Arizona - Bisbee

Touring day - we traveled through Huachuca City, Fort Huachuca which is a military base, Sierra Vista and onto Bisbee.

Tucked into the Mule Mountains is the historic town of Bisbee, Arizona.  It is surrounded by mountains and the claim to fame for this town was copper mining.  There is a mine tour that you can take but we chose not to.  We've been underground enough this trip!

that is a big B on the hillside



the terracing on this hillside was once covered with  tents housing 30,000 miners

We took a trolley tour which saved us a lot of walking up and down the streets.



the Bisbee Museum

narrow streets

lots of overhead power lines that detract from the view but...

steep streets

one of the many hotels in town

 

The trolley stopped at an overlook with a view of the Lavender Open Pit Mine.

 

 

 

Can you imagine the labor it took to dig out this hole.  It is 850 feet deep and 1 1/2 miles wide. 

 

We ate lunch at a little eclectic cafe that was recommended but what a mistake.  We ordered a special off the board.  Some kind of burger we thought was a local thing - Tempeh burger!  It sure didn't contain beef and when I looked it up on the Internet I found out it was a soy product!  YUCK!!!  We did however clean our plates because we were hungry.  Never again!  I will ask next time and make sure I know what we are getting. 

 

We took a faster way home from Bisbee via Tombstone.  We didn't stop in Tombstone as that was for another day.

 

 

 

 

 It seems like whichever direction you look there are mountain chains. 



Arizona - Tombstone Territories RV Park

We are encamped at a very nice RV park near Huachuca City, Arizona.  The altitude here is 4500 feet and we are having cooler weather as a result of Rocky, the snow storm that is dropping lots of snow on the panhandle of Texas and Kansas.  But if we wanted to have great weather all the time we would have to stay in one place and that just isn't us.  We like to explore different places and therefore we put up with whatever weather comes our way.

The campers next door have set out bird feeders and we are welcomed each morning by the various cheeps and chirps.

Lesser Green Throated Finch

Gila Woodpecker

White Crowned Sparrow

House Finch

Mourning Dove - lots of these

Black Throated Sparrow - this little guy looks mad!

Every once in awhile a hawk flies in and the birds scatter like crazy.  Apparently there is a javelina that makes its way into our area but we haven't seen him yet.

 

There was brownies and ice cream in the clubhouse last night followed by a fellow, Johnny Bencomo, who played 6 string, 12 string and 18 string guitars.  He played western music and had a great voice but it was the guitar playing that made the show.

At times he made that 18 string guitar sound like a harp.  And could this guy whistle.  He played and sang for two hours straight.  We were glad we took the opportunity and went over.

New Mexico to Arizona

We put on 245 miles today traveling between Las Cruces, New Mexico and Hauchuca City, Arizona.  Lots of flat areas with scrub brush and cactus and areas that warn you of dust storms with zero visibility.  We were fortunate to have mild winds from the southwest and no dust.  There always seems to be a haze in the air looking towards the mountains.


coming into a Border Patrol station - checking for illegals

and into Arizona



everything you need to make it on your own!

rocky area as we were coming into Benson, Arizona

lots of trucks on the road today



heading down to Benson, Arizona

another checkpoint and notice the blimp above the mountains

the blimps are part of the Border Patrol - we are very close to Mexico

 

New Mexico - Las Cruces

First priority this morning was getting the salt and grime washed off the car.  We got that done and an oil change to boot.
We had heard from camping friends about Old Mesilla so we went exploring. 

Basilica of San Albino

the plaza with street vendors and shops

one of the beautiful buildings surrounding the plaza

this older couple were serenading passersby with Mexican music

on the recommendation of a fellow camper we ate at the Double Eagle, a plaza landmark

Mesilla is a separate town from Las Cruces but you wouldn't know it other than for street signs.

New Mexico - Carlsbad Caverns

We camped north of Carlsbad at Brantley State Park for two days.  The wind was fierce the first day and it rained in the night so we thought the worst had passed.  It had not. 
We had a wonderful bright, sun shiny day for our visit to the Carlsbad Caverns.  Majestic, colossal, breathtaking, ethereal, these are just a few of the adjectives to describe the underground world of these caverns.  There are 30 miles of caverns explored to date but thank goodness the trails are paved and level for walking.  The caverns are lit with dim LED lights but the walkways have railings so it is easy going.



a stalactite dropping to reach a stalagmite



stalagmites being formed by dripping water



loved the hand rails

remnants of a wire ladder used by the original discoverers of the cave





a very large stalagmite




these formations are called draperies





immense spaces - the Big Room is the size of 14 football fields



I am dwarfed by the space





the King's Room - part of our guided tour





more draperies but they actually look a lot like strips of bacon!

The colors in the caverns are mainly grays of varying degrees like most rocks are.  Any color in our pictures is because of the LED lights or the camera itself. 
We spent 1 1/2 hours on a self guided tour, ate lunch and then went on a 1 1/2 hour guided tour.  It was a long day and we were glad to get back to the campsite.
There is no way with a picture that we could possibly show you the wonders or vastness of these caverns.  It is something that you will have to experience for yourself.

The wind howled and rocked us in the night.   By 9 the next morning we were able to get on the road even though there was a fairly stiff wind out of the west.  I don't like wind but we kept going and climbed our way to 8700 feet at Cloudcroft, New Mexico before descending to Alamogordo. 



first snow we have seen since March of 2012



thank goodness the sanders had been out but it made one heck of a mess on our car



 



coming up to a tunnel



and it was high enough for us to go through!

and we are out of the snow

  We stopped for gas in Alamogordo and carried on. 



coming down the mountain into Alamogordo, New Mexico



thank goodness for lower gears and good brakes :)



I thought it was more snow but it was the White Sands



we didn't stop this year as we had done the White Sands last year

 We headed ever westward to Las Cruces where we called it a day. 
We got our laundry done and tomorrow we head out to find a car wash to wash off all the salt and grime.