Southwest 2021-7: Southern Arizona: Patagonia, Bisbee, Douglas

March 6-7, 2021

Mural of Bisbee, Arizona, in downtown parking lot.

    It was time to give the van an oil change and a wash, so from Arivaca we headed north to Tucson.

Emory oaks cover the landscape all across this region.

A giant cow skull greets all at Arivaca Junction.

    Car care accomplished, we were heading for Patagonia when Doug noticed signs for San Xavier Mission, which dates back to the 1700s. Doug's book group read about the mission recently, so obviously he had to go see it. Unfortunately, due to Covid, we did not go inside but will on our next trip. 

Grotto Hill.

Front of San Xavier Mission Church, built in the late 1700s.

The plaza in front of the church features a labyrinth.

The campus includes a school...

...and administrative offices, once housed in this stone building.

Shortly after leaving San Xavier, we passed groves of pecan trees.

    Next destination, Patagonia, continuing the Argentina theme from the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge. We were underwhelmed by the town, but if the closed Visitors Center had had the walking pamphlet available among the others on its front porch, perhaps we would have walked the town. Marilyn did wonder when she saw the ad for the Duquesne House Inn on Duquesne Street. 

Duquesne House Inn.

Marilyn grew up near Pittsburgh, PA, and Duquesne to her meant Pittsburgh's Duquesne University, where she'd competed in swim meets in the horrid indoor four-lane pool, or Duquesne Light. Turns out two Western Pennsylvanians had been active in mining in the Patagoina area, one the founder of Patagonia, Rollin Richardson, and the other George Westinghouse, inventor of train air brakes and founder of Westinghouse Electric.

We didn't visit the inn, but its Southwest-themed interior looks quite inviting.

    From Patagonia it was on to Bisbee, which looked every bit the Old West mining town as we drove down into the valley in which it sits. That valley is actually at over 5,500 feet in the Mule Mountains. Like Ajo, AZ, which we'd visited earlier in our trip, Bisbee is a former copper mining town. Like Ajo, the history wasn't always pretty, and like Ajo, it has been revitalized by artists, tourism, and conservationism.

Looking up Main Street.

Bisbee is truly a charming town, and we thought we might like to return and stay in an AirBnB.

The Inn at Castle Rock.

Colorful homes dot the hillsides above downtown.

Art Deco Cochise County Courthouse, which Doug enjoyed seeing after reading J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady books, which take place in the area.

Carved reliefs of two miners over the front doors, which are made of copper, used also for the roof and throughout the building.

In the intersection in front of the courthouse stands the copper-plated "Iron Man," 1935, tribute to Bisbee's miners.

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Placard on side of post office. Arizona women had gained the right to vote seven years ahead of the 19th Amendment. 

Who knew that Arizona has a monsoon season? 

The former Copper Queen Mine sits on the south end of Bisbee.

The Lavender Pit was one of three large pits at the Copper Queen Mine.

Mounds of mine tailings remain.

The colors in the hills derive from the more than 300 minerals they contain.

Mine stamp mill used for crushing the ore. Note the size of the passing truck as compared to the mill.

Mine administration buildings.

Marilyn getting the picture below. She's too short for the upper viewing window and too tall for the lower, a not infrequent type of problem in the lives of "short" adults.

Cacti taking over the former mine pit.

    The 4.5-mile Bisbee 1000 the Great Stair Climb, begun in 1990, includes 9 staircases connected by winding roads. The stairways, built during the WPA, follow the mule paths of the town's mining days. The 1000 Craft Beer Festival takes place the same day, which much make for some interesting stair climbing....

Lengths of the 9 staircases of the Bisbee 1000. We did staircase 3, the longest.

The second time passing the alcove on Main Street that led to Stairway 3, Marilyn decided we should take it.

We climbed,

and climbed,

past homes and gardens,

and up to the top, for a total of 181 steps.

Then we enjoyed a nice stroll down the winding streets and paths,

past more homes with lovely gardens and patios,

and artwork like this entire wall, part memorial, part kitsch,

that included a sewing machine

and a bathroom,

past this amazing wisteria vine,

and on one level, a boules (bocce) area. The target ball is in the red circle; the large balls were at the other end.

    After two days in Bisbee we decided to go further south to the border and the town of Douglas, AZ.  

At the border, with Agua Prieta on the other side.

We were technically in Mexico,

but though we always carry our passports, we did not pass through border control, not wishing to encounter any problems due to Covid. 

   Then we turned north, destination in 900 miles Fort Collins, Colorado. We were keeping an eye on the weather as an "epic" snowstorm was in the forecast. Our first stop would be Silver City, New Mexico.