Today, I’m featuring two towns in Arizona, less than 25 miles (37 km) apart. And a monstrosity in the same area. This is my contribution to this week’s #wordlesswednesday and a link-up to #weekendcoffeeshare.
(Hover over or click on photos for captions.)
Bisbee, AZ
Bisbee is an artsy, liberal, historic town in Arizona
Tombstone, AZ
Tombstone is an Old West, conservative town in Arizona.
Bisbee, AZ, has been on our radar for a while. A few years ago, when discovering the desert southwest in our camper van Zesty, we met fellow travelers in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona and the Vermilion Cliffs in Utah who told us Bisbee was the perfect place to settle. Apparently, property still appeared affordable, creative people abound, the atmosphere oozed friendliness, a liberal and diverse population inhabited the scene, and the weather was perfect. Right.
Next time we’d return to Southern Arizona, we would check out Bisbee. In the meantime, Mark kept an eye on its house listings on Zillow. Surprisingly, everything that went up for sale, especially the cute, renovated miners’ cottages, disappeared within weeks if not days. Bisbee had been discovered! Not that we are thinking of putting down roots anywhere…
Approaching Bisbee for the first time
This week, our trio finally parked Zesty in Old Bisbee, friends Duwan and Greg from Make Like An Ape Man in tow. We would explore the town inside and out to get a feel for the different areas, the layout, the atmosphere, the pros, and the cons. Being able to park overnight for free in the middle of this hillside enclave was a good start!
Located 90 miles southeast of Tucson and nestled in the Mule Mountains, Bisbee was founded in 1880. It quickly became a booming (copper) mining town that still sports a well-preserved historic downtown with steep roads and many – seemingly infinite – staircases acting as entryways and shortcuts.
Continue readingThe last time Mark and I crossed the United States from East to West was in October 2016. We attended the sailboat show in Annapolis as vendors with our marine WiFi and cell data product and invention, The Wirie, before driving to Northern California in our Prius. We had five days to cross this massive country in order to start our first housesit on the West Coast. We lasted a few years “out west,” house and pet sitting and exploring in our camper van Zesty, before making our way back east in the summer of 2019.
The Southwest is where our hearts lie. The vast, open spaces, low population, incredible natural sites, and sense of freedom trump the mountains and greenery of the East Coast. We think…
Our Route
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you are familiar with our lack of planning. We pretty much take life as it comes, one step at a time; something that is evident in the title of my forthcoming travel memoir: Plunge. Anything can influence our route, our destination, our timing, our moods.
Here’s how we ended up in Arizona, this time around…
Continue readingSix months. That’s how long Mark, Maya, and I lived in “our room above the garage” at my in-laws’ condo in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Apart from a one-month stint further up New England in June, when we helped family with home renovations and visited a couple of friends. Six months! It’s the longest Mark and I have ever remained in one place, since becoming a couple in 2004. Impressive… Or not?
The Pros of Room Life
I am the first to admit that I actually enjoyed being in a “stable environment” for a little while. Life on the road is challenging and exhausting. This break was timely and welcome. I savored every shower and good night’s sleep; the unlimited electricity and comfortable desk. Even our noisy, inefficient “easy-bake oven” and unreliable college fridge (that barely held produce without some falling out each time we opened the door) had their charms. The sofa bed displayed two big indents from our bodies and pained my back, but we could sit up in it! Our dishwashing routine in the bathroom became familiar. We just had to remember it or teeth brushing was in jeopardy.
We helped Mark’s parents wherever we could. People, in general, wore masks when out and about. I was productive with my book. Mark had a decent job with the US Census. Maya was comfortable. Our six months here weren’t too bad at all; a nice change from what we are used to. And, we managed to hang out with good friends one more time, before leaving.
(As always, hover over the photos to read captions or click to enlarge.)
The Pros of Vanlife
But travel is in our blood. We are nomads after all! So, albeit with mixed feelings and not much of a plan, the three of us hit the road again in our 19ft camper van the day before my father-in-law turned ninety, on Saturday, October 17th. We’d head south first. Then, turn west.
Back on the road
Photo courtesy of Axel Busch
This is my photo contribution for #wordlesswednesday, Becky’s #kindasquare challenge, and Cee’s On the Hunt for Joy Challenge, as I combined wordless photos (“let the photos tell the story”) that are square and involve technology. 🙂
Have you ever been this close to a landing plane? Have you ever sailed in or visited St. Martin?
From the Virgin Islands to Grenada…
… sunsets over the water are spectacular.
Especially with boats around, …
New Hampshire’s attractive White Mountains are located 150 miles (241km) northeast of our current home base in Massachusetts. It takes a little over three hours to get there in our van (as opposed to 2.5 hours by car), since we stick to an average highway speed of 55-60mph (90km/h) in Zesty. This consumes less diesel, and we rarely have to pass anyone!
White Mountain National Forest was our destination this past week. It is huge, at 800,000 acres (which expand into Maine), attracts millions of visitors annually, and offers countless recreation possibilities, like 1,200 miles of hiking trails. When Mark and I returned from visiting people in Maine and Vermont in June, we drove through this stunning area and were impressed. We vowed to return for a proper immersion.
(Scroll over or click on images to read photo captions in the galleries.)
A walk through Clearwater, FL reveals fancy signs, magnificent buildings, and a certain amount of secrecy. If you wouldn’t know better, the reason for these appearances stays forever hidden. Take a stroll through town with us and read the captions by hovering over or clicking on the images of this photo story.
We had no idea when we parked Zesty along the street, next to this imposing white building in Clearwater.
“A picture says more than a thousand words” is an expression I’m not fond of. Rather, I believe a photo instills certain words, telling only part of the story. Understandably, most people want to capture the beauty of a place. It is often possible to cut out less desirable factors, like hordes of people, piles of garbage, incessant bugs, signage obstructing the view, and so on. Personal moods, climate, noise, and other external factors are invisible. There is a lot more to the actual scene than meets the eye…
Locks WMA campground in Fort McCoy
I’ve played with the idea of taking “as it is” shots in sync with the attractive scenes and posting them next to each other. Yet, I too succumb to blue skies and beautiful scenery. So, this post does not quite display that juxtaposition, but it reveals the truth behind some of our camping experiences in Florida that might look “perfect” at first sight.
Dupuis Water Management District
1) Lake Panasoffkee WMD
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