5-19-09 Tuesday (Toilet Plants)

This blog entry ended up being very long so I separated it into sections so if you’re not interested in a section, you can skip it:

Bisbee’s Charm:

On yesterday’s post, a couple of people commented on Bisbee’s “charm”.  Here’s some quirkiness: 

From the ghost tour, we learned that at it’s peak, Bisbee’s population was at 35,000.  Currently, per the guide, it’s at 1500.  The guide has lived here for 20 years.  Walking through old downtown we see that houses are built on terraces.  Much of old downtown Bisbee was built this way and therefore most people have to park at the base of a hill and walk up 30-100 steps to reach their home.  The guide joked that the UPS guy has a nice set of legs.  A Bisbee annual event is a 1,000 step climb.

In the mid-seventies, the copper mine shut down.  Bisbee attracted artists and hippies.  Most of the characters we’ve seen are eclectic hippy-types or the abstract artists.  That makes it quirky.

The people: We’ve seen people walking around that looked like characters in a wild west shoot-out show. Scruffy face, hat, boots, etc.  They were sitting in a bar, having a drink.  Strange.

During lunch yesterday, we watched a woman come all the way down a flight of steps, unlock a rickety gate, go into a junk area, over or into an altered van and then come out with a leopard print purse.  She climbed back up the steps.  Here’s that picture again:

That van, well, it looks like parts were welded atop it.  The story looks like she came here in that years ago, and retains it as a closet of sorts.  She wanted to switch out purses.  Bizarre.

We stopped at Safeway for a few things yesterday.  As we approached, a haggard long haired dirty bum looking man stood outside holding a metallic briefcase.  A woman, who looked “normal”, came off a bus in front of the store and seemed to know the man.  They walked up to one another and started to chit-chat.  I didn’t stick around to see what was going to happen.  The man was freaky.

We’ve driven to some of the houses in the hills.  They look like they’re going to slide down the mountain.  Many have porches that have rotted off.  Many roofs from houses below are street level above. A scary thought that someone could crash into the roof of your home.  Most wouldn’t be driving fast since the hill streets are narrow.  It’s 2 way traffic but only room for one.  If someone approaches in the opposite direction, one must move over.  Some of the homes are in good shape and colorful, but a large percentage makes me feel like I’m in some poor village in a 3rd world country.  That, makes it charming.

I Googled “freaks Bisbee” and found a conversation going on about the people and hippy life that is Bisbee.  It’s a review/rating. A resident hit it on the head.  It’s dead on weekdays but the weekends are party central.  The town wakes up.  The bars are bustling.

During the ghost tour, in the hills sat an illuminated peace sign.  It was cool.  I took 2-3 pictures but it never came out.  Maybe I’ll get a better photo this week.

Bisbee’s Unusual Weather:

In unrelated news, as usual, we’ve brought unseasonable weather here.  I know it’s been raining forever in parts of the country.  This weeks weather forecast is scattered thunderstorms.  We’ve been through a couple this week already.  It’s not been enough droplets to even make a puddle … so far.  What’s funny is that May is typically the lowest rainfall (per weather.com) of the year and yet we may have rain for 4-5 days in a row.  Strange.

Aggressive Dog Problem:

The owner of the RV park lives in Alaska, Michigan and here for 3 weeks (in an older C Class RV). The owner brought a friend here who has 2 Jack Russell’s. They’ve been crated up at the clubhouse all week long.  These poor dogs have been cooped up for too many hours a day.  A few times they’ve had to do their business in their crate along with running out of water.  I was going to say something to the campground owner about the way the dogs have been treated here.  Jim didn’t want me to cause trouble.  Luckily the staff told the owner that some patrons are concerned over the dog’s well being and that we had to give them water earlier.  I don’t know if that helped any but I felt better thinking it might get under control.  That was this past weekend. 

This morning I walked Dasher.  We were close to the clubhouse.  The Jack Russells were released from the side clubhouse door.  One charged right for Dasher and started biting at his back.  I yelled “no” and kicked at the dog.  The dog owner called the dogs back, yelled “sorry, one of them is very aggressive”.  No shit Sherlock.  If you remember, Jim had to kick off a dog a few months ago, now it was my turn.   Ironically, the 2 crates are under a sign about dogs needing to be on a leash.  Along with the dog owner, stood the campground owner.  What message does that give his guests?  David’s Oasis didn’t feel like much of one today.

Tombstone:

Today’s adventure took us to the historic city of Tombstone.  This seemed like the most authentic western town to date.  Old west characters walked around advertising venues.  A horse drawn stage coach gave tours.  The main street was dirt and closed off to automobiles.  The shops along the street sold old west trinkets and such.  The saloons were all in period decor.  Jim and I decided to look into a Bank of America on the main drag.  The teller windows were all period fixtures.  It was awesome that even the bank “played along”.

Above: The rain…

 

Above: The famous location of the Grand Hotel of the 1880’s.

 

Above: Stage Coach tour rides.

 

Above: We came here to see a comical gun fight.

 

Above: 3 of the 4 actors in the gun fight.

 

Above: More scenes.

 

Above: The picture doesn’t do the view justice.

 

Above: This was a historical tour as narrated by a ghost.

 

Above: We were told this stage coach is 100 years old and was used in TV and movies.

 

Above: Another view.

 

Above: We ate dinner here.

 

Above: The restaurant we ate at had a lot of history.

 

Above: Here’s the short history of Tombstone.

 

Above: The Tombstone phrase.

 

Above: The view of the main strip.

 

Above: Always stop and smell the roses (watch for bees).

 

Above: Landscaping suggestions.

  Above: We spotted this on the way to Bisbee last week.  We were able to stop by so I could snap a photo.  They’re living in a 5th wheel, and building something around 2 huge pods. What the ????