Queenly things, of course

The next morning, April 10, it was now just Dewey and me, struggling with decisions.  What to do, what to do.  When in doubt, visit a Harley shop.  Sierra Vista, here we come. 

We spent a little time at the shop, but Bisbee, Arizona, was our true destination for the day as Jaz and I had talked to Dewey and told him what a cool place it is.  And we found it.  We arrived later in the day and all the Queen Mine tours were over, but they had availability for the next morning, the 10:30 a.m. one.  We booked it.  While I’d been on it last year with Jaz I certainly didn’t mind going again since it’s fun to ride the tram, and you can always learn something. 

They even shine the bat light on the rock on the other side of the street. 

I could answer the bat call.

We found a hotel, the Inn at Castle Rock, and spent the late afternoon and evening going to the Screaming Banshee for pizza and salad, and then walking.  Jaz and I had walked but it was a totally different type.  This one was up and down some of the thousands of stairs that lead to houses and businesses in the area. 

There are beautiful buildings everywhere. 

Jaz usually takes photos of these things, so I took it for her.

There are thousands of stairs and that's how you get from one level to the other.  It was great walking.

We walked up the hill to the water tower and then looked for a way down out of the weeds.  We wandered up more stairs and finally found an old rocky, broken pavement road.  Yep.  That would work.  We even found the area where I got stuck trying to turn around last year … uneven pavement, broken pavement, rocks, gravel.  Aaaagggghhhhh!!!  This poor woman had come out of her home to ask if I was okay.  No.  Is there anything I can do?  No.  I finally wiggled it forward, back, forward, back, maneuvering it an inch or so each time and finally got turned around.  What a bad memory that was.  Walking it was much easier.  Haha!!!

The water tower was above us at one point.

From above, it's a magnificent view.

We found this interesting doorway.  There are old bottles, some carpentry tools, just some of everything and it was so much fun to look at for a while.

The flowers are captivating and add a "wonderfulness" to the whole area.

Some graffiti where they often have a little flea market.

We walked by this home entrance.  The owner came out and told us the story.  She had commissioned someone to make angels and thought she would be getting some about a foot high.  Instead, he started making these on 9-11 and wanted something memorable and fantastic.  This is what she got.  They are life-size and represent watchful angels and are taking the souls up to heaven.  There are two other figures helping rescue people.

This one is sliding in to help rescue.  The other one I couldn't get a good photo of as it was in a dark corner.  It was just as magnificent.  We had a great visit and a great story to take away that we wouldn't have known about.

Of course.

On Saturday, April 11, we were at the Queen Mine for the tour bright and not quite so early since it wasn’t until 10:30.  It was a treat to go on it again.  I love riding the little tram and going down, down, down into the mine.

 

All geared up and ready to go down into the mine.

This guy helped us get geared up last year, too.

The group watching how to do dynamite work.



The bell signals for the cage that goes up and down like an elevator.

The bell to go with the signals.

In the mine.

Out of the mine.  Another successful tour.  No one lost, no one injured, no one dead.

 

Copper is what made Bisbee a thriving mining town in the late 1800s.  By the early 1900s, Bisbee was one of the largest and most cultured cities between St. Louis and San Francisco.  Between 1877 and 1975, when the last of the underground mines closed, more than 8 billion pounds of copper was mined and processed, as well as gold, silver, lead and zinc, making this one of the most productive mining districts in the world. 

The Lavender Pit.  It's named for Harrison Lavender who took an unprofitable low-grade copper-bearing rock mine and began producing commercial copper ore.  Better, or not?

Afterwards we headed out of town, but made a brief stop at a kind-of ghost town that Dewey had been told about.  I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but it was very, very cool.

Old cars rock!!

Especially lime-green ones.

And you know I love cop cars.

Ha!!!

From Bisbee we headed toward Mt. Lemmon, a local ski area 30 miles from Tucson, more than 8,000 feet up.  Dewey had heard about this being a great ride, so off we went.  It was awesome, about 30 miles or so up to the top.  We stopped and did a little hiking, climbing like mountain goats over and up on the rocks. 

Being the strong girl is tough work.

Beautiful rock formations rose in every direction.

I wanted to climb this one, too, but there was no time. 

It was beautiful and the view was that of a postcard.  It had gotten cool as we’d started up the hill late in the afternoon and it was time to put on a sweatshirt.  But it was beautiful and a ride I’d like to do again, spending more time here and there.

Living on the edge.

And in the distance ...

Gorgeous rocks.

Heading down at sunset.

We ended the night near Tucson once again, but that’s okay.  There’s so much to do in this area that I’ll be back time and time again.

It was our last night out, and on the morning of Sunday, April 12, we had to head to our separate places.  I was going to Gilbert to where my bike lives, and Dewey was heading to Chuck’s as they were heading north on Monday.  Oh, woe is me.  The riding is nearing an end.  But wait, there’s more.

We looped around to the east of Globe, another favorite little town of mine.  We had a couple of missions near Globe.  Hobbs had asked me to see if I could find a gravesite for his friend, Tony, who passed a few years ago.

Dewey and I found one of the two cemeteries in the area and rode over twisted, broken, narrow pavement, up a hill that just took us higher and higher.  We parked the bikes and wandered around.  These mostly appeared to be older grave sites, and yet, most seemed to be well-kept. 

As we looked over the hill and down, we could see what appeared to be a newer portion of the cemetery.  We got back on our horses and followed the badly-maintained road.  Thankfully, it took us back down over the gravel and rocks and then we were out of it and back on pavement.  We rode around to the newer area and parked the bikes.  Then we wandered around, looking to see if we could find Tony’s place of final rest.  About an hour later we gave up.  But there were some beautiful sites, well-cared for, loved, and a joy to be near with their calming, peaceful effect.

My favorite grave sight that we saw at this cemetery.

This was cool.

Baseball theme.  Awesome.

Our bikes called to us and we were off again, this time to a shrine near Miami to light candles.  Dewey lit one for his daughter and I lit one for Tony, Hobbs’ friend.  We sat and it was a nice feeling to light candles and rest, maybe saying a little prayer for those that have gone before us.

We stopped at Superstition Harley and then we soon parted.  Verlie’s … I was home.  Or at least Harlow, my bike, was.  It was time to relax. 

Monday, April 13, was a day of rest, hanging out with Verlie as she wasn’t feeling well.  We watched movies.  I thought it was a great day.

On Tuesday, April 14, I headed to Arrowhead Harley in Peoria, Arizona, for a 40,000-mile service.  I told them to keep the bike for a day as I would be with friends.  The Peeps are there and I was going to be with them for a few days.  It’s the perfect time of year for visiting, for riding, for walking.  Not only that, Judi had a lady coming in to do massages for her friends.  I was in.  I was doing it all.

It’s getting close to heading home.  On Wednesday, April 15, I went with Judi cuz I needed a haircut desperately.  It had grown three inches overnight and it was time.  Haircut.  Check.  Pick up the bike.  Check. 

There's a beautiful cactus plant near the lake that's just starting to bloom.  The flowers are exquisite.

On Thursday, April 16, Judi and I went for a walk down by the lake.  Oh my.  Swans.  Black and white ones, both.  I so love the swans.  And there were some blue herons, Canada geese, turtles, and so much more.  It was a dream day for birding. 

I love these herons.  They've such an intensity about them.  We even saw two nests with babies.  What a treat.

I'm always in heaven when I see a swan.

Seeing a black swan put the icing on the cake.

Some birds were flying around and I loved the way this one crossed his little feet in such a dainty way.

Yo, what ya see out there?  Is it a fish?  Should we go get it?

This goose is laying on eggs right next to the trail.  There are signs warning people about her.  She was not a happy layer.



There were even some bunnies.  What a great time.

A turtle was sunning himself in a frog-like style.  He finally decided to take a dip in the pond and was gone.

It's been a wonderful couple of days.  Now for another visit with Verlie, and a few more days and I’ll be home.