Nature & this small cavern we were standing in was made by man. Good thing we were all wearing miner's lights. Rocky explained all parts of the mining operations in this cavern & how it was done. He pointed out different mineral veins running through the rocks & an air shaft. Sparkling crystals could be seen in some of the rocks. So hard to believe that early miners only had candles to work with. WE WILL GO STRAIGHT IN THERE FOR 1500 FEET

Our next stop was at the end of the tunnel at the 1500 foot mark. Here we dis-embarked & Rocky led us on foot into another side tunnel while Stoner took off with the train to some unknown dark destination to turn it around. In this section of the mine were heavy iron cars used for hauling the tons of rocks. There were old elevators & chutes for dumping the rock into the small rail cars. A red car for hauling dynamite & a red emergency phone on the rock wall in case of disaster. 3 steel rock drills were set up & Rocky explained how they were used. He called one the widowmaker because of the dust it created which in turn entered the operators lungs, thus shortening his life. He also demonstrated how dynamite was packed into the drilled holes & how the fuses were all lit to set the dynamite off in a series of timed explosions. From the time the fuses were lit, the dynamite guy had a short 8 minutes to get himself over to the other side of Texas. Of particular interest was another steel car sitting nearby with two curious opened lids & two round holes on the top. Well wouldn't you know it......this was the miners toilet. A true dumper so to speak. Rocky said when this car was full it was pulled out of the mine by a "honey wagon" person & pumped out. Not a nice job in them days for sure!!!! THE MINER'S TOILET CAR

By the time we returned up the shaft, Stoner was back with the train. Everyone straddled up & away we went heading back for the outside world. Yes, yes, some people straddle better than others. We emerged about 5 minutes later out of the cooler dark mineshaft into the much warmer & brighter light of day. From there it was back into the miners building where everyone was helped out of their mining gear. All & all, it was a great tour & we enjoyed the hour long underground learning experience. ROCKY DEMONSTRATES THE LIGHTING OF DYNAMITE FUSES

From the mine we drove across the road & into the downtown section of Bisbee. We spent the next hour & a half walking & driving up & down & around the town trying to take in as much of this Bisbee experience as we could. For anyone interested in architecture, painting, photography, etc., this town is a must see for sure. Seems to be something here for everybody, especially if you are an arts type person. To see how the houses are built into & onto the hillsides is something else. The narrow little winding streets, the squeeze through alleys, and never ending stairways reaching for the sky just have to be seen to be appreciated. Multi-colored restored miners cabins, magnificent stone & brick buildings, stately Hotels, cozy bed & breakfast cottages, artsy cafe's, quaint shops, miner's museums, & the list just goes on & on & on. We even saw daffodils & pansies blooming to-day. I took another ka-zillion million pictures but I'm not going to include them in to-day's web album. Instead I will make up a separate web album with to-day's Bisbee pics & the one's from last week & put them all to-gether. I'm sure we'll be back to Bisbee a few more times before we depart the area next month & I will include future photos in one big Bisbee album so that they are all to-gether. I will start putting that album to-gether to-morrow. NO MAME YOU CAN'T KEEP THE MINER'S HELMET

We rolled out of Bisbee around 2 heading for the rig. Noticed a "For Sale" sign on a nice looking but abandoned ranch style house on the way back. Just for fun Kelly called the real estate number & got a recording. It said, "I'm up to my butt in alligators to-day but if you leave a message I'll call you back." She didn't leave a message but yep, we're out here in the old wild west alright where cowboys is cowboys & gators is gators. Butt grabbin gators that is...........................................................

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