3/10/21 Three of us workampers went on a short excursion a couple of weeks ago to Bisbee, AZ. Bisbee is about 60 miles southwest of Benson and is situated near an old copper mine. Bisbee was originally a copper mining town and then was abandoned when the mine closed. Eventually, the town was occupied by “hippie” squatters, and is now a thriving art community with shops and tours of the mines. Bisbee is nestled in the hills and most of the houses require a long step climb to reach. I fell in love with this quaint little town and we spent most of the day walking around, browsing shops and talking to the locals. We bought olive oil, vinegar, and baked goods, along with honey and lots of fun things. I bought a “coloring book” to go along with the pencils I bought at Walmart.
Later, we decided to go to a restaurant in Lowell to have breakfast. Bisbee Breakfast Club is in Lowell, just outside Bisbee’s city limits. There was a 45 minute wait, so we put our name down and went for a walk along the main street to take some pics. The street was loaded with antique cars, trucks and even a Greyhound bus. I had a gas taking snaps of these old, rusty gems, and the 45 minute wait went quickly. This street had not changed since the ’40s and the stores were in mostly original condition. That was all there was to Lowell, this one street and the restaurant. I think the residential area was further in.
On the way back, we drove to the scenic view of the Lavender mine pit, an 850 ft. hole in the ground named after the owner of the mine. Wow! I’ve never seen a copper mine and at the bottom was some kind of black liquid that made for some interesting shots. The entire area was fenced in and there were peepholes in the fence to look through unobstructed. There was also a set of signs explaining the mine’s history and talk of it reopening. There was also a memorial and a plaque for Mr. Lavender. This was a great place to visit and I marked it off of my to do list.
p.s. I did go back with some friends later and they enjoyed the mine pit, too.
urbanvanconversion 