My Dream Home .... 1880's Style!

I'm sure most of you think I'm crazy, but my dream home would be one like this, built in the 1880's.  As I was driving around Tombstone, I noticed a For Sale sign and stopped just to see what the price was.  Who should drive up in front of me, but the Owner.  It's fate!!

She quickly offered to give me a tour, either before or after the people she was here to meet.  Apparently she and her husband purchase homes really cheap, make repairs and a few upgrades, then sell for a profit.  Since Tombstone is on the downhill slide, it's good for the City and their pocket book.  Surprisingly this 3 bedroom 2 bath 1800 sq ft beauty is priced at $155,000.

It had a brand new Lennox air conditioning unit, a new stove, even a tiny dishwasher to go with the beadboard walls and ceilings and a huge Arizona room across the back.  I was in love!!  The back yard is big with a shop building and even room on one side to park a motorhome if you got rid of the small car cover. The BIG downside was that it faced a too tall RV garage 18 inches from the left of this image, belonging to the house next door.  

There's one more for sale that's on the National Historical Building Registry, a beautiful adobe in town with lots of parking space.  It's a little more ... maybe $189,000.  I'm not sure however if you can upgrade the kitchen ... or anything ... in a registered home.  No one seemed to know about the foundations of either place, whether on piers, concrete or dirt.  Another interesting note ... everyone's property tax went up about 26% last year.  That's probably why there are 30 or more houses for sale and several foreclosures.

Now if THIS place came up for sale, I'd buy it in a flash.  It's amazing with a huge courtyard, big enough for three RV's, a beautiful old house surrounded by this fence.  It's also interesting to note that most houses have tall fences around the entire place.  I suppose that's to keep out the tourists, but it feels terribly isolating.

The last house I saw in Tombstone belonged to the Robertsons who came here in a covered wagon, bringing the furniture you see, with them.   It became a hotel and boarding house for many years, until the daughter Ethel Robertson, married Mr. Macias.  The story of the rose bush is fascinating, as Mrs. Macias planted a Lady Banksia rose in the back yard in 1885, that is still alive today.  Here's Mrs. Macias with Geronimo's son.  There are a lot of interesting photos of her from the 1880's and 1900's.

Now a museum on Fourth Street that you can tour for $5.00, it's worth a visit.  Just ask around as it's rather hard to find.  Hiding in a nondescript building that used to be headquarters for a mine, there are several doors, look for the one with the OPEN sign.

It was purchased by the Devere Family in 1916, who have kept it and the rose bush alive all these years. 

Dr. Goodfellow arrived in Tombstone when he was only 25 years old, performing autopsies on those who were killed.  Honestly, I'm not sure why an autopsy is necessary when the guy obviously was killed by a gunshot to the head, but whatever.  Maybe it was for anatomical purposes.  One of the books I purchased from Singing Wind was the life story of Dr. Goodfellow.  It's a sign!!

You wouldn't have any idea this was here unless you walked in their BIG back yard.  THIS is the rose bush.  Pretty massive, right?  The trunk is over 12 feet around, with the canopy being around 9,000 square feet.  Over the years, a massive pipe trellis has been placed to keep it up off the ground.  

In the spring, it is covered with tiny white flowers.  This cutting actually came from Scotland originally, and only requires pruning and water.  You can even buy rooted cuttings for $12.95.  I think I'm going to go back and pick one up today.  Further back in the yard, they have erected a scaffolding you can climb up to see the top ... but it's so tall, even that doesn't let you see much.  Maybe a drone with a GoPro!!

Still being on the hunt for the best bread pudding, after viewing the rose bush, I stopped in at the Longhorn Saloon (not NEAR as authentic as Big Nose Kates) to see what was on their menu.  No bread pudding in sight, but they did have Death By Chocolate.  I REALLY wished I had company, because this thing was HUGE!!  A big brownie, covered with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate sprinkles and a cherry  .....  all in a rather large SOUP bowl!!

I cannot lie ..... I ate the whole thing!!  I suffered later with a terrible stomach ache which lasted all night long.  No, it was not worth it, but it WAS mighty tasty!!

I have such a love for Tombstone and that era, that I'm going back again today to look at more places for sale.  I wish I had the nerve to just jump in with both feet, but in truth, I'm probably too conservative to give it a shot.  I need a LOT more information before I jump!!

Gems In The Desert!!

In the days of the Western frontier, people were looking for real gems in the desert ... gold, silver, malachite, azurite ... things that would make them rich.  Today the gems that are found in the desert are bookstores, museums and the people who keep them open.  Those are the gems I've been trying to locate since I've been in Benson.  Sometimes you have to dig pretty deep to find the good ones.

PS ... don't wear your cowboy boots to the bookstore.  She thought they were motorcycle boots at first.  It took me some time to explain to her they were cowboy boots for riding horses, and I doubt I did a good job at convincing.  Conveniently I forgot about the Harley.

Here's another gem.  The San Pedro Valley Arts and Historical Society was given this building to be used as a museum, which they are still in the process of setting up.  Stop in ... it's free ... and check them out.  By the way, most things around here are only open Wednesday through Saturday.

One interesting thing I have noticed in Arizona ... all the buildings have door hardware like this.  It's beautifully made, but at first I thought it had been hit by a car.  The actual handle is bent over to the right hand side.  This isn't the first one I've found ... every building I've been in has original hardware and they are ALL bent.  When I asked about it, the ladies hadn't even noticed.  Apparently they were made that way.  

This used to be a mercantile store and many of the items on display were found there when it was donated.  Medicine bottles, canning jars, cans of spices and Fairy Crackers are all on display.

The railroad came to Benson first, so loads of ore were hauled from Tombstone to here by mule train, to be loaded on train cars and sent to processing plants.  On the return trip, they carried dynamite from the Apache Powder Company.  This big company kept Benson alive for years.  The gals said they remember as kids hearing big bangs.  That was the company testing their latest batch of powder.

Unfortunately their water holding ponds leached into the surrounding area, causing the EPA to jump right on it.  Apache still makes ammonium nitrate to this day.

Right next door is another building with an infamous past.  Three Mexican men were hung from the rafters for horse stealing and buried on the grounds.  It is said they might have been innocent and their souls never left the site.  Some townspeople got together, located the graves and gave them a decent burial in the cemetery.  No one knows if their souls went with them.

This is Sid Wilson's cowboy gear and boots.  He died at the ripe old age of 102 in Tombstone, having been a rancher, former Mayor of Tombstone and a cantankerous storyteller.  He drove the last stagecoach that ran from Benson to Tombstone ... how cool is THAT!!  ... and died with his boots off.  That was important in the old days ... it meant you lived a long life and died in bed, versus on the dusty streets in a gunfight!!

In back of the museum is an art Gallery, showcasing the work of local artists.  It's all for sale, helping to keep the museum alive.  These are Giclee (printed canvas of the original oil) by Brenda Peo.  I love her work ... she seems to GET animal expressions very well.  These jackrabbits remind me of the hundreds that used to run roughshod over our ranch in California.

When I discovered on the internet that she had some paintings at the Gallery of Dreams in St. David (on route to Tombstone), I had to stop in and see.  Now I have to say, my friends know I don't go in stores that say GALLERY.  They are WAY too expensive for my blood.  As a photographer, I can't imagine someone paying $100 for an image, let alone $300 or more!!

This place is no exception, really ... the prices are pretty high.  Still, it's fun to look at all the stuff made by local people who would probably be thrilled to pieces that you purchased something they made.  This cow by Peo ... Blu is her name ... has been calling MY name for some time.  I've seen pictures here and there of her work, and she has captured the face of many cattle I've moved from pasture to pasture over the years.  

Yup ... Blu came home with me, riding on the empty back seat of the Jeep.  I have the perfect place to hang her in my house, I just have to figure out where to put her until I get home.

Here's another really unique piece.  It's a Thunder Jug ... a little different from the one you're thinking of ... it's a hand painted gourd with a membrane in the bottom, having a piece of long thin spring attached.  If you bump the spring at the bottom, it makes a long thunderously loud noise ... like you were in a huge thunderstorm!!  Very different, to say the least.  From these two purchases, I'm sure I'm keeping that gallery open for another month or two!!

Back at the RV park, it having been a beautiful cloudy day, I parked myself on the back forty waiting for the sun to go down.  It wasn't as spectacular as I expected, but pretty nonetheless.  I had to lay down for this one, hoping there were no snakes or critters to get in my shirt!!

Hey!!!  I have an idea ..... maybe I can have this one printed on canvas and sell it to offset the purchase of Blu!!!!   Hmmmm the wheels are turning!!!

There are lots of gems out there, even if at first look you think there's absolutely no reason to stick around a small town.  Sometimes just driving up and down the streets is enough, like yesterday when I found my dream house in Tombstone!!  That's tomorrow's story!

Singing Wind ...... Don't Miss This One!

When I mentioned I was looking for a book on the Tombstone era, Lynn and Dave told me about Singing Wind.  Around these parts, directions are difficult at best ... go over the train tracks, then over the cattle guard, go around the curve about a mile, there's a big tree on the right ..... so after dinner the other night, they took me part way down a dirt road so I'd know exactly where it was.   We quickly came to a locked gate.  Closed!

Who would have thought there really was a bookstore out in the middle of the desert.  Don't they belong in town?  So yesterday, since it appears UPS delivered my Amazon book order to General Delivery Benson Az, signed by someone named Kelly (there's no Kelly at the post office), I figured I might as well try to find Singing Wind again.

This time the gate was open as I drove past this sign.  It looked like it was right up my alley ... just the kind of books I was looking for.

When I got to the end of the road, I wasn't sure which building I should knock on.  Everything to the left was big, agricultural like ... and then there was this house.  I knocked on the door, but no one answered.  I think I'm barking up the wrong tree!!

As I started to leave, I noticed this sign ... Singing Wind Bookshop ... with barely readable Ring The Bell at the bottom ... so I did!!  Boy was it LOUD!!  That prompted lots of dog barking from inside, and shortly, the BIG dog came to see me.  Behind him was a little lady, maybe 80 something years old, with long gray hair, bundled up like it was 30 degrees out.  

Although a little hesitant, I followed her inside, to be immediately shushed while she gave me the hour long tour.  Wall to wall, ceiling to floor, this is a bookstore like no other, all stored on rough sawn tree shelves.  As she pointed with her cane, she went through every single type of book, all in perfect order.  From how to speak Chinese, to philosophy, to painting masters, to Indian languages, to mustache books (written by men) and women books, she has it all.  

When I tried to ask about Tombstone and Bisbee books, I was again shushed until the tour was over.  Then I would be allowed to ask questions.  Finally able to browse the books, she hovered over me like a mother hen, saying "that's a good one" about every book I took from the shelf.  

It appears she knows a lot of the authors too, as she told me stories about several.  In the second room I spent more time petting the half dalmatian puppy than looking at books, but it seems she had a few authors to a "reading" a couple days before and they had signed several of the books, including three of the four I ended up purchasing.  

I dropped a bundle here ..... her books are NOT inexpensive nor discounted in any way, but I figured if she can give up half of her entire house for a bookshop in the middle of nowhere, I could donate a little more than usual.  

As she tallied the bill and scrounged for a bag, I told her to save a tree and not use a bag.  I got my comeuppance pretty swiftly.  YOU NEED A BAG!!  Because later, when you want to give a book away as a gift, you can decorate the bag and use it for wrapping paper, instead of buying paper.  Take the books OUT first so you don't ruin them!!!  I quietly took the huge grocery bag with my books inside, petted the puppy one more time and waved goodbye!!  Singing Wind Bookshop is a definite stop if you are in the area.  Just ask around, someone will tell you how to get there.

For dinner the other night, Lynn and Dave took me to Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant.  Yes, I was thinking the same thing you are when I saw this destination.  It's a tiny house set back off the street, looking more like an old residence than anything.

In fact, it probably was someone's house before it became this restaurant, owned and operated by a couple from Southern California.  It's pretty small with low ceilings, but the first class food makes all your reservations disappear.  In a quick ten minutes, the place was packed with people and there was a line waiting for tables.

I ordered the Enchiladas Bandera ... three enchiladas, each with different fillings and sauces.  It came on a plate 12" by 18"!!!  I'm not kidding, the plate is HUGE!!  The food is traditional Mexican and beyond delicious, besides being priced right.  It's so cool to find such a gem in this setting!!

I heard the table next door order carrot cake for dessert.  I could devour carrot cake, but when they told me it had no frosting, just a sweet cream sauce, I was a little confused.  What the heck ... order it anyway!!

I got it in a to-go box since I was already stuffed ... figuring I would just have a bite or two and take it home.  This is NOT your mothers carrot cake .... it is WAY better!!  This almost rivals the bread pudding in Jerome!!

Obviously, I was full and miserable, but since Lynn and Dave didn't go for the huge piece of cake, we stopped in at the Ice Cream Stop on the way home.  I moaned and groaned while we sat at a picnic table, as they finished off their dessert in the beautiful desert air.  

I got home to find the puppies crashed on the couch, whereupon I did the same.  I couldn't wait to have enchiladas and carrot cake for breakfast!!

I spent some time yesterday at the Historical Society's Museum in Benson that I'll tell you about tomorrow.  Today I'm on the hunt for cemeteries and my books which I hope magically appear at the Post Office!

Mining For Copper ...

One day, a very long time ago, the Army was sent on horseback to protect the farmers from the Indians close to the Mexican border.  When they set up camp, a couple of the guys discovered huge chunks of what they knew to be copper.  They quickly staked their claim, but had to travel to Tucson to record it.  Short of money, they sold their claim to some investors, who immediately began mining operations.

Thus Bisbee was born, being named after a California Judge, the biggest money man, who never set foot here.  Since all the "good" ground was saved for mining operations, the town found itself in the bottom of a very deep gully and up the side of steep cliffs.

People flocked to this area, having been mostly brought by the mining companies, where no transportation existed.  These two trolleys were all that moved the masses.

In Old Town Bisbee, some of the original buildings remain, with narrow streets barely wide enough for a wagon, let along two cars passing.

Since the Copper Queen Mine shut down in 1975, the population has dropped to practically nothing.  The downtown area has become an artsy community, followed closely by antique and thrift stores, all of which were closed.  

The Fair building, an original department store, even before Woolworth and Penney's, has recently become a museum, operated by the local Historical Society.  There's three stories of local history here and the docents are Bisbee residents.  They have lots of tales to tell if you have the time.

With most every house built of wood, it didn't take long for Bisbee to burn down.  Big money mines rebuilt with brick and concrete in the early 1900's, which is mostly what you see today.

This huge building is the Copper Queen headquarters, with the mine being basically across the highway.  It's full of interesting information about mining, how it was done back in the old days and how it was accomplished until its closure.  The ladies I spoke to here have resided in Bisbee most of their lives, so they know their stuff.  

Inside in the back is the original board room, where the money men smoked cigars and drank whiskey as they counted their profits.  Major decisions were made here affecting hundreds of lives. This is a far cry from the poor miner who was dropped several hundred feet down a very small hole, to sit with a sledge hammer and bar, pounding out rock to be hauled to the surface.  Once crushed, the copper was extracted, contaminating the entire countryside with lead.

This is what they were after ... chunks of copper .... gold of another color.  

Along the way, they recovered lots of malachite and azurite, most of which was dumped in the tailings pile.  What little gold and silver was found, was processed separately.  There's still money in them thar hills, as the tailings were processed for years by gem hunters.  I was told today you can sign up for a two-bus trip (taking all your mining tools with you) that takes you to the tailings pile.  You can mine your heart out and keep anything you find.  Don't bother calling, the bus trip sells out the day before it's even offered.

As a way to be as safe as possible, or at least know when someone was missing, each miner was assigned a brass number that he carried with him at all times when in the mine.  At the end of the day, the brass counter made sure everyone's coin was returned.  If not, everyone was called back in to find the missing man, dead or alive.  Miners became pretty perturbed when they discovered the guy had just forgotten and went to the bar before turning in his brass.

The miners made pretty good money for those days, most of which they left at the faro tables or the bar ..... or both.  Spades remain on the table, while the banker pulls cards from a "shoe".  You either win or lose depending on whether you bet the next card will match your pick on the table.

The mine owners wanted the best possible management and production for their money-making investment, so they brought hundreds of knowledgeable men from all parts of the world, including Serbia, Ireland, Italy and the Isle of Man.  That's where my family came from.  The red ribbon was worn by the President of the Manx Picnic.  They were pretty proud of their heritage!!

Ever wonder what happens in a rain storm when your town is built in a gully?  Yup ... it floods.  So what they did was build over and around the gully, making access pretty difficult in some places.  There's no place to park here and access is acquired by crossing the big gully and heading up the stairs.  Unfortunately, on many occasions, the gullies were smaller than the head of water going downstream, washing out many homes, which had to be rebuilt.

One of the poorer workers, Joseph Muheim, arrived from Switzerland in 1887, to work in his Uncle's saloon cleaning spittoons.  When his uncle died, he inherited the entire place and became the richest man in Bisbee, a town of only 800 people.  He eventually turned that into even bigger bucks, buying up property and becoming a banker.

I just LOVE old houses, so when I found out his was available to tour, I tried to find it on my own.  Trouble is, the streets around here aren't much more than they were in the 1880's, although they are sort of a mix between broken concrete and asphalt.  I went up OK Street ... OH MY!!  ... a two lane curvy road only wide enough for one car, let alone all those parked here and there.

When I came upon a road maintenance crew, I'm think they could tell by the look on my face that I thought I must have made a wrong turn.  "You're not from around here, huh?"  Uh, no, and I think I'm lost.  They told me to go a few more feet and turn left ... as his hand made a distinct downward motion.  Not sure what that meant, I drove a little further and made the turn.  Still within earshot, I think they heard me say OH HELL NO!! because they came over to tell me it was okay, since I had a Jeep.  

Pretty sure I was going to just fall off the hill, I made my way down to the 90 degree left hand turn, where I saw a wide spot to park ... the house is just to the right.  Unfortunately, I went a little too far and had to back up.  With one foot on the accelerator (and one close to the brake), I gave it a shot.  The tires squealed and I went nowhere!!  You've GOT to be kidding me!!!  Determined as ever, I quickly switched it to 4-wheel drive, before eeking back up to my parking spot.  I was sure when I got out, my Jeep would go careening off down the hill, so I very quietly shut the door and held my breath.

Since I didn't hear a crash as I turned away, I made it around the very small yard to the front door.  Definitely not a mansion like I imagined, but a very nice house.

Originally this was a four room home, but as Joseph Muheim and his wife had more children, they added on and enlarged their quarters.  With a huge rock in the way out back, they made the walls at whatever angle they could when the kitchen was added.  The original tank-in-the-sky toilets remain, as does a lot of the furniture, including all the dishware and silver plated silverware.

The Mrs. didn't do much ... everything, including the cooking, was relegated to the servants, who must have been in seventh heaven with this gas stove and TWO indoor bathrooms.  I spent well over two hours going through the house, just the docent and I.  She has lived in town all her life and knew all about the mines and what life was like in the "old" days.  

It seems that when the mines closed, someone came along and discovered the reason lots of people were getting sick .... lead poisoning.  The town had been showered with lead from the pit mines and the smelter for years.  The road construction crew I ran into was more likely one of the mine crews going around removing the top 12 inches of dirt from everyones house and garden, replacing it with clean soil.  

When it was finally time to leave ... I still don't really trust my AC unit to work for the puppies ... I cautiously and very gingerly got in my Jeep, held my breath as I released the brake and slowly drove to the bottom, where I intersected with a wider street.  Back in 2-wheel drive, I headed back to downtown Bisbee, admiring the little houses stuck in the hillside all along the way.

I returned to Benson without incident, where I caught up with Lynn and Dave for a dinner date.  That requires some more photos, so I'll tell you all about the good food tomorrow!!  In the meantime, I really want to return to Bisbee for some more exploring ... probably today.