Advertisement
Memorial Day weekend 2008. The weekend that I was coming home to see family, and take a walk down Memory Lane. An event that I was very much looking forward to, and the chance to see some family members that I hadn't seen since the mid 1980's. In our family, we have this standing joke "the family gets together for weddings and funerals". Thankfully, this weekend, wasn't either!
My plane landed at Tucson International Airport. I had rented a convertible, and was looking forward to driving around in it with the top down. I was shocked to see that it was raining, it doesn't rain often in the desert. As I got off the plane, I couldn't believe how chilly the temps were, a high in the mid 60's! So much for riding around topless that day, it just wasn't going to happen.
I knew that I'd take the scenic route to my parents home (Sierra Vista), and do a drive-by of Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas. I hadn't seen any of these cities in over a decade or more, and it was just nice to be able to take a leisurely drive.
To get to Tombstone, I'd drive
The beginning of my life
I was born in the town "too tough to die".through Benson and St. David. After a quick lunch in Benson, I was driving through St. David when I saw an art gallery, "Gallery of Dreams". This art gallery features 50 artists from the US. I didn't have a chance to stop in as time was short. Here is their website: http://www.agalleryofdreams.com
I was born in Tombstone, Arizona in 1956, this is where my life began. My first 3 years of life, I lived in St. David, then we moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona. Funny thing, I don't remember the first 3 years, they were a blur.
As a child, we'd take trips through Bisbee to go see Grandparents and other relatives, living in Douglas. Car trips? Those were fun with my parents, sister, and 2 brothers. Today, I don't think I could imagine a road trip with 4 kids, close in age. That'd be insanity.
Tombstone was known for a mining town in the late 1800's. When Ed Schieffelin came to Camp Huachuca with a party of soldiers and left the fort to prospect, his comrades told him that he'd find his tombstone rather than silver. Thus, in 1877 Schieffelin named his first claim the Tombstone,
Hills of Tombstone
The desert seemed almost bare to me. I've lived in Texas too long, and the memories of the desert escaped me. and rumors of rich strikes made a boomtown of the settlement that adopted this name. Tombstone had gone through its share of violence, especially around October 26, 1881 when the Earp-Clanton battle took place at the O.K. Corral.
During the 7 years that the mines in Tombstone were in production, there were millions of dollars in silver and gold that were mined before rising underground water stopped production.
In World War I, Tombstone was a major producer of manganese for the government.
Today, Tombstone is a great tourist city with some of the original buildings of the 1880's western lifestyle.
My first stop in Tombstone was Boothill Graveyard. This graveyard was opened in 1879, and it is said that most of the dead in the graveyard suffered violent or un-expected deaths with their boots on, hence it became known as "Boothill". In the graveyard, are the graves of: Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury, who were killed during the O.K. Corral gunfight.
As a child, when we went to Tombstone, I enjoyed going into the saloon and having a Sarsaparilla to drink.
Other places to visit in Tombstone include: the O.K. Corral, Bird Cage Theatre,
Desert flowers
A subtle reminder to be on the look out of where you walk or hike in the desert. While the flowers are beautiful, this is one of those "do not touch" cacti. Nellie Cashman's Restaurant, Buford House, Big Kate's Saloon, and the Crystal Palace Saloon.
My next drive through would be Bisbee. The entrance into Bisbee, you'd have to drive through Mule Pass Tunnel. The tunnel was built in 1958 and it is one of the longest tunnels in Arizona. Some of the locals refer to the tunnel as "The Time Tunnel". Driving through this tunnel, I had fond memories of riding my 10 speed through this tunnel, during my college years. Oh, and how far I could drive the car without braking!
Bisbee was founded in 1880 and named after Judge DeWitt Bisbee, who was the financial backer of the Copper Queen Mine. Bisbee, at one time was the largest city in the southwest between St. Louis and San Francisco. In 1908, a fire broke out and destroyed most of the commercial district along Main Street. Reconstructon begain in 1910, and most of those buildings are still intact today. Today, Bisbee is known for being an artist colony and a retirement community.
In the early 1900's, Bisbee was one of the richest mineral sites in the world, producing more than 3 million ounces of gold, more than 8
Boothill Graveyard
This is not one place, where I'm dying to get in! billion pounds of copper, and there was even lead, zinc, and silver which came from those mountains. The value of these metals comes out to $6.1 billion (in 1975 dollars). Phelps Dodge closed the Bisbee mine in 1975. Today, you can take a tour of the mine and even go underground.
Other places to visit in Bisbee include: Old Bisbee Repertory Theater, Stock Exchange Saloon, Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum, Bisbee Restoration Museum, and Muheim Museum Heritage House. If you're looking for a place to stay, there's always the Copper Queen Hotel.
The majority of my childhood was spent in Sierra Vista Arizona. As kids, we nicknamed the city "Sorry Gulch", and "Tumbleweed Tech" was another common name.
Sierra Vista is located next to Fort Huachuca which is an Army base. In 1915, Sierra Vista was known as Buena, then changed to Overton, then to Garden Canyon, and subsequently Fry. In 1956, the city became incorporated and was renamed Sierra Vista. In 1956, when it became incorporated, the population was around 1671. Today, the population of Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca is over 40,000.
During my homecoming, I was surprised to see how much the city
Grave in Boothill
Between the rocks and cacti, I'd think this would be a tough place for body snatchers! had grown, and what local "hotspots" (the drive-in theater, bowling alley, and old Buena High School) had been torn down. Even the A & W Rootbeer stand (drive-in) had been torn down.
In those days, the thing to do was to cruise down Fry Boulevard, ride our bikes, and go to the dime stores for shopping. In the mid 1970's, when Jack In the Box came into town, we thought we died and went to heaven.
The weather was incredible. The first day was windy, but the other days, I could ride with the top down. There was even snow on the mountains. I do miss the mountains and the trout fishing at nearby Parker Lake.
A walk down Memory Lane should include driving by your childhood home. Gosh, I was in for a surprise when I saw our home. I remember the home having white brick and a dark trim. One day, I thought the white brick was rather boring (our neighbors had painted their home) and decided that I'd paint our house too. I brought out a box of 64 crayons and colored the carport. It was probably the most colorful carport in Sierra Vista, but
Shop Until You Die
Even a graveyard can have a shop! What can you trade when you've reached the end of the road? alas, that didn't last long when Dad discovered it. After all four of us kids went through the interrogation and wondered if we'd live to see another day, I finally confessed to the deed. After some talk with Dad, you'd better believe that I had that brick back to sparkling white!
I attended Carmichael Elementary School, which was across the street from our home. Next to the school was a drive-in theater. I went onto Sierra Vista Middle School from 7th through 9th grade. One of my fondest memories of that school is when as students, we staged a "sit down" protest of the Vietnam War. I attended Buena High School from 1971-1974, which in those days, it was a AAA rated school. I've been told that it is now a AAAAA rated school! My graduating class had 400 students!
One of our favorite places to dine is La Casita Resturant & Cantina. Today, the food is good as ever, and the restaurant was more than hospitable in accomodating 20 of our family members over Memorial Day. Since my childhood, Sierra Vista has gained a variety of restaurants including: sushi, italian, german, steak houses, and oriental. Just about
Digger O'Balls
When you need to ride in style. any appetite will be satisfied.
There is a lot of outdoor activities to do in Sierra Vista: bicycling, hiking, birding, and fishing in the nearby mountains. Sierra Vista is known as "The Hummingbird Capital of the US". The best time to see the Hummers is from April through September.
Unknown to me (as a child), Sierra Vista has several wineries, and is known as "Napa-zona". My next visit home will include a tour of some of these wineries. I didn't know that I grew up in the heart of "wine country" in Arizona.
Cruising down Fry Boulevard was fun. So much has changed. I got a great picture of a tavern/bar, which pretty much summed up my home town (growing up). It really was good to come back home to visit.
Oh, and I've included a family portrait. It's always a "sight" when we gather around to have our mugs taken.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.055s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0326s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Jan Rollins
non-member comment
Karen
I loved the pictures. Made me think of my growing-up years. Love, Jan