Tour of Bisbee

When we are on these trips, Janice and I will listen to mystery novels while driving.  One of our favorite authors is J. A. Jance who authors several series.  One of these is set in her home town of Bisbee, Arizona.  We decided to drop by and see what it was like.  Unfortunately, most of the places mentioned in the Sheriff Brady series are fictional...but we found the town to be a lot of fun.

Bisbee started out as a mining town and when mining collapsed it became a mecca for artists and "hippies".  We initially took a short bus tour to get the "lay of the land" and then spent several hours walking and driving around.  The tour driver said that the Tombstone city motto was "the Town that Wouldn't Die" and that Bisbee's motto is "the Town Too High to Care".   The old city was great and we visited an antique shop which was riddled with passages and rooms.

The Cochise County headquarters was moved from Tombstone to Bisbee in the 1930s.  So they built this art-deco courthouse with very interesting front doors.

The town was built on hillsides and features more steps than most bigger city.  They even have a "step race" once a year.  The folks also are very artsy in decorating their houses.

There are also lots of random folk-art sites throughout the town.  Here are just a couple.

I took a lot more pictures and you can find them in this gallery.