Phase Three(b)
Bisbee Is Almost Becoming Like Home
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A weekend away, then back to Bisbee. Two weeks around Bisbee, with brief breaks in the Chiricahua and Huachuca Mountains. This isn't how we'd planned to spend time on this journey. Oh well.
But it's been rewarding despite the tedium and pain of Office Hell. We have a new house now. Somewhere along the line here I'll gin up a description of it, and of Bisbee, and of Cochise County, etc. Just don't ask me when.
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Day 35: Chiricahua to Bisbee
(Monday 3 May 2004)
NOONISH: heading south from Chiricahua National Monument headquarters to, back to Bisbee. We crawled out of our camp this morning at a leisurely pace, rolled down the west side of the mountains a little bit, then found that the road down the west side is incomparably worse than the one on the east side - we sure got suckered in. If we'd come up the west side we would have turned around in less than a mile. Hopefully we didn't break anything but we sure were bent a little bit.
So we crawled on down and finally hit pavement, went over to the National Monument visitors center, used their payphone cause the cell don't work here, called Bisbee and found that we have succeeded! Our latest offer had a counter that we can accept, so the realor is passing on a verbal acceptance and we are dashing on to Bisbee for more paper-signing and probably a day or two more of Realty Hell.
We are rolling thru another huge valley. As far as we can see are very scrubby mesquite with an occasional cottonwood. A bit more vegetation along the watercourses, lots of natilja poppies and big thistles brightly in bloom. The sky is absolutely clear, not a goddam cloud to be seen. And I hope that's a metaphor, an alert, a sign. Where we are is in the Sulphur Springs Valley between the Chiricahua Mountains, and the Dragoon Mountains on the west. More yuccas are apparent here'n'there, ah and there's a dust-devil not too far away. Otherwise. same old same old...
AFTERNOON: Back in Bisbee, doin' the papers, yada yada. And that bumpy ride DID shake things up - our bike rack was thrown out of its socket, we arrived with the whole assemblage leaning back at a 60° angle. Quite a pain to untangle but no damage. Whew.
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Day 36: Viernes, Quatro de Mayo
(Tuesday 4 May 2004)
MORNING: So we got the word yesterday afternoon that a counter-offer had been proferred, and we accepted it verbally and drove into Bisbee. Signed the papers for acceptance of the counter - that was yesterday.
Now we are heading around to handle financing and insurance, which means slogging thru the glittering metropolis of Sierra Vista and/or beyond for an undetermined period - but it looks very like that we'll be Bisbeeopilans, Bisbeeopolitans pretty soon. Secondarily, anyway. It's warm and sunny. Haven't seen the car with the bumper sticker that says I LIVE IN THE BMZ (BORDER MILITARIZED ZONE) lately but it's probably still around.
Yesterday, only an hour of Office Hell. How much of that today? Who knows. And we may even end up having to go to Tucson to arrange insurance. But we'll get this sucker!
We chatted up extensively last night with folks from the neighboring RV as they were walking their cats on harnesses, just like we do Petrushka. Jeff and Dawn have a BIG motorhome towing a car, they've been touring exclusively for three years and they're birding and hiking and mushrooming and downloading email, not like us.
EVENING: Under the full moon at Reef CG, Huachuca Mts. This morning after a dashabout and a fond farewell to Jeff and Dawn we rolled down to Sierra Vista to deal with money, tawdry stuff. The vast desert vistas make it appear a short drive, but it ain't. Thus we handled the loan and insurance, reprovisioned, failed again to connect at yet another InterNet cafe, and sweated. Finally we drove up to this minimalist CG, at 5300 feet it's 1000 higher than Sierra Vista. Rocky rugged splendor amidst scrubby pines and live oaks, etc., a bright full moon shining down on us and the bears. Bears? What bears?
We're discussing what old furniture to fix and paint garishly and put into the house. We're thinking about staying in Bisbee from late July thru early January with excursions to Switzerland (Maureen and Bobbie and Sharon) and the greater SouthWest (which is defined as extending form Las Vegas NV to Las Vegas NM and from Durango CO to Durango MX). We're talking about just exploiting the house for short-term rentals. We're debating how to make it look Guatemalan.
We're entering the hot season now, May and June. July and August are the monsoon months so when we're here we'll see what drainages need to be cleared, which cracked retaining wall need patching, where not to plant whatever, whether the shed leaks, etc. And we MUST gaher data for deciding on phones, cable, satellite, etc. Weather and wiring, yup.
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Day 37: Miercoles, Cinco de Mayo
(Wednesday 5 May 2004)
MORNING: We're in what-the-hell camp in what-the-hell canyon in the Huachucas - look it up. OK, it's Reef Campground, Carr Canyon, Nicksville AZ.
We've been considering the prospect of living in Bisbee for about six months, for financial as well as environmental and cultural reasons. A few days ago I asked one merchant what residents of Bisbee were called. She said that there's a lively debate. I think her favorite was Bisbeedonians. Or maybe it was Bisbeelonians. But we could be Bisbeers, Bisbeeters, Bisdunkers, Bisbeedunkers, Bisbeeouligans, Bisbars. Do a Google search on RESIDENTS OF BISBEE and see what pops up. And check MySouthernAz.Com (OK, I just heard about it on the radio, have no idea if it's any good or what.)
SEE: The Bisbee Game, etc (pt.1)
Maureen suggested the development of a children's or educational Game of Bisbee, elucidating historical events and features. Yah that's possible too. Yah, do both the kiddy and adult versions. But the educational version will actually require some research. Bother.
Meanwhile we've done our biz in Sierra Vista and it seems to have been successful. A hot day down here in the lowlands. We are going to cruise up to Tombstone. Rightn now we are crossing the rambunctions San Pedro River again, going thru the Riparian Reserve which like Carr Canyon and adjacent Ramsey Canyon is a world-class bird-viewing locale. I shan't describe the desert environment, I'm getting repetitive there...
Sierra Vista, for lunch we were recommended to go to La Casita. We'd asked for authentic Mexican food. La Casita has authentic Gringo-Mexican food. Satisfying enough but not the real thing. Today we went to Filiberto's and got the real thing for a few dollars less. Mmmm very tasty. Too bad they didn't have chips and salsa. And next time we're in Sierra Vista we'll have our lunch at Alfredo's Taco Shop, see how that is. All these are on Fry Ave., the business main drag.
We are very much looking forward to being based here for a few months so we can take excursions into Mexico and eat REAL Mexican food made by REAL Mexicans in REAL Mexico, yup.
So we ambled into Tombstone with our cameras in our hands but there weren't much to shoot. We poked around town a bit looking into bookstores, and antique and Indian jewelry and pottery stores, the usual. Tombstone's a much better place without the weekend crowds and hoo-hah - it's still a theme park but it could be worse.
So we're strolling down the street and we come to an intersection and this fella introduces himself, he's the town blacksmith and he's bragging about his work and we exchange cards and me gives me a snort of his rum-tequila mix and invites us out to his rancho which he's turning into a resort with railroad cars and cabooses. And Maureen wonders, where else but in Tombstone can you meet a stranger, introduce yourself, and get a drink out in the middle of the street. And all because we were yelling happily at each other, yup.
This Smithy is a tall rangy guy with an air of a lot of sun and a lot of drink. Sez he spent so much time in Big Nose Kate's Saloon that he set up shop there, that's where you can buy his decorative blacksmithing work. After a bit if talk, when he sez he's gone thru six wives - or have they gone thru him? - we're not terribly surprised. A nice chap though.
And it would be fun to hang around Tombstone but we have obligations in Bisbee tomorrow so we are off...
The country needless to say is gorgeous. Out east of Tombstone the setting sun catches a rather dramatic range of rocky escarpments. Gnarly, dude...
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Day 38: Before the Inspections
(Thursday 6 May 2004)
MORNING: back up Carr Canyon. Well yesterday was Cinco de Mayo but we didn't see any festivities where *we* were, anywhere. Over the weekend we didn't see any festivities which is when they were probably being celebrated. Ah, this year has been a real bust for vernal celebrations.
Yesterday evening as we headed out of Tombstone we saw rain, what looked like rainclouds over the Huachucas but by the time we got up to camp there was nary a trace. Still it was cool, a bit cloudy. The clouds did not interfere much though with the full moon or the Aerostat.
I should mention that the Aerostat is a blimp-like balloon floating over Fort Huachuca, anchored at a special site, the signs say it's the US Air Force Aerostat Site. I imagine the Aerostat is laden with surveillance electronics, keeping an eye on everything within range - maybe even me right now as I walk thru the trees towards the Carr House Information Center which is closed this early in the morning. It's a stone structure, owned and operated by the US Forest Service and/or he Friends of the Huachucas. I see a weather station, sign for the Carr Nature Trail, and a rustic rack full of pamphlets.
This canyon and the next canyon north, Ramsey Canyon, are, according to the birding guides, world-famous birding sites with many rare avian visitors plummeting thru the greenery.
Hmm, this outdoor rack of pamphlets turns out to have very few - one is a program listing from the Friends of the Huachuca Mountains, listing the special programs held here at Carr House, every Sunday or alternate Sundays it looks like. And the interesting ones, on The Amarind Foundation and Bats Of The Huachucas and Hooray For Herps! Snakes Lizards And More, we will miss because we won't be here late May thru early July. We might be here in August for the Photographing Arizona's Wildlife presentation. And... that looks like about it. The Sky Islands And Grassland Seas show is in late September and we probably won't be here then either. Ratz.
SEE: The Bisbee Game, etc (pt.1 & 2)
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Day 39: Whatta We Been Doing Lately?
(Friday 7 May 2004)
To learn more about our probable new neighbors check out www.JohnCharleyPhotography.Com And as of our intended departure early tomorrow afternoon we'll have been a fortnight around Bisbee. Whew. I think I can reconstruct the last few days.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON we finished our business in Sierra Vista, cruised out to Tombstone and back, and holed up again in Reef CG under the watchful eye of the Aerostat. And we rested and/or strolled around and/or took refreshments and/or made disrespectful gestures at the Aerostat and/or played games and/or studied maps and.or chanted incantations and/or some or none of the above. Whatever.
THURSDAY MORNING we dashed back to Bisbee for a round of inspections. The unofficial Building Inspection found little we didn't know already, but documented everything and pointed out remedies. The official Termite Inspection found termites, in an old unrenovated closet and in a tree stump near the house; eliminating those termites will bother the seller more than us. And the unofficial Cat Scan was a success - Petrushka the cat likes the house. Except for the bugs and a loose toilet, and a few minor thangs we can handle ourselves, the house gets a Clean Bill Of Health. PS: Maureen doesn't like the name Otter Adobe. Hmph.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON we lunched at the Cafe Cornucopia on Main St which was tasty enough but nothing really noteworthy. The thumb waggles back'n'forth. Then we went back to the Bisbee Internet Cafe for another wack at downloading 1.5 months' email and uploading my jornal entries. With my new USB-Net adaptor, purchased the day before in Sierra Vista, I was hopeful. And after only an hour of fiddling, I was online!
But no email flooded into my little Sony Vaio laptop, and no notes could be FTP'd up. Turns out that antispam and antihack filters were blocking me. Fock. I called SONIC for help and was told to dialup. Another hour of fiddling indicated that my onboard modem wasn't working. The cafe provided a PcCard modem, I reconfigured and rebooted and redialed yet again, and SUCCESS! FINALLY! After all these weeks!
After deleting 1000+ spams so the download wouldn't timeout I started recieving the flow. Journal entries were uploaded. Time passed. Getting 1000+ emails on a dialup connexion takes a while. And meanwhile Maureen is watching a DVD of AMADEUS. We first saw that in a rustic theatre near Mt Lassen on a snowy night, in a quonset hut filled with easy chairs and a good sound system. It was cold then but vastly entertaining.
POSTSCRIPT: Nearly two months later (1 July) I found that I was also, at that time, infected with thousands of copies of the KAZAA and NETSKY viruses. Nasty little buggers. Norton and I have been able to delete the KAZAAs but not the NETSKYs. Bugger all. Gotta find out what to do...
Our day shot, we surrendered to the waiting arms of Nepenthe. Ahhh... Zzzz...
FRIDAY MORNING we strolled to the Daily Diner for a cheap tasty filling breakfast (and to haul away another fresh rhubarb pie) then drove to near-abandoned Lowell on the other side of the gaping ulcer that is the Lavendar Pit, there to explore the CoOp Market (excellent place) and Bisbee's only Thrift Shop and Consignment Shop. Cheap books at the former, some adequate old furniture at the latter, and reasonable old pots at both.
Tomorrow we'll have to return to the Consignment Shop to pt a couple tables etc on layaway because: THE SELLER WILL DEAL WITH THE TERMITES! After lunch we met our realtor to frame our demands based on yesterday's inspections, and she spoke with the seller's realtor, and we HAVE a verbal agreement. It'll be a few days before everything is final, but we can leave tomorrow, continue our trip, and conclude this by phone. If the phone ever works.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON we joyfully and with great relief drove up Tombstone Canyon and around the ridges to the top of the Continental Divide and found a roadside aerie from which to contemplate the future and the past and the void. Some eagles flew by. We started answering emails. Time elapsed. The sun lowered.
Correction here: that's the Arizona Divide that's above Bisbee, not the Continental Divide. But it's high enough and vivid enough anyway. Now if only Arizona were a subcontinent...
FRIDAY EVENING we scaped some dust of and descended to Cafe Roka on Main St for a celebraory dinner. It's rated as one of Arizona's 100 Top Restaurans and it's splendid and surprisingly reasonable. Supposedly Italian, but more Californian-International cuisine. We feasted on fishy-salad starters and fleshy-salad entrees, had a fine local wine (Dos Cabezas Pinot Grigio, almost champagny) and desserts. Now we must try'em all. This was accompanied by a fine jazz trio, guitar-bass-chanteuse. The staff were clad in black pyjamas liked VietCong. The barman was busy. And never was heard a discouraging word.
Parking on Main St was impossible so we left the RV in the lot below our new house, just a couple hundred paces from the Cafe Roka. After dinner we walked back slowly thru the balmy night, breathy standards and fruity bossa-nova still ringing in our ears. But other music was coming at us, live rock-pop ringing from the Episcopal Church hall next to our new house. We wandered into a fundraiser for a preschool, featuring good music. I think we'll enjoy living here - and we WILL be here for the 2nd half of 2004 - see my previous notes.
So now we're back in the RV Park (our first!) girding our loins for the next phase of this journey - to Silver City NM and Big Bend NP and Roswell and Zuni and ???
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Day 40: Rolling Outa Bisbee Again
(Saturday 8 May 2004)
MORNING in the RV Park, Bisbee. We devoured that rhubarb pie, did the laundry, transcribed journal notes, and watched the cloud-cover. Soon we roll.
Meanwhile, we've not been paying close attention to external news, but it's difficult to ignore reports of US troops torturing Iraqi prisoners. Most of the interrogators were trained at Ft Huachuca. One troop there said, "Over and over in training it's drummed into us that a commander is responsible for the actions of their subordinates." Rummy and Dubya don't accept responsibility. Perhaps, since he's a deserter himself, Dubya doesn't dwell too much on responsibility and ethics and legality. I feel nauseated.
NOONISH: Our last great lunch at the Copper Queen for this trip, our wonderful server KJ not only gifted us with more free dessert coupons but also brought gratis a farewell toddy of French champagne. Trolling for tips, sure, but well worth it! Now to the internet cafe to upload this and our email replies, see what new batch of spam awaits us, and then off we go into the sunrise...
AFTERNOON: We're just north of Douglas, one week later - yeah, a week ago we were at about the same time, about the same place, heading north out of Douglas. The difference now is, there's a cloud cover. And we're getting great Mexican radio stations, so I feel like talking like this, real fast. But they talk much much faster! (Maureen laughs.)
We're toting up the things we forgot to do today. We forgot to stop at the post office in Bisbee to bet a Post Office Box and a US Postal Service phone card, supposedly the best deal around in telephone cards. The latter can be handled soon; the former, we'll have to see what we can do about that.
Maureen says she forgot to give me a haircut. What? And a beard trim and a nose-hair trim and an ear-hair trim. Oh, and a butt-fur trim, she says.
While I was slaving away over a hot keyboard at the internet cafe, Maureen was digging thru the archives at the mining museum, trying to dig up stuff on the history of our house. And it's spotty at best - who know, further research may uncover something.
We of course can go to the county, to building inspectors, building records, county clerk, all that kind of stuff, and dig up records back to 1914 we're told. Someone suggested that the house may be much older than that, or portions of it, but that of course the big fire of '08 would have destroyed all previous records.
We pass a sign, home-made but well-made, say: FREE TRADE POLICY: DRUGS IN, BILLIONS OUT. And earlier in the WalMart parking lot in Douglas I saw a bumper sticker on an Arizona car that said: READ MY LIPS, NO NEW TEXANS.
TWILIGHT: Just like a week ago we are, we have passed (we didn't stop this time) the Geronimo Surrender Memorial, cruised up the Chiricahuas, and now we're riding up into them, retracing our route except we won't go as far this time. We're hoping everyone stayed at home for Mothers Day so we can find a campsite in one of the developed areas. We are drawn back here because the canyon scenes we viewed a week ago were spectacular although we couldn't see them too well in the dusk. And so hopefully we will stay here tonight and view them in the morning. Fer sure, we're NOT driving out the west side this time.
Crawling up here we passed the same desolate van painted up UDA, except now it has lots of orange paintball splotches all over it. It's got paintball-pox.
GO: back BisbeeBisbee Pt.1
GO: on to N'Mexico 4 Dummies
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ARIZONA 101: An irreverant short course for new arrivals (1981)
A COMPOSER's WORLD (1961)
DON QUIXOTE OF THE MANCHA (1909-1970)
Don't Know Much About The CIVIL WAR (1996)
Easy Field Guide to the SouthWestern NIGHT SKY (1997)
FIRST-TIME EUROPE (1997)
Granta, No.65, Spring 1999
MAGIC EYES: Scenes from an Andean Girlhood (1992)
The THIRD TWIN (1996)
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I'm An Old Cow Hand
I'm an old cow hand from the Rio Grande
But my legs ain't bowed and my cheeks ain't tanned
I'm a cowboy who never caught a cow
Never roped a steer and I don't know how
And I sure ain't fixin' to start it now
Yippie ki yo ki yay
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