Summerhaven and Bisbee, Arizona

On our way to Summerhaven we stopped at a Gluten Free bakery called Gourmet Girls Gluten Free Bakery/Bistro, it was amazing. They had really good chicken fried steak and waffles and tons of other delicious baked goods.

Summerhaven

We drove from Tucson to just outside of Summerhaven, near Mount Lemmon. It was just under 5,700 feet in elevation gain (2,300 ft to 8,000 ft) . We stayed in the Palisades Ranger Residence cabin in the Coronado National Forest. The cabin was built in the 1930’s. While it wasn’t the cleanest or warmest cabin I have ever stayed in it was definitely a neat experience.

During our stay we hiked on a to a trail named Aspen Trail, Aspen was really excited about that part.

After we were done in the cold mountains, we drove down to Tombstone. Tombstone is most famous for a gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

We watched a reenactment of the showdown as well as going to the Bird Cage theater and watching a Historama of Tombstone. We also tried the drink Sarsaparilla, which is kind of like root beer, and really good.

Here is the story of the legendary gun show down.

Sheriff Virgil Earp, his brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday confronted the local Cowboys behind the O.K. Corral. The Cowboys (there were four of them) had been involved in several illegal affairs including cow stealing and stage coach robbing. Once the shooting started, it lasted no more than thirty seconds, in which almost thirty shots were fired. When the dust cleared three out of four of the cowboys were dead. The Sheriff and his friends were mildly injured. The last cowboy was killed six years later by a private detective. Morgan was murdered less than a year later while playing pool. Years later Doc died of tuberculosis, Virgil died of pneumonia, and Wyatt died of old age.

Bisbee

After we where done in Tombstone we drove to Bisbee, about a half hour drive. Bisbee is a small town of about 5,200 people. It was originally built as a mining town in 1880, but is now mainly a tourist attraction. The mines were mainly for silver and other ores, they were closed in the mid 1970’s.

We stayed in an air b&b called Rose’s Place, it was a beautiful house with a mix of different colors.

While we were in Bisbee we went on a tour at the Queen Mine. The mine was closed for mining in the mid 1970’s and was opened for tourism in 1976. The tour goes straight into the mountain for 700 feet.

Before the tour started we donned hard hats, reflective vests and long mining lamps. We rode on a mining train into the heart of the mountain and learned about the mining process as well as the conditions for the miners.

After we were done with the mine tour we walked around Bisbee and found several geocaches!