Tucson and Bisbee, Arizona, Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Sarah, Dan, and the girls headed north, following in our footsteps through northern Arizona. We, on the other hand, headed southeast toward Bisbee. When I lived in Arizona, Bisbee was a pretty sad place: home to the largest open pit copper mine in the world, it was a company town wholly owned by the Phelps=Dodge Corporation.
Now, however, it is the Williamsburg of the West…or one of them at least! It has become hipster haven, home to trustafarians, dive bars, espresso bars, gelato bars, and probably some bars we missed.
Why you may ask, did we venture into Bisbee? Because our traveling companion Connie’s brother Jamie and his wife Rachel had inherited a small house there. Formerly a miner’s house, it is perched high on the hill over Bisbee’s Main Street. The 65 steep steps up do keep one in shape!
That’s the hill; Jamie and Rachel’s house is the one down and to the right form the large house at the top. And right below them live their son Brook and his girlfriend Hayden.
The town is actually rather nice. It sits in a narrow canyon in the Mule Mountains, and has retained some of its nineteenth century character.
We had a really nice lunch at a cafe in town and then Jamie led us on a tour of the whole place, concluding with a visit to the mining museum, which was beautifully done and really interesting.
No visit would be complete without a view of the pit.
There are actually three of these huge scars; this one, the Lavender Pit, is the largest and oldest. Jamie also showed us something at least as striking: the largely abandoned town of Lowell, on the far side of the pit.
Many of the buildings are intact and untouched since the 1930’s; the streets are lined with antique cars.
Hayden and Brook had prepared a delicious dinner of braised lamb and salad; we had found a wine in town, and a fine time was had by all. The drive back at night was uneventful…although I’m always a bit nervous on narrow Arizona mountain roads at night!