Thursday, February 5, 2009

Bisbee, county seat and tourist attraction

Arizona has a number of old mining towns, but none as scenic as Bisbee, the Cochise County seat in the southeast corner of Arizona. Although I usually prefer wilderness locations, Bisbee is easily one of my favorite commercial-type destinations in Arizona. As their Website states:
Welcome to Bisbee. Stroll its sidewalks and find delight in the many art galleries, gourmet restaurants, coffee houses, book stores and specialty shops. Visit the charmingly restored neighborhoods of Victorian and European-style homes perched miraculously on the hillsides. Unwind...relax...and find soothing respite from your everyday world.
One of the major attractions is the Queen Mine Tour. We have taken the tour a few times and each time it is still a novelty. You ride an actual mine train deep into a hard rock mine for an hour long tour. The tour is $12 plus tax for adults and $5 for children 4 to 15, under 4 are free. Although I doubt that children under four will enjoy the tour. It is wet and chilly and really interesting.

Don't miss the Lavender Pit Jeep Tours. The Lavender Pit is a huge open pit mine right in the middle of the town. The pit covers an area of 300 acres (1.2 km²), and is 900 feet (274 m) deep.

Old Bisbee is in a narrow canyon and the houses are built up on the sides of the steep canyon walls and hills. The roads are narrow and really fun to drive, if you like cliffs and sharp turns. If not, take the town tour and let someone else navigate the roads.

Bisbee is in the center of a lot of other attractions, including Sierra Vista and Tombstone. I can unqualifiedly recommend Bisbee as a place to visit.

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