A Trip to the "Old West"

A couple of weeks ago one of my closest friends and her family came to visit us. The thing about this visit is that it is an annual visit...every June she and her family come down here to the desert from the waterlogged state of Washington (my home state) and hang out with us. We swim, drink, laugh, eat a lot, and just generally have a great time. But we also plan one trip to somewhere in the state of AZ during each visit also.

This year we choose to head south of the Phoenix metro area and do an "Old West" trip. We hit up Tombstone & Bisbee and had a fantastic time!

First off we stated at Tombstone. If you have never been there I highly recommend it...it is definitely a tourist town, but still so much fun! While there we were entertained by a shoot out at the OK Corral, the kiddos got to "meet" Doc Holliday up close and personal (he also grouched at them and took a photo with them all looking "angry"), visited the Boothill Graveyard, and took a stagecoach ride. We also walked around, shopping, checking out old buildings and just generally having a great time!

Next off we headed to Bisbee, Arizona. Now since this was my second visit to the town of Bisbee, I can honestly say that it is my favorite town in ALL of Arizona. It is a beautifully quirky town southeast of Tucson, near the Mexican border. It was originally settled as a mining town, but today is known as a charming, unique artist community. We decided to stay overnight in Bisbee in the historic (and haunted) Copper Queen Hotel...and yes, both families had ghostly encounters while staying there! We walked around the town, had an amazing dinner at a pizza place called Screaming Banshee Pizza...and if you ever visit the town make sure to eat here...the food was AWESOME! We did a little shopping, talked to local artisans, and took a tour of an inactive copper mine, the Queen Mine.

It was a jam packed two-day trip...but so much fun!!

And now, I'm going to overwhelm you with photos.

First up is Tombstone, AZ:

Our stagecoach driver, Cecil

The boys looking "angry" with Doc Holliday

Settling in to watch the shoot out at the OK Corral

The Earps

And here are some photos of Bisbee, Arizona!

Our hotel, the Copper Queen

Interesting art in Bisbee

Behind this wall was a dog park!

My son & his new "friend" at a honey shop in town

Getting ready to go on the mine tour!

The kiddos has so much fun pretending to be miners!

My two "miners"

Heading in!

So if you are ever in the Southwest visiting...I encourage you to travel down to southern Arizona and visit these two places. You won't be disappointed!