An Eclectic Kind of Day

Going to bed last night, I was sure that I was going to be awakened by the collapse of the rig next to us. It looked like it was being readied for a moon-shot, the front end showing at least 12 inches beneath the front tires. Some of the pads here are a bit uneven, but this is ridiculous.

And why is our hood propped up like that? To battle global warming? Nope.
To keep the local wood rats from chewing the wires in the engine compartment. It gets a bit too cool in there at night with the hood up, so they move to a car/truck that’s a bit cozier. This could be an urban legend, but we’ve seen these preventive measures in the last two campgrounds, so we have joined the battle against wood rats….and wire rats, too.

Heading down the road this morning, the first stop was Fort Huachuca (an Apache term describing the gastronomical effects of too much tequila). This is still a very vital army base, presumably our first line of defense against the on-going Mexican invasion. All we wanted to do was go to the museum on base to see some of the 1800s history of the place (where it was used as an outpost to clobber those pesky Apaches). The gate security folks ushered us aside and inspected our insurance certificate and drivers' licenses, inquiring as to our purpose on base. Finally assuring them that we were not terrorists (Carly didn’t even wake up), we were allowed on base, only to discover after a long drive through the base that the Museum was closed! President’s Birthday holiday! If Carly was a leg-lifter, she would have.

The next stop was Coronado National Memorial, a spectacular piece of wilderness right up against the Mexican border. It celebrates the expedition of Coronado, first name forgotten, in the 1500s, in search of the 6 (or 7?) cities of gold. (Little known fact: He made it all the way to Kansas! Toto hadn't arrived yet.) We took a drive up a winding dirt road to Montezuma Pass. The US-Mexican border was visible out there in the distance. It would have been a great day for hiking, but Carly’s repose in the back of the Honda would not permit it, and she is finished as a trail dog. This is a place to return to, P.C. (post Carly…)

Getting hungry, we could practically taste the Rueben sandwiches we were seeking down the road in Bisbee, AZ. But first, we had to pay homage to the ‘Big Pit’, a yawning chasm with a beautiful pool of toxic waste at the bottom. This superfund site was formerly the Phelps-Dodge copper mine, the most productive such mine in the US (until it closed). Bisbee itself is a quaint pocket of liberalism in conservative Arizona. Many counter-culture and sexually variant folks here. The streets are narrow and twisty, barely wide enough for ore carts. Stairways everywhere reaching up and down from levels built on hills, hillsides and across flood channels. Lotsa concrete, much of it old and cracking.. This would be a great place to open a crutch-rental business.

It was “Rueben sandwiches for two” at the Winchester Restaurant in the famous Copper Queen Hotel. They were great. Some of the best ever! This is a touristy town very reminiscent of California’s Nevada City.

Heading back to camp, we stopped briefly in Tombstone, so I could visit the historic Courthouse. Janice and Carly opted out. Interesting place where justice was swift and severe.The townfolks once thought a judge was being a bit soft in handing out a life sentence to one gent, so they stormed the jail and sprung the fellow for a quick hanging on a nearby telegraph pole. The autopsy report noted “Emphisima (sic) of the lungs, probably due to strangulation, accidental or otherwise.” Good call by the Coroner.