The first stop of the trip was at the Aircraft Boneyard in Tucson. We stopped for a few pictures, picked up the 5th MINI, and drove by some old airplanes from decades past. Due to the long drive ahead our time here was shortly spent. But sis and I have already decided that we would love to come back and explore this place some more.
Journey continuing, we headed down the I-10 and over to SR 80 to our second stop of the day Tombstone, AZ. Here we had lunch at the Longhorn Restaurant, looked at a few shops, and had some ice-cream. Before leaving we took a few pictures of the MINIs at Wyatt Earps Tombstone.
Motoring on down SR 80 we made it to our sleeping location for the night; Bisbee, AZ. Before stopping at the hotels, the group took a little drive on the hilly/narrow streets of the town. The first hotel for a “MINI” drop off was the Copper Queen Hotel, the second “MINI drop off was at The Inn, with the three remaining MINIs making our way past the Lavendor Open Pit Mine to the Shady Dell RV Park. RV Park, yep you read right. The Shady Dell is a collection of vintage trailers that people can stay at.
The trailer that sis and I got for the night was #2, El Rey. The trailer was 17’ and build in 1957. It included a full sized bed, toilet & sink, little kitchen, and sitting area. Our friends got to stay at the Airstream and the 1952 Homemade trailer. I simple loved staying here and hope to stay here again in the future. Oh and the El Rey had IL license plates, perfect.
Dinner was at the Bisbee Grille, very good food with a game of trivial pursuit. After dinner the group headed over to St Elmo Bar for a few drinks.
sis in the "bedroom"
the bathroom
sis inside the Rita D. Yacht
March 27th
My night at the trailer wasn’t the most restful. Voices in the dark, the sound of the wind, plus the trailer moved a few times during the night. My sister said she was woken up by whispering. They did say this place is haunted (as is most of Bisbee). Also our trailer was on the edge of the park, next to a cemetery.
sis entry in the El Rey guest log
Around 9am everyone from our group meet at the Bisbee Breakfast Club for breakfest. Afterwards was a stop at the Lavendor Open Pit for some pictures and then back into town for some shopping and exploring.
the historic Apache Springs Well @ The Inn at Castle Rock
At 11am we headed out of town and took SR 90 all the way to Kartchner Caverns for the 12:45 tour of the Big Room. The facility didn’t allow cameras on the tour for good reasons I’m sure. I’m such a huge fan of caves and this one was so amazing. I can’t wait to bring my parents here. After the tour we had lunch at a KFC before jumping onto the I-10. At this point we said goodbye to our NM Mini friend and the rest of us headed back in Phoenix/Tempe.
