Our first RV trip of the new year! For a retired couple we sure do keep busy, or so it seems anyway. Every time a camping trip comes up, we look at our calendar and see if we can fit it in! Our RV Club had this short little trip to Tombstone and we barely had time for it, but we squeezed it in anyway as we really wanted to get away for a few days and hadn't for quite awhile.
The week before we left here the weather had been fantastic, in the low 80s and clear. Wouldn't you just know it, the week of our trip, everything changed completely - here and there! Temps dropped by 20 degrees and windy! Dang. Out came the Ugg boots and sweats to pack! Threw on the flannel sheets and comforter and packed the extra heater just in case. ;-). Bought extra soup and hot tea...I was covering my bases!
We hadn't packed up in quite awhile and I was just hoping I hadn't forgotten anything, but decided we had done this for so many years, "aw, we got this!". We had friends joining us that had just purchased their first RV that were really excited about making their first trip, that were going to caravan behind us. We gave them the "leave time" as we each had a specific check-in time at the campground due to their unique location (right downtown on the main street, so didn't want to block traffic). We calculated the drive to be 3.5 hrs. So, we were all set, ready to pull out...and waited, and waited, and 45 minutes later...we finally got on the road. Ok, it takes some people longer to do things...we made a note of that....
Tombstone greeted us with cold, blustery winds and low 50+ temps! To people who have lived in Surprise "year 'round" our bodies have adjusted to higher temps...that's COLD! Getting together...outside for Happy Hour was fun, sweet and short! Our Wagon Master, Cheryl was hoot, so full of energy, enthusiasm and even had goody bags for each of us. Of course there was more food than we could all eat, but that's what makes it great. We had 21 rigs plus 2 extra folks staying in hotels, so a total of 43 people at this rally! I probably knew only about 6 of those, so this was a whole new experience for us, and that was also true for most everyone else as well!
The following day Cheryl had several tours prescheduled for us to sign up for ahead of time. We had already been to Kartchner Caverns as well as the OK Corral several times, so we just decided to walk around town and browse. It turned out to be "First Friday" so many of the shops had extra stuff happening like music and food and wine, which was fun. We got to chat with a number of shopkeepers and folks and ended up really enjoying ourselves.
That evening Cheryl had arranged a group dinner at the Longhorn BBQ Restaurant for all of us which was fun too. Great food and good company. Our "instructions" were that we were to sit next to people we didn't know...well, that was easy! We met Mark & Lori who are both musicians and Mark plays the Sax at a number of locations around Surprise and Phoenix! Super fun couple and very interesting. They are only renting this year, but I do hope they return next year.
Saturday, we had signed up to do the Bisbee Copper Queen Mine Tour and the Bisbee Gin Tour. We didn't bring our Toad, but our neighbors, Jeff and Nancy volunteered to drive us as they were going as well. Both of these were new to us.
We'd been on mine tours before, but this one was quite different from the others. We first were gathered together for an overview of what to expect, then given our "gear" - a bright vest, a hanging flashlight and a protection helmet, then off we went to the "train" that would take us down, down, down into the mine itself. Our guide was very informative and knowledgeable about what miners in the early days and what they had to go through to mine the copper out - the long hours, the equipment they had to use, the lack of light, and air, the small wages (.25 a day), the loud noise the machines made, etc. He demonstrated many of the things he talked about, including how they had to drill or pound out the holes so they could blast the walls. It really made you appreciate your copper pipes and copper pans! The mine operated from 1915 until 1975 and was one of the most successful copper mines in North America until the price of copper just bottomed out.
We then went over to the Old Bisbee Brewing Company and met Brendon who is the Brew Master. You could tell he absolutely loves his job! It's a small beer distillery, making about 6 types of beers at a time, only serving them locally in Bisbee. They have a tasting cafe where you can buy it by the crowler or growlers to take home as well as their Bisbee Blue Gin. The Gin is actually sold in Phoenix and Scottsdale as well.
We tasted all his products and, as I am not a beer drinker, I found two of them quite good because they didn't really taste like beer to me! People who do like beer, found the other ones quite good as well. I'm not a gin drinker, so all I can say is that his gin, tasted like gin. I did see quite a number of bags leaving the tasting cafe, so many of our group liked his products! They also serve hot dogs, chips and popcorn - which many of us purchased and enjoyed. All in all, a delightful visit!
While we were hanging around Bisbee we had a few minutes to take a look around and I spotted a walkway between a couple of buildings that caught my eye, so walked over there. It turned out that all along the wall on one side and the fence on the other, people had hung (screwed in) art work! This went on for several blocks! It was really quite something to see. All sorts of art too. Fascinating. Also caught an old "ghost ad" on another wall, which are always fun to see.
The following morning was to be our group potluck breakfast. Since it was so very cold, Cheryl had scurried around and found us a building that we could use so we could be indoors! Such a sweetheart!
So off we went, bringing our goodies down the street, along with our folding chairs, to a great old building to have a marvelous big breakfast! All 40+ of us! After filling our tummies, we all shared who we were, where we came from, etc. and some stories about other rallies past and future to encourage the new folks to not only continue these trips but to consider being a Wagon Master themselves.
Later that day, Jack and I talked, and with the weather so cold and windy, and the fact that we had already seen Tombstone before, along with the fact that I needed to be at a luncheon at home by 11am the next morning...we would go ahead and leave later today rather than super early tomorrow. Turned out our friends felt the same way, so we all arranged to leave at 1pm and they would caravan out with us as well.
So, at 1pm we were ready to leave, and Jack walks over to help them back out...well...1:30 we finally got out of there. ;-).
It was a fun trip and I'm glad we went! So nice to meet so many new people and am looking forward to traveling again...where and when, we are not sure...but, that seems to be our "M.O." these days!
Back at home in Surprise....for now! Marie
...more pictures on my flickr account, if you like...
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