good-times-rollin: October 2024

Queen Mine RV Park

Bisbee, AZ

October 2, 2024

We are loving the early morning temps...a touch of fall in the air!

Copper Queen Mine Tour : Tuesday

The story of Bisbee mining began in the late 1870s when Lt. Dunn (from the Army post of Fort Hauchuca) was sent on a scouting expedition against the Apache Indians. Lt. Dunn and his men spent the night near a spring in the Mule Mountains several yards from where todays Mine Tour begins.

On a walk before dark, Dunn picked up several interesting rocks and took a prospector by the name of George Warren into his confidence and struck up a deal by which Warren would locate claims and work the property with Dunn as a partner.

But, on his way to the site, Warren stopped to visit friends and enjoy his favorite "pastime"...drinking whiskey. He soon had new partners and they staked a new group of claims and left Dunn out of the deal. Copper production began in 1880 and by 1885, companies with capital gradually became involved and took over individual claims.

The underground mines in Bisbee were closed in the summer of 1975. During the 90 years of production 3 billion pounds of copper, 102 million ounces of silver, and 2.8 million ounces of gold were mined there. Copper Queen Mine was/is one of the world's largest underground mines with over 2,000 miles of tunnels. When the mine closed, Mayor Chuck Eads felt that the history of mining should be kept alive and in a manner that would attract tourists to the community. Dedicated volunteers worked long days clearing boulders and re-timbering the old workings. Local individuals and groups offered support and food for the workers...

Safety walls and benches were added by the volunteers...

...and in a few months, the Queen Mine Tour was officially opened to visitors on February 1, 1976.

Everyone was fitted with a hard hat, a vest and a flashlight...

Since that time, more than a million visitors from all 50 states and over 30 foreign countries have enjoyed the ride into the mountain on the underground mine tour train.

The original entrance for Copper Queen Mine

Our guide for the morning was Steve. All the guides are previous mine workers and Steve worked there for the last 9 years the mine was in operation. He was a wealth of knowledge not only about his years of working there, but also about the history throughout the mines 90 years of operation. He also entertained us with funny stories...

We stopped and climbed a flight of stairs to this spot where Steve explained how copper was discovered.

I cant imagine chiseling out the small tunnels to crawl thru...

Steve demonstrated how the chiseling was done. Of course I don't think the miners had these nice floors to stand on.

Looking up...beautiful copper

At another stop we learned about drills, shoots, a unique four-wheeled bike, dynamite, and cages.

The shoots were used to load copper from tunnels above the tracks. The four-wheeled bike was made in the blacksmith shop at the mine and unique to Queen Mine. It was used by the shift leaders as they had previously walked ten miles a day to check their two crews...once before lunch and once after lunch.

The cage (a lift for miners) worked on a bell system...one to seven dings. The only one I remember is 7 dings and that meant a fatality. During the 90 years of operation, there were 386 fatalities, one of which was when Steve worked there.

The potty...

Joe and I both agree that the Queen Mine Tour makes for a fun morning and if you enjoy history, it is a must do when in Bisbee. And the added bonus for us... is at the bottom of the hill where we are spending the week.

Back on the hilltop, life is good.

The early morning view from Belle's front window.

Historic Bisbee from our side yard...

And Sallybear...

Friends : Wednesday

We spent the morning on a small project in the MH...more on that later. The highlight was meeting Jodee and Bill for lunch. Jodee picked a great Mexican place...Los Hermanos and it was a perfect day for patio sitting, laughing, and reminiscing along with a yummy lunch. Of course, sweet Tessa was there too and she has the bestest kisses.