Having said farewell and until next time to all of our RV’ing friends we are beginning the long trek back across the country on our way to Georgia. We are not rushing by any means, just a meandering trip. Our first stop is Benson, AZ where we are camping for a couple of days while we visit Bisbee and Tombstone.
There are several campgrounds in the Benson area and we have picked Valley Vista RV Resort. It has a pool, a hot tub, all the amenities of a good “resort.”
Look at this sky! Now where were these sky-on-fire sunsets when we were in Quartzsite with an unobstructed view? Hmm? We think Arizona has some of the most intensely colored sunsets and sunrises. Pictures do not do them justice.
We are visiting Bisbee and then Tombstone today. As we approach Bisbee, we are reminded of another Arizona mining town, Jerome, a favorite little town of ours to visit when we are in the Cottonwood Arizona area. Like Jerome, Bisbee is nestled in the hills close to the mining area.
Founded in 1880, Bisbee proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world. Numerous copper deposits helped Bisbee become known as the “Queen of the Copper Camps.”
At the edge of town there is a large open-pit mine. The minerals in the rock make the sides of the pit look purple. It is labeled the Lavender Pit. Well, that makes sense, it is purple.
Sometimes I can be such a girl. No, they didn’t name the pit Lavender because of the color, they named it Lavender in honor of the man who had a plan to mine the low-grade copper-bearing rock in a profitable manner. Oh. In addition to copper, the rock yielded silver, gold and some of the finest turquoise in the world.
Bisbee has a WWII hero monument for Tsgt. Arthur Benko, who was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Arizona with his parents. He was an electrician in the mining industry and an excellent marksman and National Rifle Champion. He volunteered to fight in WWII and was eventually deployed to the China-Burma-India theater. He is “officially” credited with 16 aerial victories and the top-scoring gunner in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. He was lost on a return flight from a bombing run when his plane went down. His remains were never found.
With thoughts of this war hero on our mind we make our way into Bisbee. Not a fan of strip mining and what it does to the land but understanding the need, I find myself considering the beauty of the underlying rock exposed. Unlike Pennsylvania, where the mineral sought is black, the minerals mined here are quite colorful as is the rock they reside in.
Much like Jerome, Bisbee, in spite of or because of the ebb and flow of mining and the small size of the town, seems to have an over abundance of artists. Unlike more humid and raining climates, the dry weather allows for outdoor displays artwork and paintings. Many of the narrow spaces between the buildings are used to display paintings.
Well, its pretty obvious that with John’s claustrophobia we will not be going down into the mine but we did explore the visitor center. It was too dark in there to take pictures but it was fun to look at the primitive tools used a 150 years ago and learn about the volume of rock they were able to process.
The rest of our morning in Bisbee is spent wandering through all of the artist shops. Last year Andy and Candy found me a metal figure of a male Gamble’s quail. This year I wanted to see if there was a matching female. Not only did I find the female, but I found some chicks as well. Now I have a whole family!
I’ll have to come up with a cool desert display.
