South Arizona is full of surprises...
There is the cactus of course, with more other green stuff growing than expected.
And then there is the mining.
Many areas in Arizona have a mining history...gold, silver, copper and other precious minerals, but Bisbee, right on the southern border of Arizona was the real deal.
It's a picturesque old town...big for southern Arizona, with original 3 and 4 story buildings, all built on a hillside.
Storybook, much like a Department 56 village...just add snow!
At one time, Bisbee Arizona was said to be the richest place between Chicago and San Francisco.
It was the mines...active from the 1870's into the mid 1970's.
And when in Bisbee...do as the Bisbee-ians, or the Bisbee-ites, or the Bisbees...what-ever.
So if you are the Wonder Woman...
...you act about like the cutest miner ever!
And me - I thought they said act like a minor...
which means about like an 8 year old...
And according to some...
that's my norm, so no need for me to act any different...
The Bisbee Queen Mine Tour:
Just sign your life away right here...for a joy ride into the belly of hell...on a single line train...deep into a hole...barely 5 feet wide and 7 feet high...
And worry not about the mine timbers installed 100 years ago...
You too can travel into the very epicenter of the earth!
Listen closely, hear the hot molten magma flowing all around, and feel the walls of the grave, errrr, I mean mine - nearly too hot to touch...
Well, maybe that's a wee bit of exaggeration...it was quite enjoyable really, and we only went 700 feet into the earth!
The tour guide had worked in the Bisbee mines back in the day.
Hugely informative.
He spoke from first hand experience.
And it became real, as he described the typical "day in the life" for a miner...
We found the mine quiet...a constant 56 degrees...dry...comforting...peaceful...
But it was not like that was when the mine was active.
Constant noise from air driven jack hammers, the staccato machine gun sound from drilling 1 inch holes, 5 feet deep into the rock walls to place the dynamite...
Then the dynamite fuses are lit...25 full sticks, sequenced based on fuse length into a rolling explosion. All in a tight, synchronized order...first 5 sticks, then 8 sticks, then 12 more...exploding moments apart.
Add to that the continuous sound from the extraction of ore by each miner, as they scraped up the fist sized chunks of ore, and dropped it down 50 foot long chutes, to be loaded into mine carts...tons of output...expected every day from every miner at work.
It was tough, dirty, dangerous work...but they got up every day to do it.
He was near my age, maybe just a bit older...and he lived a totally different life than I could even begin to imagine.
I commented with surprise that he could still hear! He laughed, saying his Wife doesn't think he can!
So maybe we have something in common...
I think of those old miners...700, 1000, 2000 feet underground...
And those old farmers and ranchers, who tried to create a life in the desert...to grow crops or run cattle on sandy ground only good for cactus and rattlesnakes.
And those old Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Fort Davis, who spent their days fighting and defending...committing their lives to the protection of others.
And I find that to be most interesting about life...
Seeing just how far someone will go to protect and provide for the ones they love...
They were real men, those miners, those ranchers, farmers and Buffalo Soldiers...
I've never been afraid of work...or shied from difficult work conditions, although the mine tour made me pause...
I know I could have done it for a while...the question is for how long?
How long would I have been willing to go back deep into those mines to eke out a living for the ones I love?
Just when you start to think life is hard -
Keep Going...
Knowing that others truly do have it harder.
Let the adventure continue...
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