Mar 12, 2007

On The Border!!






We are doing our part to protect the border. We are currently in Naco, Arizona. We are literally 300 yards from the U.S. Mexico border. We even arrived here early in the day. Saturday's visit to Tombstone was less than inspiring. So Saturday night we carefully reset all 6 clocks in the motor home an hour ahead. You all remember, daylight savings time. We got up Sunday morning so proud of ourselves, and got the motor home ready to leave. Check out time was 11:00 and we didn't want to overstay our welcome. This was a nice resort, but more rules than necessary. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention there are 2 states in our wonderful country that don't recognize Daylight Savings Time. We just happen to be in one of them.

After a short but beautiful drive down through the town of Sierra Vista and along the Huachuca Mountains we pulled into the Turquoise Valley Golf and RV resort in Naco. Not really a resort, but they claim if you are Tiger Woods you can hit a ball into Mexico.If you look carefully in the picture of the park we are staying in you can see the Mexican flag. The border is that close. If we are overrun, we'll call for help. We figure we can barter some of the extra wine we have on board. I'm sure Chris and Teresa back in Michigan wouldn't mind contributing a few of their cases to better U.S. and Mexico relations.

So what brings us to Naco. Well it isn't the golf, and although the weather is perfect, (mid 70's and blue skies) we are here to visit the town of Bisbee. Bisbee is a mining town which was settled in 1880 in the Mule Mountains. The town is literally built in the canyons. The mines here have produced nearly 3 million ounces of gold, and more than 8 billion pounds of copper, not to mention the silver, lead and zinc that came out as well. In the early 1900's Bisbee was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. But as with most things, the mines played out and the town population shrank. The last mine closed in 1975. Bisbee might have ended up as a ghost town but in the 70's the town was revitalized by hippies ready to settle down and artists seeking inspiration. And the retirement community discovered it's wonderful climate. 8 months of the year it's in the 70's,. 2 months of 80's, and 2 months of 60's.

Bisbee is a town to run away to. We must admit we are enjoying our stay here. As you can see in the pictures there is still a little of the hippie influence here as well as wonderful small diners and great Mexican food. On the outskirts of town is the Shady Dell Park, an old fashioned trailer park with restored airstream trailers that you can rent by the day. There is also an old fashioned diner there to complete the experience. Many of the old Victorian and European style homes in Bisbee have been restored. But not to perfection. Instead they have let them age gracefully. Kinda like Judy and Me.

Yesterday we met a young man who has a coffee roasting business. He was as passionate about coffee as the wine makers are in California. We ended up buying some freshly roasted coffee and it is great. He runs his business over the Internet and ships all over the United States. Kind of like Pro Lab Express, only with coffee. If you would like to go to his website it is www.Uniquecoffee.com, and if you have questions email Seth at Seth@uniquecoffee.com. This young man was so passionate about his business. He ended our conversation by telling us and I quote “I want to be your personal coffee roaster.” Now how many people do you know who have their own personal coffee roaster? He's got my business. His prices are very competitive and the quality was outstanding. He also makes some chocolates, and in one of them there were dried cherries. He gets the cherries from Traverse City, Michigan.. It sure is a small world out there.

One other thing has really made an impression on Judy and me. The people on the street and the merchants in town have all been so friendly. In a truly genuine way. We can't wait to come back here again. Tomorrow we head up to Northern Arizona. We hope you feel as blessed today as we do.

Oh, by the way, our youngest granddaughter Mia had her first birthday on Sunday. We wish we could have been there but our thoughts certainly were. Happy Birthday Mia!!!

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