Sunday, October 28, 2012

Bisbee Ride 2012 (Part II)

This is the continuation of a ride I took with my wife, parents, and our friend Tuyen a couple of weeks ago.  We left off just as we had arrived at our destination.  The town of Bisbee.  This is the view from the highway overlooking the city.
Like an outlaw motorcycle gang we rolled into town.  Well, perhaps more like a small, nicely behaved, group of weekend travelers. 
Tuyen, Kiri and I pulled into a parking lot across from our hotel.  My parents stayed in a hotel farther down the road and went to go check in.  Here we find Tuyen and Kiri celebrating the completion of a great ride!
We had reserved rooms at the Bisbee Grand Hotel.  It was a bit cheaper then the obvious choice, where most people stay in Bisbee, the Copper Queen.
The rooms were upstairs.  The hotel had a creepy butler greeting new guests.
Kiri and I took the bird themed room.
And Tuyen took the flower room.  The rooms were nice.  But we got to see a couple of suites as we walked through the halls.  They were much larger, more expensive of course, but we all decided it would be kind of neat to stay in those rooms next time we were in town.
After checking in, Tuyen, Kiri and I started walking down the street to find my parents.  Bisbee is built on some rather steep canyon hills.  The buildings tower over one another.  And there are quite a few steps to get from one place to another.  The town actually has a festival called the Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb where the object is to climb 1000 steps, around town, while you get serenaded by musicians.
We located the parents at their hotel, The Inn at Castle Rock.  My mom said the place had a very very rustic feel. 
There was a Triumph Tiger parked out front.  So the hotel did have some positives.
After collecting the parents we started strolling back towards the center of town.
 The city's post office.  They don't build them like this anymore.
 This guy was an odd character.  He backed his bike out of a parking space and I noticed his kick stand was still down.  I was concerned he was about to pull away so I yelled out that it was still down.  He looked at me, and then brought the stand up.  No wave or smile or anything.  Then he took off.  Neat looking Moto Guzzi though.
 Typical brick style buildings found through out town.
 One of the most famous landmarks in Bisbee.  The Copper Queen hotel.
 Neat looking church right next door.  Also a nice selection of Harley's parked out front.  We  talked to some of the bikers in the hotel and they said they had just driven in from New Mexico.
 We stopped at the hotel bar for a few drinks.  In a strange coincidence we ended up at a restaurant later that evening and the bartender was having dinner at the table next to us.  She filled us in on all the cool places to visit around town.
 Kiri grabbed an artistic shot of the hotel's room key's.
 Notice the Sweet Midnight sign.  It's a Halloween store right next to the hotel.  Kiri stopped in and bought a cool skull bracelet for herself, and one for her sister.  From what we heard Bisbee fills up during Halloween and everyone dresses up.  The streets turn into one big party.  Kiri and I may have to come back here and check it out one of these days.
 Pretty life like.  One of the manikins in the store.  Supposedly Kiri took a picture of Tuyen making out with this sweet looking babe.  But I'm not allowed to show it.  Something about having to maintain a level of public image..blah blah blah.
 Taken in front of a store on Brewery Ave.
 This part of town has a history of local breweries.  From the looks of it this one had just recently opened up.  They have a small history page which can be found Here.
 Lot's of different bars and local restaurants to choose from in this part of town.
 I like buildings with old signage painted on.  Reminds me of small towns back east.
 The Bisbee Bicycle Brothel.  We thought it was a typical bike shop but it ended up being more of a museum.  Check out their website to see images from inside the store.
 Kiri operating a ore train outside the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum.  Unfortunately it was closed for the evening so we didn't get to explore inside.
 Ummm, my excuse is that I had a couple of beers.  I'm pretty sure Tuyen had only had a coffee at this point.  So much for that public image to maintain:) 
 More pictures to come.  Stay Tuned!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Bisbee Ride 2012 (Part 1)

I've been wanting to do a overnight ride to Bisbee for awhile.  It's an old mining town southeast of Tucson that has reinvented itself as an artist/crafts town.  I've driven by it many times, for work, but have never really stopped to explored it.  So I picked a date for a ride, and invited Kiri, the parents, and Tuyen along.


View Bisbee Ride 2012 in a larger map
We left around 9:30ish.  The weather is starting to cool down a bit, so we didn't have to leave early to avoid heat.  Plus, we weren't going to be able to check into the hotels until 2pm.  Which allowed us to take our time getting there.  Horrible picture of me.  Who's quality checking these photos??
 Oh my gosh!! All three boxes on the Explorer!  It had to be killing my dad that he couldn't just take one side box.  Since I don't have saddle bags on the Bonnie, and Kiri was taking up my cargo space, we threw our overnight gear in Tuyen and my dad's bags.  Why load down your own bike when you can load down someone else's? 
 After an enjoyable morning riding south to Green Valley, and then east, through the towns of Sahuarita and Sonoita, we arrived at our first destination.  The small community of Patagonia.  There was a small miscommunication on the matter of breakfast.  I told my dad that everyone should eat before getting to my place.  He heard that we'd be grabbing breakfast on the road.  After a failed attempt to stop at a Starbucks, their cash register was down and couldn't sell anything, we decided to push on until lunch.  Needless to say some people were starving by the time we had arrived.
 So we grabbed food at a local coffee place.  My dad and I had eaten here on a trip last year.  After lunch we browsed some of the arts and craft shops.  Kiri bought a couple sets of earrings before we got back on the road.
 The next stop was the city of Tombstone.  Tuyen wanted to explore, and I hadn't seen main street in some time.  So we found a shaded parking spot, next to the city's courthouse, and wandered through town.
There was an old spiral staircase on the side of the courthouse.  I'm sure this is how the judges sneak out to go have drinks between cases.
 Making our way to main street.  You can hear the sound of the spurs as we walk.
 The main drag.  Not a lot of tourists.  Traffic usually picks up on the weekends.
 It's like the intro of an old western movie.  With odd looking town folk.
 All sorts of shops, selling anything tourists are willing to buy.
 Here we find a typical saloon girl of Tombstone.  Before I could ask her name, she ran off with some drunk cowboy. Floosey!
 My dad mentioned there was a Harley Davidson store in town so we stopped by.  It was just a place to pick up clothes.  Not a dealership or anything.
 They had a single bike in the store, made up to look old and western-ish.
 Always carry extra ammo!
 Two strange looking fellows from out of town.  Must be from Kentucky or something.
 Kiri had become parched touring the town.  Time for Gelato!  OK, truth is I just started screaming for ice cream until Kiri couldn't take it anymore and gave in.  That's her "One more outburst from you and we're going home" look.
The fudge looked tasty.  I'm watching my figure though, so I passed on sweets.
 We sat outside and watched the stagecoach roll into town.
 Deputy Chu kept an eye out for trouble.  Riff Raff has no place in his town.
 Yep, I married her.
 And there it is, the actual O.K. Corral gunfight site.  
 Tuyen said I should have been standing in front of the coffin.
 Having gotten our touristy western fix, we got back on the bikes and started heading for our final destination.  Bisbee!  We were smart enough to leave the camera with Kiri so she could get some action shots of the next leg.
 The ride from Tombstone to Bisbee was amazing!  The clouds blocked just enough Sun to give a other worldly feel to the ride.  That, and riding up into the scenic hills that surround Bisbee is always beautiful.

Artistic shot of the day.  My parents and Tuyen in the mirror.
Mr. Chu testing out the light speed capabilities of his motorcycle.
 Can't forget the parents. 
More pictures coming!  Until next time!