Bisbee, Az

 In February we took a little road trip down to Tubac and then over to Bisbee for a couple of nights.  On our way home we took a little detour over to Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area to see the Sandhill Cranes and then on up to the Chiricahua National Monument.   A bit of a whirlwind tour of the area over 3 days and I'm thinking a return trip is in the cards. 

More on the other locations later but for now a look at Bisbee.  It's an old mining town built into the side of the hills with lots of old buildings, some refurbished and some not.  Stairs too numerous to count and quaint little shops.  We even took a tour of the old copper mine in the middle of town.  

Lori sporting her new hat, purchased in Tubac

Red door, red light.  
I'm thinking the product line has changed over the years. 

Just one set of many stairs 

In the main lobby of this hotel is the mine shaft seen below

One of the first mine shaft dug by the original prospectors
All was going well until they struck water
The shaft became one of the first sources of water for the new town

The lobby surrounding the mine shaft. 

Our ride to the centre of the mountain

Originally the only way to get to many of the houses built
up the side of the hills was by way of the stairs.  
Originally built of wood they were replaced by concrete.

 

The Hillary Car

Open pit mine right off the highway between old Bisbee
 and somewhat less older Bisbee

Hotel San Ramone,(red awning) our accommodations for 2 nights.  
Our room was almost a suite.  
Nicely updated if you dont mind floors with a definite slope

Fun little town.  Well worth the visit.  

Bartlett Lake 2023 Super Bloom

 A cool, wet winter in Arizona provided a spring super bloom.  Definitely the best we had seen in all our Arizona winters.  Hadn't been to Bartlett Lake before but heard that it was a great place for spring blossoms.  While not the best we saw, more on that in later posts, it was still a colourful trip.  

California Poppies

Unfortunately due to all the rains the heavy runoff 
left the lake a muddy brown. 

Poppies grow about 10' high.  Must have been a sight with me
 lying flat on the ground trying to shoot up at the flowers. 

The elusive white poppy.  We found a few. 

JC and Guylaine joined us on this trip.

Some of the hills were simply covered

  

Arnett Canyon to Apache Tears Mine

One more from Arnett Canyon which included our hike up to the Apache Tears mine.  Lots more fall colour. 

This little fellow paused his grazing to watch us walk by. 

That's it for today.  Plenty more to come. 

Armett Canyon

 One of our favourite places to hike is Arnett Canyon.  With the Cottonwoods growing along the creek it's got great fall colours.  Often in the spring there are lots of wildflowers.

It's also a relatively easy, flat hike unless the guide, me, takes a wrong turn.  We ended up making a 5 mile hike, a 9 mile hike.  The beer tasted real good at the end though.  

The sun is just getting ready to peak over Pickett Post Mountain.

Got a nice reflection in the water. 

Looks like the jet flew right into the sun. 

"I think the guys went that-a-way." 

Gary, Margo, Pat, Brad, Bear (not a real bear, the name of the
little dog who despite his short legs was a real trooper).  
Finally Lori off by her lonesome.  

More Arnett Canyon coming up. 

Gold Canyon - Nov 7/22

After a 2 1/2 week journey we arrived at our Gold Canyon home.  Was pleased to see that there was no damage to our place over the summer.  I was just a bit concerned that the summer heat and monsoons may find some flaws in my construction projects from the previous winter.  No water leaks, walls still standing and the laminate flooring we had installed was not warped or damaged.  Good way to start the winter.

No Javelinas' or bobcats visited us this year, or at least none I could get a picture of, but we did have a beautiful Harris Hawk land on our back fence.  I knew they were big but when they are sitting 20 feet away giving you the evil eye they look massive.

What ya looking at son!

For the second year we had a Mourning Dove nest in the cactus right off our back patio.  

I'll keep working through my backlog.

Later. 

Lake Havasu City and London Bridge

 A long driving day took us away from the mountains to the Arizona desert and the Colorado river.  A definite change in scenery.

While I have seen it many times now I always find it interesting walking across the London Bridge now situated in Arizona.  

We only spent one night before heading to our winter home in Gold Canyon but we arrived in time for some evening shots and dinner at a restaurant overlooking the bridge.  Nice way to end a long day on the road. 

Desolate but still beautiful

Evening light cast a beautiful glow on the bridge
The building just to the right of the bridge
was our stop for dinner. 

Up early the next morning to catch the sunrise

Mountains fully lit by the sun and moving slowly
to light up the harbour
 

Was a tight fit but we managed

Colorado river just south of Havasu. 

That's it for our long trip down. Next I'll start working on the shots taken during the winter in Gold Canyon