Young Snowbirds » arizona

Day 48 – Tombstone to Van Horn Texas

Rob — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:54:15 +0000

After spending three days in Tombstone, and visiting Bisbee, we pulled out of our Tombstone rv park and began our two day journey towards San Antonio, Texas. We’d be driving clear through New Mexico without stopping to see the sights. Darlene had registered for an HDR Photography course with Ben Willmore that was taking place in downtown San Antonio, so we had a deadline to meet. It was to be a long day behind the wheel with 9 hours of driving putting us 424 miles further east and south into Van Horn, Texas.

424 miles and 9 hours from Tombstone to Van Horn Texas

Thinking about a banner photograph for the top of the blog, I wanted to get some pictures of the motorhome on Freemont street in front of the OK Corral. We were leaving Tombstone for good, and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.

Turns out that next to the OK Corral was Tombstone City Hall.

We made our way back through Benson, backtracking a bit before heading east. Just as we made the turn onto the ramp for the freeway, we saw a simple looking, clean shaven and dressed, elderly hitchhiker. We quickly sized him up and stopped to offer a ride. He was carrying a sign labeled “Lordsburg.”

Read our travel tip about picking up hitchhikers in the rv for more about our guest, Ken the traveling missionary.

His destination was Lordsburg New Mexico, so after dropping him off, got some fuel. We pulled in tight behind another vehicle so that the pumps would reach our tank. After topping up for $2.39 a gallon (our cheapest yet), we found out that the guy in the truck in front of us had locked his keys inside. We had to wait 30 minutes for the locksmith to arrive before we could move on.

Next stop was Las Cruces where we made use of the clearly labeled Award Winning Rest Area. Dar spotted one huge roadrunner and went over to investigate. It’s over 15 feet tall and made completely out of garbage. Very odd.

photo by some random tourist Dar gave her camera to

After a short rest, we took off again for Texas, a short ride from Las Cruces. As we drove along, we realized how close we were getting to the Mexico border. Just before crossing into Texas we began to see cows in factory farms back to back to back. We actually stopped talking and got a bit emotional.

After seeing so many cows out in the fields enjoying the sun and the grass beneath their feet on our trip through Montana and Idaho, these factory farms made us very sad. It’s the first we’d seen.

We crossed over into Texas and headed towards El Paso where we’d stop for diner. We wanted to eat close to the Mexico border, so pulled off the freeway and turned West. When roads started getting weird and buildings suspect, we changed our minds. Finally finding a little place in a mall where we could park, we stopped for a very inexpensive meal costing less than $10 for the two of us.

We left El Paso and headed towards Van Horn.

Darlene had three RV parks she wanted to check out in Van Horn, so we plugged them into the GPS and headed further into Texas.

As we pulled into the first RV Park in Van Horn, we heard the train. It was right across the street. After our experience in Tucson at Whispering Palms, we decided to continue looking. Finally finding a KOA further away from the train, but costing nearly $40 for the night, we pulled in. After 424 miles and 9 hours of driving, we were tired and just wanted to sleep, whatever the cost.

Day 47 – Bisbee and Queen Mine Tour

Rob — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:08:26 +0000

Bisbee Arizona is a great little artist community about 30 minutes south east of Tombstone, 90 minutes from Tucson, famous for its copper mining and town built into the side of the Mule Mountains. It’s a lot like Prescott, Arizona and just as old. Historically, Bisbee came to be because of the Queen Mine, and everything surrounding the mining of gold and copper, however, when mining became less profitable in the 1970′s and the miners left, hippies invaded the town and brought it back to life.

Bisbee was once the biggest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, bustling with miners, shopkeepers and rollicking nightlife and even its own stock exchange (now a bar). Bisbee at it’s largest had a population of 20,000 people and has the Arizona’s oldest ball field and first ever golf course.

We walked down Bisbee’s winding streets, narrow passageways and climbed many of the stairs through the town(they have an event annually called 10,000 steps – a marathon of sorts). A drive later took us up to the top of a hill looking down over the town where we could see all the places we’d been earlier, including Brewery Gulch, which if I had know about earlier, would have investigated more thoroughly. I did however have opportunity to speak to the owner of a new micro brewery not yet open.

Hippies

I really get a kick out of the hippie invasion that took place back in the 70′s. When we visited Prescott in October of 2009, I was having a beer in the local saloon when to my luck, was sitting next to a couple in town for a Prescott reunion. I found out a lot about the history of Prescott including when “the hippies came” (as she said in a hushed voice and looking over her shoulder). Next she asked me “you’re not a hippie are you?”

I think of that exchange often and laugh. It’s like hippies are evil or something.

As for Bisbee, the town bumper sticker clearly states:

“Bisbee Arizona, a liberal oasis in a conservative desert”

They first showed up and began to restore a few stores on the main street back in 1970′s. Then more showed up, duplicating what had been started. Eventually (I’m told), the pot smoke was so thick, it literally rolled down the winding streets, wafting through town.

Some call them hippies, others call them “artistic free spirits”, but however you refer to them, they’ve restored Bisbee, call it home, and do their best to describe the history of the area to tourists.

Queen Mine Tour

Our first order of business was to go deep inside the earth at the old Queen Mine. We were each given an overcoat and a hard hat. A battery was strapped to us and a light attached to that. The temperature in the mine was about 50 F, so wearing our coats and a second coat, we looked like the stay puffed marshmallow man. As we stood there in our gear, looking through the museum, it was brought to our attention that the Bisbee mine had produced over 3 million ounces of gold and 8 BILLION pounds of copper along with many other minerals.

Going into the mine, we took an old mine train. We straddled a seat facing forward snuggled up next to the person ahead of us and was pulled inside one of the shafts along a track laid down many years ago.

Inside the mine we saw how the miners placed their charges, blowing up sections for new operations. We climbed sets of stairs into large caverns and saw where mules were kept, spending practically their entire life inside the mine. Born inside, their eyes became adjusted to the low lights. Once they couldn’t work any longer, they were taken out of the mine but had bags over their heads. Every few days, a slit would be cut into the bag allowing a little more light in, until they were adjusted. After a long life inside, they lived the remainder of their lives outside doing other duties.

Double seat toilet on a mine car used by miners

Of the few shots I took with our little camera, one was of the toilet system the miners used. A mine railway car had two holes on top where they would sit and do their business. Our tour guide said he could not confirm that two men ever used it at the same time, and that he certainly didn’t. The mine tour guides are all ex-miners, many of them from this very mine or another in the area, so they are well suited for the tour job. We learned that one man was assigned to toilet duties, removing the cars, cleaning them and returning them to the miners. I don’t want to say “shitty job”, but someone’s going to say it, so might as well be me.

The Queen Mine tour was about an hour and a half long and quite worth it. Of the little I knew about Bisbee, it was the mine tour that I knew most about prior to coming.

Touring Bisbee

Our visit was pretty basic. We left the Queen Mine and drove back to town. We pulled our car into the first space we found as we had heard that parking in Bisbee was a bit of a challenge. What we discovered was that we had chosen a spot on the very edge of town and our walking tour of Bisbee this day would take us from one end, clear through to the other.

As we walked, Dar photographed.

These two photos above are some of the many houses that are just abandoned up in the hill.

Dar talked to this photographer in town for quite a while. His prints were mostly Cibachromes (prints from slides) which was impressive.

Lunch at the High Desert Market and Cafe

We made it all the way through town and by 3:00 we were hungry. When asking some locals where to eat in Bisbee and requesting whole food or vegetarian options, it was the High Desert Market that came up.

All the way through town, like you’ve thought you made a mistake, you’ll see the Iron Man and the High Desert Market.

We continued walking, found the spot and had lunch. Because we both love food so much, we wanted to write an entire post about the High Desert Market and Cafe so that others wondering where to eat in Bisbee would have an answer.

After lunch, we walked back through town so we could get our car and take some shots from the roads high above Bisbee, then go photograph the Shady Dell RV Park that we’d heard so much about before returning for dinner (they only make one meal for dinner and you can have that, or something left over from lunch).

Bisbee Chocolate Shop

On our way, we walked along the opposite side of the street. One of the shops we found was a chocolate shop where they make their goods directly from the source. Chocolate is the only commercial operation in Arizona creating chocolate from the actual imported cacao beans. We stopped in, sampled some and bought some to take home. As we left the building, we saw them making the chocolate through the window in the side of the building.

The road we took was very narrow, and in most places wide enough for only a single car to make it through. Bisbee residents were quite adjusted to this and gave way, often times backing up to allow another a wider space to pass. Houses were built above the road and below the roads and we found ourselves saying “we could so live here.” Bisbee really is an interesting place to visit.

Tucked out of the way around one turn was a garage without a door. Inside was an old Chevrolet that begged to tell its story.

Classic Cars In Bisbee

click image to see full size HDR image

From above, we realized there was much more to see, and so we made our way to Brewery Gulch where the Stock Exchange and Bisbee Jail were located.

Bisbee Arizona RV Parks

bisbee arizona rv park shady dell

When Darlene was first looking online for RV parks in Bisbee, we still weren’t sure where we were going to stay. Dar wanted to stay in Bisbee, but I had never heard of the place, and was quite adamant that I wanted to live in Tombstone, so we scratched Bisbee off the list.

After visiting Bisbee, my attitude changed considerably. Tombstone has history, there’s no questioning that, but it’s a tourist town catering to people interested in the old west, the gunfight at the ok corral and everything Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. Tombstone is about saloons and stage coaches.

Bisbee, while offering incredible history, has better food, art and culture. Certainly more modern and offering better accommodations for the weary traveler which Tombstone does not. In one art store, Dar was asked “Where are you staying?” inquiring about where in town we were spending the night to which Dar replied “In Tombstone actually.”.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she replied.

And that is how it is.

We visited the Shady Dell RV Park because of a photo we saw of Dots Diner. The Diner is part of the vintage trailer park and Dar wanted to get some photos. We liked what we saw for sure, but weren’t able to get any specific info about RV’s parking there. Later we found that they do have RV hookups but mostly act as a “motel”. The other rv park in Bisbee is located in town, and called the Queen Mine RV Park. We didn’t actually see it.

I’m glad to be able to say that I lived in Tombstone, if even for 3 days, but next time, it would easily be Bisbee.

As for the RV Parks, we drove out past the mine location to Shady Dell RV Park which is technically a vintage trailer park with some RV hookups. For a trip back in time to the 1950′s, consider the Shady Dell. They were closed when we got there, so don’t have all the details about the RV Options, and after phoning them 3 times, have yet to be able to speak to anyone.

We made it back to the High Desert Market for diner, but it didn’t turn out how we expected (they were out of the advertised meal – so we had lunch items again, but equally as tasty). Then, a short drive later down Arizona 80 and past the lights of Sierra Vista, we were back in Tombstone. We decided to spend one more night at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon for our last evening in Arizona.

Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.

High Desert Market and Cafe Bisbee

Rob — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:35:51 +0000

With a diversity of dining options, deciding where to eat in Bisbee can be a daunting task. Dar and I both wanted to know where the locals eat in Bisbee. Before we came, we had already chosen Café Roca, but found that it was closed for renovations. There were other choices on the main street, and they looked like healthy choices, but our attention was drawn to a place called the High Desert Market and Café at the very end of town by the Iron Man statue.

We asked about whole food options, and knowing that hippies liked to eat good food asked about “vegetarian options in Bisbee“. That was the best way to describe whole foods to the lay person. As Dar and I both agree, vegetarians make some of the best foods.

Go all the way through town. You’ll begin to feel like you’ve missed it completely and then it’ll show up on your right hand side by the Iron Man statue.

… we were told.

And that’s exactly how it was.

High Desert Market and Café

The High Desert Market and Café offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, open from 7 am through 7 pm, and they mean it.

Imported cheeses, olives, pates, chocolates, beers and wine including locally producers, locally grown produce and even fine soaps, linens, local crafts, pottery from Mexico, Spain and France.

We walked in and looked through our meal options. We could have a selection for lunch, but diner was exactly as they had prepared and there was only one option. Interesting concept, prepare one meal and make it a really good one.

We selected our food choices and were told to sit as they’d bring our meals to us. Off the top of my head, I asked if they had any Kombucha tea. Where did that question come from. Very odd for me to have asked. “Yes, of course… bottled or locally brewed?” I was asked. Local of course. I was directed to the next room.

Smoothie, Juice and Espresso Bar

The smoothie, juice and espresso bar offers your various freshly blended or juiced vegetables and fruits, coffee’s and even Kombucha in 4 oz shots.

Look at the selection available.

I had some local Bisbee Kombucha tea and ordered a juice.

We sat and waited for our meals which were awesome and when asking about the bill, were told to just go to the teller and tell them what we had. Are you serious? Now that’s trust and we were all for it. We simply walked to the cash register and told them what we had and they rang it in there.

Diner Menu at High Desert Market and Café

After the fantastic lunch and then seeing what was on the menu for diner, we chose to come back. We were already very happy with the quality of food and wanted more. Just as we do, the High Desert Market prepares their meal plans a week in advance. You can see their weekly meal plans online at their website.

Diner was available at 4 PM and they close at 7, so we decided on a reasonable 6 PM arrival, leaving plenty of time to eat before they closed.

We continued our tour of Bisbee and went out to get some photos of Shady Dell RV Park before returning.

They were sold out.

We Learned To Make A Reservation

What we learned was that the High Desert Market is where the locals eat in Bisbee. They seem to favor it and reserve a meal in advance. Not only do they only prepare one meal option for diner, they only prepare so much of it. It got more interesting.

We looked through what was available, made our choices and waited for our food. It was fantastic.

Over diner, Dar’s lens caught the attention of a couple next to us and a conversation ensued. When finished with them, it picked up again with the fellow at the next table – a photographer himself, in from Sierra Vista. Among the photography discussion, I asked him what he was doing in Bisbee for diner? It was a quick drive he said, and the food’s excellent. It’s one of his favorite places to eat.

We agreed.

Where to eat in Bisbee indeed! We chose the High Desert Market and Café for it’s whole food options and local produce. We like to support those who support local farmers. The locals like the café and it’s a little out of Bisbee’s main street bustle. We liked it a lot and will return when we visit again. This time making a reservation.

Shady Dell RV Park In Bisbee Arizona

Rob — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:42:22 +0000

We had heard about the Shady Dell RV Park in Bisbee Arizona after seeing photos of Dots Diner, the vintage 50′s diner located right next to the RV Park. It’s pretty hard to miss the fact that Shady Dell is filled with vintage trailers from the 1950′s and that there’s vintage everything in the park. The telephone booth, the trailers, the pop dispensers, gas pump and everything else on site.

The Shady Dell is first and foremost a trailer park that functions much like a motel would. You can rent any one of their 11 vintage trailers by the day or by the week. We got there late and weren’t able to speak to anyone about their RV park pricing but understand that they do have a few full service hookups available.

Dar wanted the photos:

Dots Diner at Shady Dell RV Park Bisbee Arizona (Click image)

Dar and I both loved Bisbee. Without a doubt, the next time we go, we’ll be sure to visit Dots Diner for a burger and fries. When you’re in town, be sure to look them up and stop by.

Dar also experimented a little with the truck they have there at Shady Dell. She did a long exposure while allowing the camera to pivot on the tripod.

Contacting The Shady Dell

Contact the RV Park in Bisbee for trailer availability, RV spots and pricing at The Shady Dell.

Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.

Day 46 – Gunfight At The OK Corral

Rob — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:22:42 +0000

After a night of karaoke at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon on the main strip of Tombstone the night before, we took the opportunity to sleep in a few hours. We wanted to make sure we saw the gunfight at the OK Corral and the Tombstone Epitaph. We had been told that when visiting Tombstone, we should plan a few days to see all of it, but we only had a single day, so we had better make the best of it.

Our first order of business was to get tickets to see the Gunfight at the OK Corral, after which, we could then wander down main street to the far end, working our way back to the corral. As I had mentioned yesterday, our first night in Tombstone, the OK Corral was quite literally a block from where we parked our RV. Stagecoaches run tourists around town, to the various attractions, and offer tours as well. Our RV Park owner informed us quite specifically to take one color coach, and not the other (I dont remember which – sorry). Another example of Tombstone politics.

As we walked down the boardwalk, crossing intersections, gunfighters dressed in period costume beckoned us towards their specific attraction, all guaranteeing the “best gunfight in Tombstone”. Hard to say who to believe, but as we’d been to the Six Gun Saloon the night before, we thought we’d visit them first.

Caesar the Tombstone Biker Bird

We wandered past the Crystal Palace Saloon where we met up with Caesar the Tombstone Biker Bird and his owner Paul. I would have sworn that I had seen a motorcycle heading out of Tombstone earlier, with a parrot on the guy’s shoulder, and I was right.

Tombstone Biker Bird

I learned that Paul, who runs a motorcycle patches shop called Dreamwalkers, is also known as the Birdman of Tombstone and is a bit of a local celebrity. I took the opportunity to speak with him about his motorcycle riding parrot, the Tombstone Biker Bird, in this little video.

Gunfight at the Six Gun Saloon

The Six Gun Saloon was quite a different story in the daylight. The big doors on the far side of the saloon were all open, showing off the set where the gunfights were to take place, and the bar was full to capacity. Was it too early for a margarita? We thought not, and for $2 each, we ordered a couple.

The Six Gun Saloon puts on a great show, if I do say so myself. The actors were all mike’d up so we could hear the discussions between them. They played out the various stories from the town and between gunfights, the narrator explained how events unfolded. It really was good for understanding the history of this town.

Gunfights of Tombstone

We left through a side door onto the street with the intention of grabbing a quick tour of Tombstone on the trolley before catching the “official” gunfight at the OK Corral. Best as I can tell, there are three different gunfights.

Six Gun Saloon
Helldorado Town
OK Corral

The Six Gun Saloon gunfight does its best to explain various portions of the events surrounding October 26, 1881. I say the “events surrounding” that date, because the actors tell the story of events leading up to the gunfight, the actual gunfight and then events that took place in the days and weeks later as a result of that afternoon. Six Gun Saloon gunfight costs a small $5 entrance fee, and the actors ask for tips when they’re done. Quite educational.

The Helldorado Town gunfight is one we didn’t see, but were told that it was more of a comedy type of gunfight and is supposedly the best one of them all. I think that depends on what sort of entertainment you’re looking for, factual or just pure fun. As I recall, Helldorado cost a bit more, and if memory serves, it was $10 to $12, but included a bunch of other things with it. If you find out, please let me know in the comments so I can correct this.

Then there’s the official gunfight at the OK Corral. $10 each, but includes entrance into the corral, the Historama, the museum buildings next to the gunfight sight and a special commemorative version of the Tombstone Epitaph, the local paper, with headlines and story describing the events that took place that day in 1881.

We already had our tickets for this one, but we wanted to squeak in a quick tour before seeing it.

Tombstone Trolley Tour

The trolley was $10 for two, but with our ticket stubs from the Six Gun Saloon, we saved $2. As he took us through town describing the various places, he made it a point to select a very specific set of other businesses and bring them to our attention. Either that they had the best food, or to save our trolley ticket as it would save us money on one of their services too. It didn’t take us long to begin putting things together, and realize that depending on who you talked to, and where you talked to them, they’d say one business was better than the other, or to direct you to a specific place.

Dar here: the trolley guy actually mentioned a motel that his mother owned and a cafe in it I think. That sort of referral stuff went on a lot is what Rob’s referencing.

It became so frequent and so obvious to us, that I started to refer to it as Tombstone Politics. I was to learn more about this later.

The trolley begins and returns to its starting location at the corner of Toughnut and 4th, right across the street from the Big Iron Shooting Gallery and the Rose Tree Inn Museum. You can shoot off a few rounds yourself in the Shooting Gallery and then see the worlds largest rose tree. We toured Tombstone, learning about the courthouse, the hanging tree, the haunted places and ended up at Boot Hill even. They’d drop us off if we wanted, and then pick us up on the next tour, but we had a gunfight to see, so opted out for the time being.

As we exited the trolley and headed towards the OK Corral, I noticed a couple of motorcycles on the side of the street. Very innocent looking to the average person, but having seen both The Long Way Round and The Long Way Down, round the world motorcycle trip excursions by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman, they caught my eye.

In 2004, Charlie and Ewan set of on a 19,000 mile trip from London to New York by motorcycle, taking… well, the Long Way Round. Taking three and a half months to complete, they drove through Europe, Asia and Alaska before driving through Calgary Alberta, into the US and then straight across to New York

In 2007, they decided to do another one, but this time from the northern tip of Ireland to the southern tip of Africa, hence the name Long Way Down.

I’ve seen both of these documentaries and encourage you to rent them from your local video place, or find them online as they’re an excellent way to understand a journey of this nature.

Seeing literally hours of footage of the boys, these two motorcycles I now saw parked innocently on the side of a Tombstone street set off flags for me.

taken by Rob

It was them!

They were doing it again. This time they were calling it East to West and they were obviously going to be spending more time in the US seeing sights here as well. I thought of blowing off the gunfight at the OK Corral and instead setting off on a mission to find the lads, when I realized that they too could be booked into the same time slot we were for the gunfight.

I couldn’t expect to stop what I was doing to search them out, and as I believe in the powerful power of intention, I set one in regards to finding them and left it to the Universe. How was not important, only the “what”.

Gunfight at the OK Corral

As we lined up for the entrance to the stage area, we filed past life sized replicas of Doc Holliday, Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt Earp facing off with the Clantons, the McLaury’s and Billy Claiborne. Great positioning of the replicas because it shows how close they really were to each other. In what took about 24 seconds, the gunfighters who were between five and ten feet apart, open fired on each other leaving three dead, three wounded and one to run away.

The show started, and through it all, I kept an eye out for Charlie and Ewan. After a very good display of storytelling, we were invited to the original Oriental Saloon, across the street from the Tombstone Epitaph, later in the day for lessons in Faro, by Doc Holliday himself (photo above). Faro is the game of cards that was played in the old west and one which caused Doc to be run out of town (several different towns actually) on more than one occasion (several different towns actually).

Our vantage point in the bleachers offered very few opportunities for good photographs of the action, and the shooting was over too quickly for Dar to capture the action.

C.S. Fly Photography

Leaving the stage area, we toured C.S. Fly Photography studio where Big Nose Kate and Camillus Sydney Fly, the only known witnesses to the shootout, hunkered down. C.S. Fly, or “Buck” as he liked to be called, was known for the many photographs he took of the Tombstone area during that time, and more notably for taking the only know photographs of the Apache, Geronimo, as a free man. He’s also known for his photograph of Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton in their caskets before being interred at Boot Hill Cemetery, west of town.

If you like photography, then make sure you spend the extra time to tour the C.S. Fly studios there on the property.

OK Corral Blacksmith

Tucked away in the far corner of the property is a working blacksmith shop. I ventured over for a look and met Grizz Mace, the OK Corral Blacksmith. We talked for over 30 minutes as he made a few items in his forge and Darlene photographed him. He’s new to Tombstone, but worked as the blacksmith at the Ponderosa previously, and now both of his boys are blacksmithing too.

I though I’d dedicate an entire page on this blog to him, so check out the OK Corral Blacksmith and video too.

Grizz can repair any of the items or implements in the Corral, or make anything they need if required. While not working on Corral specific jobs, he’s creating items to sell to folks who wander by. While we were there, he made a steak flipper in front of us, but other items are available as well.

We eventually made our way out of the OK Corral property and Dar wanted to shop. I remembered someone telling me that the whiskey that Doc Holliday drank was available at the Crystal Palace Saloon, so I made my way there, telling Dar to meet me when she was done.

Old Overholt Whisky

It’s called Old Overholt and it’s been distilled since 1810 by Jim Beam in Clermont Kentucky. Doc Holliday is said to have drunk this stuff, and from what I had been told, was only available in one place. Pretty exclusive for Tombstone, so had to go there to sample a shot. Well I did, and got some video drinking Doc Holliday’s whisky at the Crystal Palace Saloon.

Take a moment to watch the video inside the Crystal Saloon. Let me know what you think.

Dar eventually caught up with me, and we had one of the burgers we heard had rated as “fair” and it was plenty fine. Maybe it was the whisky?

Politics play a big role in Tombstone, and whiskey isn’t the least of it. Maybe we’re just more aware of what’s going on in the town, but it seems pretty blatant if you ask me.

I thought I’d write up a little piece about the politics of Tombstone for your information.

Tombstone Epitaph

The next natural progression was a tour of the Tombstone Epitaph, the local newspaper, founded in 1880 by John Philip Clum. One of the first writers for the paper was Bucky O’Niell who I’ve mentioned previously in our adventures from the Grand Canyon.

Not a lot to see at the Epitaph, other than historical printing presses and such.

However, once leaving the building, we noticed that Doc Holliday from the gunfight was opening up the door to the Oriental Saloon across the street and ushering in a few people.

We scooted over and joined them.

Over the next hour (at least), Doc Holliday taught a few players including Dar, how to play the game of Faro. Not only did he show how to play it, but how to catch the dealer cheating at it (which was always, and the usual reason why Doc was run out of so many towns by angry mobs). While he taught the game, he regaled Doc’s history through dentistry school, his time in Texas, coming to Arizona and his eventually alleged death.

Fascinating to say the least. And I mean the cards, the cheating AND Doc’s history.

If anyone from the OK Corral corporation is reading this, let it be know that whomever is playing the part of Doc Holliday does a fantastic job at it. It’s with ease that we can say that one of our best experiences in Tombstone was our interaction with this man.

It was late. We headed back to our motorhome at Stampede RV Park to get the car so we could head up to Boot Hill ourselves.

Boot Hill Cemetery

With minutes before closing (yes, the cemetery closes), we headed out to Boot Hill to see what was there. The victims from the gunfight at the OK Corral were buried there (C.S. Fly took the only photo of the boys in their caskets you know), along with a few other notables. I’m still trying to figure out how the cemetery became privatized and are able to charge an admission. We had 5 minutes till close. We could “browse” Boot Hill, but when we heard the bell, we’d have to leave. Dar got some quick shots, but nothing worth sharing, while I ran around seeing what I could see.

The best photo’s came when we left the property.

Just off the entrance was a fantastic old hearse that seemed to catch the light just right as the cars drove past on the highway.

This is more of that HDR Photography that Dar has been experimenting with. It’s working out as far as I’m concerned.

Dar here again: this one’s actually not HDR, sorry Rob. I learned this new little layering technique from Ben Willmore at his workshop in San Antonio and it applied perfectly to this series of images. I combined about 5-6 images into each of the shots above, to get the final image.

She wanted to end the night with some homework for a course she was taking and I thought I’d spend some time back at Big Nose Kate’s.

By the time I got there at 9:00 Saturday night, they were closing up shop for lack of business. I moseyed over to the Crystal Palace Saloon, where there was a live band, and had a few more Overholt, washed down with beer, just as it was hundreds of years ago. A full day in Tombstone it was indeed. Tomorrow – Bisbee.

Epilogue: as it turns out, the motorcycles I had seen with the East to West website address were in fact NOT Ewan and Charlie, but rather a couple of other blokes raising awareness for Dalit Children of India. While I was at the Crystal Palace Saloon (which had free wi-fi), I looked them up on my blackberry. Turns out their time in the US was paralleling ours and they had been to the same places as us. Very surreal. Have a look at their around the world motorcycle travel blog as well. I’ve got their website as a permanent tab in Firefox and check in on them every day.

Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.

Doc Holliday Drank Old Overholt Whisky

Rob — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:15:39 +0000

Old Overholt whisky has been distilled since 1810 at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. During our RV travel adventure in Tombstone Arizona, we learned that Doc Holliday drank Old Overholt whisky at the Crystal Palace Saloon. Being one to fully experience history, I had to saddle up to the bar and have a shot.

Tombstone Related Video

Tombstone Biker Bird – Learn about the parrot that rides around Tombstone on the shoulder of his owner.
OK Corral Blacksmith – see and virtually smell inside a working blacksmith shop at the OK Corral. Only one man can call himself the OK Corral Blacksmith, and that man is Grizz Mace.

Day 45 – Parking Our RV In Tombstone Arizona

Rob — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:47:07 +0000

Tombstone Arizona was next on our list of places to visit. After three nights listening to trains go by while we tried to sleep in Whispering Palms RV Park, we unhooked our utilities, stored the RV legs and loaded up the toad. I’ve always wanted to be able to say I lived in Tombstone, so we had pre-booked an RV park for three full days of sight seeing. Famous for it’s gunfight at the OK Corral, Tombstone was home to lawmen Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the law breakers Frank and Tom McLaury, Ike and Billy Clanton. October 26, 1881 was a day that would go down in history.

Tucson to Tombstone is a short 2 hour drive, so we took the opportunity to stop at the Colossal Cave Mountain Park on the way past. For the most part, the mountain park is located on the east side of Tucson, out past the Pima Air and Space Museum.

Colossal Cave Mountain Park

They found the cave entrance in 1879. It was first used by Hohokam Indians about 1100 years ago, but then “rediscovered” by Solomon Lick in 1879. Original tours of the cave began for a brief time in 1917. Then in 1923, Frank Schmidt reopened the Cave for tours, which have run continuously (even, on a limited basis, during the 1930s while the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the flagstone bridges and trails and installed the lighting) since then. Colossal Cave is one of the oldest established tourist attractions in Arizona. It cost $5 to enter the park and then $11 each to go inside the cave itself.

As we had 45 minutes to wait until the next tour, I got to talking with our guide. It was cold in Tucson today and Dar and I were both wearing jackets. Our guide however was wearing shorts and a vest. Not really suited for the day outside, but inside however was another story. Inside the cave it’s like summer, a balmy 70F or 21 degrees Celcius.

Colossal Cave map and temperature

Inside the cave, your standard stalagmites and stalactites. First time I’d ever been in this type of cave. Very cool actually.

Great Salsa at Magaly's in Benson

We stopped in Benson at a little place called Magaly’s Mexican Food for lunch / mid afternoon meal and were pleased to find some of the best salsa of our trip so far. Our waiter grew up in Chicago, moved to Mexico City and then Los Angeles. After living in very large cities, he moved to the small town of Benson, population ~5000, to raise his three daughters. I told him that this was in the Top 2 of salsa we’ve had so far and he said “well, you’re pretty close to the Mexican border!”

Thirty more miles and we pulled into Tombstone RV Park.

Then we left.

After registering and pulling into our spot, we were on a slope and didn’t have full services. We had water and electrical, but no sewage. We tried to get the free wifi but couldn’t find a signal.

We drove into Tombstone, about a mile up the road and saw Stampede RV Park a block off the main strip. We inquired and they had room. We said we’d be right back.

Tombstone RV Park offered a refund when we told them we were going to be moving to another park closer to town. Even though they offered some sort of free shuttle, they were further away than we would have liked. I wanted to be able to say that we “lived” in Tombstone for a few days, you know?

Stampede RV Park in Tombstone was 2 blocks from Big Nose Kate’s Saloon and 3 from the Crystal Palace Saloon, easy walking distance for sure. We pulled in, put down the legs, leveled out and walked into town.

First Night In Tombstone Arizona

Dar said “lets take 30 minutes and walk down the drag”. Ya right. A photographer loose in Tombstone with a camera is not going to be just “30 minutes.”

We walked past the Ok Corral (closed for the night and quite literally a block from our RV park), down the boardwalk to the next corner. We stopped and got our bearings, looking up and down each street at the corner. The nice man in the cowboy hat and boots offered a smile and some history.

Oh, and he was packing.

I found it fitting that someone in Tombstone actually wore a real gun with their hat. We asked if we could take a picture. He said “Lets make it official then” and took of his coat. He was wearing a Marshall’s badge. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the hammer was cocked on his weapon.

See how the hammer is cocked on that six shooter?

Walking down the street, we saw more of this historic town of the old west. We thought of all the history, the gunfights, the deaths and I remembered that Bucky O’Niell had gotten one of his first editing jobs working for the Tombstone Epitaph. Bucky O’Niell was the guy who had the first building on the edge of the Grand Canyon, remember?

The Longhorn restaurant. We were told to eat here AND stay away from it at the same time. Who do you believe? The Longhorn became our first taste of Tombstone politics.

Sign on one of the business establishments

We continued down the street to the Bird Cage Theater and Saloon. It’s haunted we’re told, so went in to take a look around. A very nice lady (in period costume) was explaining the history of the place. A fee was charged to go any further inside, which we didn’t want to do at the time. We left.

Walking past the Six Gun Saloon, we noted a sign for $2 margarita’s and popped in for a drink. Part saloon and part gunfight show, the Six Gun Saloon has a mock up of Tombstone in an open area behind a covered bar. With multiple shows during the day, they tell the various stories of the events that took place in Tombstone back in the 1890’s. By night, the locals come in for beverages, including the Marshall from earlier.

It was the Six Gun Saloon where we first began our experience with Tombstone politics. There are two parts to the saloon. One area, closed and covered, looks to be the oldest part of the building while the new part with the outdoor stage, saloon and roll up garage doors being the newest and catering more to the influx of tourism. The bar was dead, save for a few locals and a couple of kids. I asked our waitress what it was like to work in Tombstone and her answer was not what we expected. At the present moment, she was dealing with a couple of clients from hell in the next building. From her attitude around us, it was easy to see that she had created the situation, attracting it herself. She lived in Sierra Vista she told us, not Tombstone and she simply was not having a good night.

The Marshal offered some advice about where to eat. Stay away from the Longhorn and favor the Crystal Palace for food. Oh, and of course, the Six Gun Saloon had great burgers too. We had heard earlier that the Longhorn had an award winning chef, but the Marshall informed us that it was like the Denny’s of Tombstone. Good advice we thought. We were to find out that this might not be the case at all. Again… our first experience with the politics of Tombstone.

Big Nose Kate’s Saloon

One $2 margarita and we headed back the other side of the street to our RV park. Our 30 minutes in town our first night had easily passed an hour. We walked past Big Nose Kate’s Saloon and decided to pop our head in for a look.

Karaoke!

“lets sing a song” Dar said, so we pulled up a stool at the bar and ordered an $8 beer.

Soon enough, Dar and I were up singing “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson which we thought was fitting and then Dar sang a Shania Twain tune “Who’s Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” solo. Her first ever solo Karaoke and it occurred in Tombstone. I was so proud of her.

Photo credit: Rob Cooper

Apparently the patrons enjoyed it too as they got up and began to line dance.

Our first night in Tombstone was awesome. We headed home for some sleep.

Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.

Day 44 – Hotel Congress, Titan Missile Museum and Hacienda Del Sol

Rob — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:54:53 +0000

As agreed, I was to accompany Dar to a photo exhibit of John Gutmann’s work at the Center for Creative Photography, as she had visited Biosphere 2 with me a day earlier. After seeing Gutmann’s fine work, we were going to split up. I dropped her off at the Tucson Museum of Art, where an Ansel Adams exhibit was showing, while I drove the 30 miles south to Sahuarita, Arizona to experience the Titan Missile Museum. First however, the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, awaited our arrival.

Hotel Congress

I’d been to the Hotel Congress once before, but hadn’t truly appreciated its place in US history.

Located in downtown Tucson at the corner where Congress Street, Toole Avenue and Fourth Avenue all converge, Hotel Congress was built in 1919 and is located directly across from the former Tucson train station. Club Congress, a venue in the hotel, started in 1985 as a place for local artists to showcase their art and today has been dubbed “One of the ten best rock clubs in the United States”. I vaguely recall having a drink in the adjoining “Tap Room” when I first visited the hotel back in 2006.

Dillinger

It was January 22, 1934 when the Hotel Congress entered the history books after a fire led to the capture of John Dillinger and gang. Dillinger used Tucson, and the hotel, to lay low for awhile after a robbery in a nearby town, but a fire forced them out of their third story rooms via an outside ladder. Firemen were offered $50 to retrieve the “well dressed easterners” suitcases, which were later found to contain more than $23,000 in cash. The fireman recognized the men from a True Detective magazine and notified authorities. Within 5 hours, they were captured by the local authorities without firing a single shot. All Dillinger had to say was “I’ll be damned!”

Hotel Congress is home to a very neat little coffee bar called The Cup, featuring some great home made pies (huge home made pies actually) and a very unique floor. In keeping with the theme of the Copper Hall dining room, The Cup coffee bar’s floor is made up of thousands of copper pennies. A new addition to the hotel only recently, off the coffee bar entrance towards the former train station (now Maynard’s Market) is a huge outdoor patio.

As Dar took photos in The Cup coffee shop, one fellow left the room and headed out to the patio. A few minutes later, after visiting the restroom facilities (a throwback to 1919), we went outside and Dar continued to photograph. The same fellow from before, now got up and took his coffee back inside. I guess he simply didn’t want to be in the background of any photos.

A-10 Warthogs

I’m not a fan of war at all, but the technology of it all fascinates me. Our first RV park in Great Falls Montana was built on the edge of an Air Force base and we woke to the sounds of F-15′s taking off. In Phoenix, we were within 5 miles of Luke Air Force Base where we had groups of five F-15’s doing maneuvers all day long from as early as 9 am. I spent one afternoon at the end of the runway watching them take off and land. One day, two Apache helicopters flew directly over my head while in the RV park and here in Tucson, it was to be A-10 Warthogs. They seemed to be taking off and landing in a constant stream overhead. It was brilliant to see. At one point, I’m sure I saw a Hercules overhead as well. Amazing machines.

Center for Creative Photography

It was a short drive from downtown Tucson to the University of Arizona campus where the Center for Creative Photography is located. It began in 1975, and with a budget of only $75,000, purchased the archives of Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, and Frederick Sommer. It’s quickly been expanded to include more, but on this day, we were here to see the exhibit of John Gutmann.

John Gutmann Photographer

John Gutmann Self Portrait in San Fransisco 1934

Gutmann was born in Germany and became a talented painter, exhibiting his work around Germany in the late 1920’s and early 30’s. He moved to Berlin, continued to paint and began teaching art. In 1933, he purchased his first camera and then fled Nazi Germany for the US. Within his first few months of owning a camera, he signed a contract as photojournalist with Presse-Foto, Berlin because they were looking for photos of American life.

His first base of operations was San Francisco where he joined a camera club in order to use their darkroom facilities and to meet other photographers. He began traveling through the US shooting depression era United States and attempting to sell them to magazines in Europe with little, but some luck. From what I remember from details at the exhibit, German magazines did not expect Americans to be enjoying themselves so much during the depression and Gutmann’s photos were not depicting the Americas the way they wanted to spin their stories.

It was interesting to see such great photography from the era and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Not knowing at the time that Ansel Adams had his archives located here, we heard there was some of his photos on display as well, on the second floor. We went up stairs to find a total of nine portrait photos. That was it. Short and sweet. We found out later than we could ask to see more if we wanted, but they would have to get them out and bring them to a viewing area for us.

Since his passing in 1998, John Gutmann’s archives are kept at the Center for Creative Photography along with many others since its original five. Please visit John Gutmann’s Official Website for an example of the photos we saw in the exhibit. For a complete understanding of the Center for Creative Photography, visit their website.

Before going our separate ways for the day, we decided on sushi for lunch. We had heard of a place called On A Roll Sushi just 2 blocks down the street from Hotel Congress and Dar really loves sushi, so we went back. Dar has said on many occasions that if she were only allowed to eat one food for the remainder of her life, it would be sushi.

On A Roll Sushi was awesome. It was very quiet inside because we got there just past 1:00 so got very quick service. The portions were very large and the prices very low. An odd combination, but we were pleased.

As we sat enjoying our lunch, we noticed a “Guide to Tucson” in the front entrance way. I grabbed it and leafed through. On the back cover was an ad for The Grill at Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort where they were advertising Free Wine Tastings and Jazz Piano. “Fantastic” we thought and agreed that if we had time tonight, we might pop in for some wine. Tastings were clearly labeled as taking place from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.

We’re finding local city guides very useful. We learn about places and history that we’d not have known about otherwise. I tend to Google things myself, but do so after the fact. Dar likes the guides and leafs through them before we go. I think her approach is better suited to our discovery process. However, I find out much more about the places we’ve been after we go too. Both have their benefits. One clear benefit is the listing of current events and coupons for said events. We’ve saved a ton of money by using coupons and linked offers (ie: come to our exhibit and save $2 on a neighbor exhibit or food).

We split up after lunch and I dropped Dar off at the Tucson Museum of Art before going my own way.

Tucson Museum of Art

The Museum of Art is also located downtown Tucson, something I’ve come to appreciate about the city. It’s kind of like being in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, or an even smaller city. An Ansel Adams exhibit was on display and Dar’s reason for going. She spent hours walking around and looking at his work as well as sitting in on 15 minutes worth of an Ansel Adams documentary before heading out and a few blocks over to the Old Town Artisans village where I met her after my trip south to the Titan Missile Museum.

Visit their website to learn more about the Tucson Museum of Art.

Titan Missile Museum

Yesterday we drove 30 minutes north to the Biosphere 2 and today I was to go 30 minutes south to Sahuarita, Arizona. The Titan Missile Museum is located just off the I-19 that heads towards Nogales, the town on the Arizona / Mexico border. So far, at 43 miles, this is closest I have been to Mexico on this trip, but not in our RV.

(Photo Disclaimer: The Missile Museum photos are all taken on my Blackberry Bold 9000 2 Megapixel camera. I do what I can with 2 MP lol.)

As I turned off the highway, I drove past a Safeway on my left to the museum entrance. When it was built, the Missile silo was one of three in the area, and was in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing to show for it except for the 700+ ton door laid on top (I’m looking for the correct figure. If you know, please leave a comment.)

The “Top to Bottom Tour” is a 4.5 hour tour limited to 6 people, and done by reservation only. It’s on specific days and runs from 8:30 am till 1 pm and costs $70. They take you everywhere in the place including the sleeping quarters and directly beneath the missile. I had not booked a reservation and wasn’t wanting to spend the $70, so I opted for the one hour tour for $9.50.

The silo doors were fixed in place half open with the other half covered by glass that you could look down through. We entered the facility, descended the 55 stairs, through the security doors and were shown exactly what type of security the facility had when it was in operation. We entered the control center, where two operators of the four man team ran the controls and learned that certain areas of the facility were not to be entered without your “security buddy”. They were paranoid about everyone and everything. Nobody was to be alone in certain areas so that a rogue member couldn’t do any damage or sabotage the missile.

6000 pound blast door to Silo 571-7 The Copper Penny

The missile itself was kept in a refrigerator at 60F for its entire history at the location. Higher or lower temperatures could cause problems or cause an explosion of its liquid fuels.

We walked a long tunnel towards the missile silo. The walkway was suspended within the tunnel and designed to move both up / down and back and forth in case of a direct hit by enemy forces. The guts of the whole place was mounted on springs and would barely move if the earth around it did. No longer refrigerated, the door to the missile silo was open and while we couldn’t go out onto the “things”, we could look through it.

The huge springs that keep the control room stable during a direct hit

For nine and a half dollars, the hour long tour of the facility was fantastic. I highly recommend it if you’re interested or in the area and see their website for more info.

Quite fascinating.

I drove back to Tucson to meet Dar. She had texted me that she was at the …

Old Town Artisans

Located in the El Presidio Historic District of Tucson, is a little 150 year old building with shops and galleries in it. Dar found me outside in the courtyard and then brought me back inside one of the shops. As we moved through the shop to the back, we entered out into another shop. Various art, sculpture, jewelry and the like were in the buildings. At one point I realized we had entered four shops, but had not left the building. I asked one shopkeeper who directed me to the next shop over as the owner had been there the longest, 21 years.

El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson

We learned that the building we were in was actually the stables area of a fort built in 1775 to stake claim to the northern frontier of New Spain. The north wall of the Artisans shops is the location of the fort’s north wall from which Apache attacks were repelled.

Later, in 1888, the actual shop we were standing in, learning about its history, was used as a distillery.

We walked out and across the street to where the fort was but even though we were not able to enter, the building offered many great shots from the outside.

Another short walk south of the Artisans and we ended up at the Pima Consolidated Justice Courts building, a beautiful building itself.

It was just after 5 PM and we remembered the wine tasting at the Hacienda Del Sol from the Tucson magazine we had read. We bolted for the car.

Hacienda Del Sol

We drove through a beautiful part of upper Tucson, through what looked like wine country and multi million dollar homes. Up a short road to a wonderful piece of property, a valet met us in the parking lot. We chose to self park.

A valet! Wow, where were we?

We walked over and asked about the wine tasting. He directed us inside as they’d know more about it. Passing a fountain, and a pool down overlooking Tucson in the distance, we entered The Grill.

“Yes, we have tastings every Tuesday night from 5:30 till 7:00″

Great I thought

“Where do we start?”

“It’s Wednesday” she said, “the wine tasting was yesterday!”

Oh…. That’s the part I missed from the magazine. Tastings are on Tuesdays.

Darlene here: I thought afterward that I had read that it was on Tuesday, but just didn’t realize what day it was any more. I thought that it was indeed Tuesday. We do that more and more on this trip.

From the Hacienda Del Sol website:

A Tucson Landmark Since 1929

In 1929, John and Helen Murphey created Hacienda Del Sol, a desert retreat and “home away from home” ranch school for girls. The prestigious school’s roster boasted some of the country’s most elite families: Vanderbilt, Pillsbury, Maxwell, Westinghouse, and Campbell, to name a few. In 1948, Hacienda Del Sol was converted into a guest ranch that immediately attracted the Silver Screen’s most notable stars, among them John Wayne and Clark Gable. Legend has it that Hacienda’s Casita Grande was the favorite hideaway of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

Awards

Voted Top 30 Favorite Inns of the U.S., Travel and Leisure
One of the West’s Best Inns, Sunset Magazine

An amazing place to say the least. We looked around and took photos. I imagined how I would incorporate most of the layout of the Hacienda Del Sol into the plans for the home Dar and I would one day build in Canada’s wine country, the Okanagan.

This was one of at least 4 fire places like this that we counted

a photo I took for a friend from Belgium, Soledad Garcia

The Grill restaurant was built a little over 10 years ago and has won Wine Spectator’s “Best of” Award of Excellence every year since. We decided to skip our return to Fourth Avenue and instead have a glass of wine and an appetizer.

We were waited on by no less than five people, one of which was a young man named Sirius whom I got into a discussion with about the significance of his name and how it related to the pyramids and The Sphinx. We were even asked if we preferred lemon, lime or cucumber in our water.

Seriously under dressed, we kept our coats on to cover our t-shirts, but enjoyed the food and service. We would return here on our next stay in Tucson for a full meal and an entire bottle of wine. We left the Hacienda and headed back to Whispering Palms RV Park but dreaded another night of trains and little sleep.

Darlene here: Rob fails to mention that two glasses of wine, and two appetizers ran us over $60 with tax and tip! But the experience was so worth it!

After one evening and two complete days, our adventure in Tucson would be coming to a close. We saw the Biosphere 2, the Desert Museum and the Saguaro National Park. Then the Hotel Congress, some Ansel Adams and John Gutmann photography, the Titan Missile Museum and then had the fantastic accident of visiting the Hacienda Del Sol. Words fail me in describing how that architecture and property layout will eventually be duplicated in our own home when we build it. One more night of a constant barrage of train whistles next to our RV park and then we’re off to Tombstone!

Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.

Day 43 – First Day in Tucson

Rob — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:00:13 +0000

Darlene and I made a deal. She would come with me to visit the Biosphere 2 if I would go to the Center for Creative Photography the next day with her. So we drove north of Tucson for 31 miles to Oracle Arizona and walked into the place where 8 humans locked themselves inside a hermetically sealed environment for 2 years and 20 minutes back in 1991.

Biosphere 2

3.15 acres lies beneath a complex set of 6500 panels making up 7,200,000 cubic feet of glass and sits on top of a 500 ton stainless steel liner. Sealed on top, sealed below, the Biospherians would be breathing the same air and drinking the same water that they started with, for two complete years.

They had to live on what they could grow inside the structure and use nature, sealed with them, to create their oxygen and manage their CO2.

After paying $20 each to enter, half of which is tax deductible because it’s a donation to a University, we entered Biosphere 2 human habitat. The kitchen was directly opposite the entrance door and to its right, the human living quarters. Each Biospherian had a 2 story apartment like structure with a front room on the lower floor and a bedroom above. A bathroom between units was shared by two people.

Inside the Biosphere 2 rain forest overlooking the 1 million gallon ocean

I knew Biosphere 2 had a rain forest and Savannah grassland, but did not know there was an ocean with coral reef within its walls. We started in the rain forest, overlooked the ocean and then walked through to Mangrove wetlands and then the grassland a little lower. Next was the Fog desert before passing by the Ocean. A small ocean it was, compared to Biosphere 1 (planet Earth), but a bigger ocean than you’d expect inside a sealed environment. The ocean inside Biosphere 2 contained 1 million gallons of water. A million gallons! We were told that for fun, the Biospherians would climb the steps to the ledge and cliff dive into the ocean.

Biosphere 2 Ocean and cliff running up its side

Biosphere 2 Lungs

A friend on Facebook had shared with me his experience of the Biosphere 2 lungs. I had a completely different picture in mind. I thought the lungs would be some sort of accordion like device to pump and move oxygen like they did while digging the tunnels out of the prisoner of war camp from the movie The Great Escape. I was not prepared for what we were shown.

After walking down a very narrow passage, sloping downward away from the main complex, we entered a very large room. In the center of the ceiling above was a 16 ton steel plate connected to the walls by a rubber type material that expanded and contracted with the pressures inside Biosphere 2. The rubber material was similar to say a car tire, but obviously much larger to be able to support 16 tons of metal. This room is massive to say the least. The lungs were designed because of air pressure changes that took place over the course of a day within the sealed environment.

Biosphere 2 needed something like a bellows, a lung!

Biosphere 2 would heat up like a greenhouse and cool during the night and during cold, cloudy days. The expansion and contraction would subject the rigid steel and glass structure to enormous pressures as the air inside expanded and contracted. On a hot day, pressure would push out. On a really cold day, Biosphere 2 might implode.

Bill Dempster, Director of Engineering Systems, had an inspired solution, and in time Biosphere 2 got a pair of lungs, or “variable expansion chambers”. The two lungs took the form of graceful hemispheric white domes which protected the liner from wear and tear of the Sun. Both domes, 150 feet away from Biosphere 2 had underground air tunnels connecting them to the main structure. Inside each tank and connected to each tunnel, a gargantuan synthetic rubber membrane with a circular metal top moved freely up and down on a cushion of air.

As air inside Biosphere 2 expanded from the Sun’s heat, it flowed through the tunnels and into the lung, raising its top. As air cooled, the lungs deflated.

Excellent photos of the Biosphere 2 lungs and their construction are here .

We experienced the effect of this lung as a door to the outside was opened and the air was let out. We were not in a sealed environment, so our Biosphere guide could show us how they worked. When the door was opened, the steel plate began to descend. He closed the door and it inflated again. Something you have to experience to fully understand. I had a new appreciation for the technology of this place.

So… just to be clear… that 16 ton plate in the variable ceiling above us (as seen in the picture) was being held aloft by air. If the windows in the environment above were all suddenly smashed, that 16 tons would come crashing down almost instantly!

Biosphere 2 had a second lung on the other side of the complex, but the one we were in served a second purpose. At its bottom lay a water condensation capture tank that could also be used for fire suppression if needed. As water condensed inside Biosphere, it made its way to the bottoms of everything (of course) and was then gathered at the lowest point, down here in the lung. In case of a fire, they could turn on the pumps and use this water to put them out. I’m pretty sure that’s how it all goes.

In the first two photos on this page, of the Biosphere and of Dar and I outside it, you can see one of the lungs at the far right hand side of the photographs.

My Biosphere 2 disclaimer: I am not an expert in the Biosphere 2. I saw it on TV when they were going in, I’ve always wanted to go there, have done so, am reading Jane Poynters book The Human Experiment and simply want to share my experience. I may very well have already messed up the order in which the biodomes appear on the tour, and that’s the way it shall be. End disclaimer.

By the way, Jane Poynters book The Human Experiment, detailing her time before, during and after her time inside Biosphere 2 is excellent if you want to know more. She lives in Tucson and is now married to one of the other Biospherians, Taber MacCallum.

We didn’t actually make it into the agriculture biodome where they grew their food, but we could see it. It has since been emptied of earth, but can be seen from the human habitat.

Biosphere 2 Gym

I wanted to check out their gym and asked our guide a lot of questions about how many steps they may have walked in a given day around the Biosphere. I saw places in which they’d be able to get in a jog with a few sets of stairs in between. I made a point of seeing where the gym was and asked what type of equipment they had access to.

I was told that they simply did not use the gym and the explanation made sense. More so now that I’ve read The Human Experiment.

They almost ran out of oxygen, and simply did not have the energy to exercise above the work they were doing. They were up at 6 am and went to bed shortly after their supper meal.

What happened was that they did not account for the effect the cement would have on oxygen and over the course of the first few months, lost 7 TONS of oxygen. In what we were told was a conversation in passing, they realized it was the cement absorbing oxygen. Our guide told us that they were talking with an expert by telephone about the problem and he said, “I don’t know of anything that would remove oxygen except for ____, ____ and cement”. They were surrounded by cement. All they had to do was seal it up and they stopped the oxygen loss.

Their oxygen level began at 21% when they went in and got as low as 14.2%. Oxygen that low is similar to being at the same altitude as Mt Everest Base camp. When I climbed to Base Camp back in 2008, I had intended to do push ups on various days during the climb, but based on oxygen levels (and resulting energy levels), didn’t. I know exactly how they felt after putting in a day’s work.

Biosphere 2 Technosphere

Technosphere is a term the Biospherians came up with themselves. It describes all the technology underneath the biodomes. All the pipes, wires, tanks and everything else that’s not seen by anyone looking in, that keeps the place running. Jane Poynter describes the technosphere of Biosphere 2 as the only place they could go to get any privacy. Being inside a glass bubble, anyone curious to see what was happening inside, could and did make their way to the edge and look in. The Technosphere was where they could get away from the cameras.

We ended our tour where we started, in the human habitat.

I made note of the design of the kitchen as I’d like to model some of its pieces into my own kitchen and then walked through the rest of the space. We didn’t have access to their apartments, but a window has been put into one for us to look into. The bathrooms as I said earlier, were available for tourists and I used one. Had to, didn’t I. Wouldn’t You?

I purchased The Human Experiment in the gift shop on the way out and have since learned more about the experiment, how it came to be and what they’ve learned from it.

Biosphere 2 was surrounded by so much secrecy and bad press at the time it took place. So many people thought they were hiding things and were not play fair. I did not follow it when it happened, but I knew the project was going on. I’m so glad to have been there now, and seen it for myself. I highly encourage you to check it out next time you’re in Tucson.

Arizona Desert Museum

I’d been to the Desert Museum before, and wanted to take Dar. We were heading to the Saguaro National Park, and the museum was IN the park, so stopped for a walk around.

We saw Otters, beavers and a raccoon. We saw bob cats, big horn sheep, mountain lions and a black bear (the new guy in the museum). We walked into a hummingbird aviary and saw javelinas (7 of them, sleeping).

There are at least 4 Javelinas snuggled up next to each other in this photo from the Arizona Desert Museum in Tucson

Wild quail that happened to fly in

Aside from the mammals, the Arizona Desert Museum takes care of over 40,000 plants representing 1400 different kinds. It’s a zoo and a botanical garden all in one place. Today was the day for Dar to photograph cactus, so when we passed by Cat Canyon, we had to do the loop into the Cactus Gardens.

bird on cactus

We rushed through the museum, I must admit. Being married to a professional photographer, I’ve come to realize that you’re “always chasing the light” and we had to get set up in the park so Dar could get her shots of the Saguaros at sunset.

I was the one watching the clock and rushing her through as she photographed the animals and cactus, and finally the time came when we had to leave.

We moved on to…

Saguaro National Park

This saguaro is synonymous with the American west, but the plant is only found in select areas of the United States and Mexico. Saguaro National Park, located just outside the city of Tucson, was created to protect some of these giant beasts. They have a long life span of over 150 years, and the arms themselves can take 75 years to grow. The saguaro blossom is the state flower of Arizona, and in Arizona, by state law, it is illegal to harm a saguaro in any manner.

Dar wanted to shoot an HDR photo of the Saguaro cactus in the setting sun. I drove (slowly) down the road as she was looking for the right cactus and the right angle. When we finally found our spot, we set up tripod and waited for the light. And waited for the light. And waited

When the day was done, we headed back to Tucson and decided to visit Fourth Avenue again and have some Guatemalan food.

Maya Quetzal Restaurant on Fourth Avenue

Dar had the chicken mole and I had some other sort of chicken. Both dishes served with black beans and rice and is probably in our top 5 meals eaten on our trip so far. We like clean whole food and Maya Quetzal provided just that for around $10 each. If you’re looking for great vegetarian food in Tucson, this is certainly a place for you to check out.

When we left, our plan was to return the next day for another taste of items on their menu.

Spending time inside Biosphere 2 was amazing and something I’d encourage anyone to do when they’re in Tucson. The trip back to the Desert Museum was worth the time and the road leading out of Tucson to the Saguaro National Park is a fantastic drive to make as well. For Dar to have finally gotten the sunset cactus shots she wanted made me happy. Tomorrow, our last day in Tucson would be equally filled with adventure and a happy accident.

Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.

Day 42 – Moved Out of Phoenix and Into Tucson

Rob — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:05:42 +0000

After 30 days at Destiny RV park in Goodyear Arizona, we said good bye to our neighbors Bob and Joanna, packed up and began the short 2 hour trip to Tucson Arizona. One quick stop along the way at the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch to feed the Ostrich, deer, goats, mules and Lorikeets before pulling into the Whispering Palms RV Park, just off the I-10 and Prince Road.

Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch

Just south of Eloy Arizona, which is about half way to Tucson from Phoenix, and on a road running parallel to the I-10 we found a place Dar really wanted to go to, the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch.

We paid the $5 each for a cup of animal food which included a little cup of nectar for the Lorikeets and walked straight up to the Ostrich. I’d seem them from a distance when I was on safari in Africa, but this would be the first time I’d touched or fed one.

Dar wanted to get some ostrich photographs, so I distracted them with the little food pellets as she snapped away.

It was bound to happen, and I finally got bit. One big bugger decided that he wanted my whole hand and grabbed onto my finger. They’ve got no real teeth to speak of that I can tell, but their entire beaks clamp down and drag your skin off. My finger and thumb took the brunt of his “kiss”.

We noticed sore spots on their necks from where they were leaning their necks over the top of the fence and it was kinda sad to see.

Next to feed were the deer.

After feeding a few of them, Dar noticed that their hooves were curling up and way too long for their feet. I’d never seen that before either and we both stopped for a moment to consider what it was that we were doing. We believe that we “vote” on things by how we spend our money. We buy pasture raised chickens and organic foods, knowing that our choices in the food we eat are actually voting for a methodology. One BIG reason we do not eat fast food is because for every burger eaten, it has to be replaced and in replacing it, another animal suffers.

As we stood there feeding the deer, noticing their hooves, we both got a little sick.

As we turned to the goats and the donkeys, here too we began to feel more like we were making sure the animals got enough to eat rather than enjoying our time with them.

Lastly, we entered the Lorikeets aviary where we watched the birds play follow the leader. That was pretty cool.

Overall, I’d say not to visit the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, unless you feel strongly about feeding what seems to be some poorly fed animals.

Tucson Arizona

We pulled into Tucson and had a quick look at a couple of RV Parks just off the I-10 on Prince Road. We had nothing booked and were just flying by the seat of our pants here. Wanting a campsite for only 3 nights, we found that the rock and gem show was moving into town and the RV’ers had reserved all the spots.

We crossed under the I-10 to another area a few blocks away loaded with RV parks and found one able to accommodate us, called Whispering Palms RV Park.

We parked, got leveled, hooked up and then heard the train.

It was roughly 5:00 Monday night, so we thought we’d go for a drive downtown to scout out what we were going to be seeing over the next couple of days. The idea was that Darlene wanted to see museums and photo exhibits while I wanted to see the Biosphere 2 and Titan Missile Museum. Her sights were downtown Tucson, while mine were 30 minutes away in opposite directions.

Fourth Avenue Tucson

Stumbling upon fourth avenue in downtown Tucson was not an accident (see Fourth Avenue website for more info). We compared it to Whyte Ave on Edmonton’s south side or fourth avenue in Vancouver’s Kitsilano district in that it was a collection of whole food restaurants, head shops, alternative music and book stores and a very cool organic food co-op called “Food Conspiracy” where we stocked up on goods for the coming week. We immediately felt at home.

Fantastic Organic Food Co-op on Fourth Avenue in Downtown Tucson

We noted a few possible places to eat and one Guatemalan restaurant stood out above the rest. We popped our head into a couple of the shops while walking up and down both sides of the avenue and then headed back to our RV for the night.

Just as we closed the RV door behind us, we heard the second of many more trains go by. Not sure where the “Whispering” in “whispering palms” comes from exactly.

Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.