Bisbee..........

Not too far from Tombstone is the quirky, artsy town of Bisbee. It, too, is an old mining town, famous for the copper mining, but even in its heydey seemed a bit more upscale. According to the displays in the Mining Museum, buyers went to New York a few times a year to make the newest styles available to the Bisbee residents. The area is just beautiful! Homes are built on the hillsides, as well as in the valley. There are many art galleries and restaurants to visit as well.

historic Bisbee

homes built into the hillside

Our first stop was the historic Bisbee Mining Museum, where we learned about copper mining and life in this mining town. Bisbee was quite an upscale town, and seemed like a great place to be in the late 1800's. Miners worked 8 hours and were treated fairly. They had enough time off to actually enjoy the area with their families. What a beautiful area too!

The Mining Museum

The volunteer working on this day was from Trenton, NJ! Small world for sure!

many uses for copper from the mines

samples of copper and other minerals found in the rich mines here

silver and gold

this was an upscale town!

That's amazing! Remember, there were no planes back then

working the mine

the mines here were very rich in copper, silver, and gold

seemed like a good place to work!

the miners wore "dog tags" made of copper so they could be identified if need be

some displays are from the Smithsonian

the mineral samples are gorgeous

beautiful!

there was a wall of displays showing all the items copper is used in....we would be lost without it

After our museum visit, we explored the Main Street of town. There were lots of shops, restaurants, art galleries and such, and we had fun just walking and window-shopping along the way. The buildings were all so interesting to look at too. They were all different, and most were very well maintained.

after exploring the museum, we explored the town a bit

excited to check out some shops and art galleries?????

this historic section is very well maintained

lovely quirky town!

the cupcake shoppe.....worthy of a visit later, don't you think?

everything seems to be a piece of art

close up

There are many stairs in Bisbee, as the town is built into the hillside. Each year, they host the "Bisbee 1000", where participants run up all 1000 steps around the town. (I can feel the burn just thinking about it)! I think the race is in October each year. Anyway, as you go up the stairs, you pass by private homes, many with cute or quirky backyards. We only went up one set of stairs, but there are many throughout the town.

there are many stairs in this hillside town-famous for the Bisbee 1000 (a footrace up the 1000 stairs in Bisbee!)

we walked up this set...there are many throughout the town

oh wait....I'm afraid of heights! I can't look back down yet!!!

ok...safe

The town is quite festive...spots of art are everywhere and adds to the charm of the town. Not only businesses, but private homes seem to exude an artsy feel. I think many of the residents are artists!

artwork everywhere...this is the Bisbee's Women's Club

close up

note the stairs between buildings!

text?

the stairs are public...anyone can go up and down them, and they pass through private homes with quirky backyards....fun!!

art work everywhere...check out the work on this building...the cars are blocking some of it

many historic homes

cool homes along the road

more

can you see the artwork in the retaining wall? It was beautiful in this setting

nice

one of the hotels along Main Street

this is Bisbee!

there's the "B"

fun little town to visit

heading back to Tucson...

We really enjoyed our fun afternoon in Bisbee and could have spent much more time here exploring. It looks like no one is on the road, but on the way back we were in a traffic jam for at least an hour!