Bisbee
Bisbee is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Phoenix. It is another quaint mining town filled with century old homes and businesses. There is plenty to do to fill the day. We started the day at the Queen Mine Tour, where you get to experience what it was like to be a minor. The best part is they make you get into these amazing yellow slickers, with a helmet, because who doesn’t love a little humiliation on a tour!
The tour guides were great, and had plenty of stories about the good and bad of mining. Now that we were experts on mining we drove over to Lavender Pit, one of the largest open pit mines for copper in AZ.
We ate an early dinner at The Bisbee Grille, the food was great, but the bread pudding was the highlight for me!
Kartchner Caverns
This was by far my favorite day trip we have taken so far, we coupled it with Tombstone because it’s not far out of the way. It will take you about 2 1/2 hours to get to Kartchner Caverns from Phoenix. You will need to make reservations before hand, simple click on this website, http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/index.html, reservation fill up fast so plan ahead. It costs $23 per person, $13 for kids, which is a little pricey, but it is all in the name of preservation. You have to arrive an hour before your scheduled tour, but there is plenty to do while you wait, they have a video and exhibits to look at to give some background before you go in. You can’t take pictures inside, but here are some off the state website:
The caverns themselves are remarkable, but the process to keep them that way was what amazed me. Before you go in you walk under a mister to limit the amount of lint you drop in the caves, they also follow you around and mark any spot you touch with tape so they can thoroughly clean each night, it was extensive, but worth it to make sure these caverns are around for a long time to come. They have two different tours, The Rotunda/ Throne and the Big Room. We have been through the Rotunda/Throne Tour and are anxious to get back for the Big Room.
Tombstone
This day trip has a prerequisite- you have to watch the movie Tombstone before you go or it won’t be as great. There are a lot of attractions, all of which charge an entrance fee, so I suggest you pair this day trip with Kartchner Caverns, it’s worth the money while some of the Tombstone exhibits are not. However, if you live in Arizona and you haven’t been to Tombstone than you need to repent and start planning a trip to the “Town too Tough to Die”. It is one of the most famous stories in our states history and the town really plays the Old West. There are a few must sees, one of them being the O.K. Corral! Admission is $10 a person, which includes the museums, a historama (kind of fun to laugh at, and take a break for a while), and a copy of the newspaper printed the day after the shootout. They have live reenactments of the shootout everyday at 12:00, 2:00 and 3:30, who doesn’t love a good shootout!
I would also suggest the Bird Cage, also $10 per person. This has by far the most authentic items from the era, and has really great information on this self-guided tour. You will have to climb up and down stairs to access all parts of it.
There are a lot of other things to do around Tombstone, including the Court House, Pioneer House, Rose Garden, and shooting galleries, so if you are wanting to make this a full day event it would be easy to do.