Four unique Arizona locations are today’s topic. The creativity of Bisbee, the cars of Lowell, the cowboy shootouts of Tombstone, and the cranes of Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area should make your Arizona bucket list!
BISBEE
Someone once described Bisbee, AZ as “Mayberry on Acid” which conjures up VW vans full of hippies running poor lil Opie and Sheriff Taylor out of town using nothing but dance, lava lamps, and large sunflowers, but this doesn’t quite reflect Bisbee’s history and definitely doesn’t reflect its current state.
Bisbee was built on mining (mostly copper) and unlike Mayberry (more like most mining towns), it had a history of old west gambling, drinking, fighting and later union turmoil. In its heyday (between 1910 and 1920) it had a population of over 9,000. As mining declined, Bisbee lost over 60% of its inhabitants, leaving just 3,800 by 1950. In the 1960s low housing prices, an attractive AZ climate at 5500 feet and picturesque scenery drew in counterculture artists and hippies which drastically increased its population once again. In 1970 one of these artists, Stephen Hutchison and his wife Marcia, purchased the town’s Copper Queen Hotel and began its renovation which attracted a developer named Ed Smart. Actor John Wayne, a frequent Copper Queen guest, later partnered with Smart in real estate revitalization and by 1990, gentrification was in full swing with Bisbee offering coffee shops, live theater, art galleries, museums, art deco gardens and beautifully restored Victorians.
You can easily spend a few days in Bisbee’s galleries, book stores, local restaurants, a Smithsonian affiliated mining museum, and the gigantic mining pit called the Lavender Pit (spanning 300 acres and 900 feet deep).
We just enjoyed exploring all around the hillside town – window shopping and checking out murals and the artistry on display in seemingly every home. We just loved the area! It’s like a mini San Francisco – best seen when walking through small alleys and up its steep hillsides to soak in the creativity adorning this great little town.
It’s like a mini San Francisco – best seen when walking through small alleys and up its steep hillsides to soak in the creativity adorning this great little town.
Bisbee Hillside 
Bisbee alley art 
“Lavender Pit”
LOWELL
We boondocked above Bisbee which had wonderful views of its surrounding mountains, the valley below and all the way past the Mexican border. While we were boondocking, we met a Bisbee local, Sterling Noren, who creates adventure motorcycle films for a living (www.norenfilms.com). He also operates a small vintage motel in Bisbee called The Jonquil (www.thejonquil.com). He recommended a quick trip to Lowell so of course, we had to go because local tips are always the best!
Erie Street is eerie but also very cool and worth the stop. Its one of the only streets in Lowell that wasn’t gobbled up by the huge copper pit and it remains frozen in time…1950-something. This town street is lined with vintage cars, an old service station and store fronts plastered with Leave-it-to-Beaver mom’s pushing their wares. The only operating business is a diner called the Bisbee Breakfast Club, a local institution that was bustling and known for large portions and small prices.
TOMBSTONE
Just 23 miles from Bisbee (between Tucson and Bisbee) lies the “Town Too Tough to Die” – Tombstone. If you’re a movie fan then you know something about Wyatt Earp, his brothers, Doc Holliday, the Clanton Brothers and the shootout at the O.K. Corral. This is a tall tale of a misdemeanor (carrying guns within the city limit) gone wrong and a tale of revenge. In 30 seconds with 30 bullets, three civilians were dead and three officers were wounded.
This single event was central to what Americans have come to believe about frontier justice and the “wild west”. The shootout has been in over 30 feature films. But of all the old west shootouts, I wonder why it continues to resonate? Maybe the enduring revenge drama is relatable because it portrays a good man who does bad things for good reason? Or maybe it’s the idea that ordinary people can do extraordinary things with singular focus?
Our visit inspired Doug to read more about the Earps (Ride the Devil’s Herd- Wyatt Earps Battle Against the West’s Biggest Outlaw Gang) and upon doing so recognized that the characters and the “Shootout at the O.K. Corral” were not nearly as neat and clean or as heroic as Kurt Russel’s excellent portrayal in the 1993 blockbuster movie would like you to believe.
But…just for a moment, time travel back to the old west to witness the most basic fight between good and evil. There’s an extra charge for the melodramatic re-enactment at the O.K. Corral, but isn’t that why you came? For a small fee, you can boo and hiss the “bad guys” and cheer for the “law” and enjoy a good laugh along the way.
Then grab your spurs and jingle down main street for some overpriced food; a visit to the most famous brothel and gambling hall, the Birdcage; Boot Hill cemetery; and some window shopping for western knickknacks, gimcracks, and that gigantic belt buckle you didn’t know you needed!
The whole town is loud, dusty, tawdry and cheesy. Its an absolute delight! Just go!
Then grab your spurs and jingle down main street…The whole town is loud, dusty, tawdry and cheesy. Its an absolute delight!
WHITEWATER DRAW WILDLIFE AREA
Whitewater Draw is a popular boondocking location for bird watchers. The area is dominated by an ephemeral lake, patchy marshlands and semi-arid grasslands with apparently make it perfect for the Sandhill Crane. It is their primary wintering area. Over 22,000 of them travel from both the Rocky Mountains and mid-continent every year. We arrived in late March of 2021 so many of the cranes had already departed but there were still plenty of birds to be seen. The Audubon Society notes that this area also hosts Mountain Plover, yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, owls, and mallards, ring-necked ducks, and cinnamon teal to name a few.
Take your binoculars out for the best views and take in the sounds of this unique habitat.
