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 Dear Vintage Mooney Flyers,
Welcome to our first fly-in to the old west town of Bisbee, Arizona!
It is an old copper mining town in the Mule Mountains,
where its rocky canyons hoarded what became known as one of the richest mineral
sites in the world. It was at one
time the largest town in the West.
Because its plan was laid out before the automobile, Bisbee has an almost
European feel. Bisbee is also noted for its architecture, including its
victorian style houses and elegant Art Deco courthouse. This quirky town's hilly
terrain is exemplified by the old three-story high school: each floor has a
ground-level entrance.
In this mile-high town, you will find yourself back in the early 1900s. It’s
like taking a step back in time where life moves just a bit slower. Stroll
along Main Street
and experience a plethora of fine art and unique shopping. At first glance, downtown Bisbee looks as if time stopped at the turn of
the 20th century. Main Street,
which runs up to Tombstone
Canyon, is home to artist
studios, galleries, boutiques, and eclectic shops. You can pick up a hand-woven
straw hat at Optimo Custom Hatworks, chat with a potter as she throws a clay
bowl at a pottery shop, and sample award winning honey butters and honey
mustards made by Killer Bee Honey. Art collectors will discover fine arts at
specialty galleries, including
Belles
Fine Art
Gallery, 55 Main Gallery
and the Tang Gallery. Many other unusual shops hide in the historic buildings.
Exploring is the name of the game.
We are planning on a full weekend of activities. For
those that can arrive on Friday, we will have transportation from the airport to
town, about 5 miles away. You may need to call us for a ride, we will publish a
cell number to call later. Members can spend the afternoon exploring downtown
Bisbee. We plan on having dinner and partying in the world famious Brewery Gulch
at one of the old time establishments listed below. Where we go will depend on
how many are in the group.
Schedule of Events
FRIDAY: Arrivals and informal dinner.
For those arriving, we expect to have someone at the airport who will direct you
to parking. Transportation to the Copper Queen Hotel will be available.
If no one is available, call Ozzie Kaufmann at (520) 237-5011. At 6pm, we
will be meeting in the lobby for a short walk to the Brewery Gulch for dinner
and after dinner music.
SATURDAY:
For Saturday morning arrivals, we will have transportation available from the
airport to downtown again. Again, a cell call may be required for a ride. For
overnighers and early arrivers, it is suggested that the underground mine tour
be taken. It is a experience not to be missed. Other attractions are available
according to your interests.
12:30: Lunch -
We are planning on a catered lunch at the airport. Bring your own
chairs as we will not be renting tables and chairs. The donation
for lunch will be the customary $15.
Afternoon:
For dinner and sightseeing, we are trying to get transportation to Tombstone, about 20 miles away. There we will
probably have dinner at the Long Horn Café. Their ribs are about the best you
will find in the Southwest. We should leave Bisbee about 5 P.M. and expect to
return about 10 P.M. That should leave time to explore Tombstone. Worth see in the Big Nose Katie’s
establishment, the Crystal
Palace, or the famous O.K.
Corral
Early Evening: It's about a 30 minute ride to Tombstone.
We will allow time for people to wander around Tombstone on their own before
dinner. The shops will mostly be closed after dinner, so get your shopping
in before dinner. Afterwards, we can all go to a saloon and enjoy some
more time together. We should plan on leaving for Tombstone between 3:30
and 4:00 and having dinner around 6:00 or 6:30pm.
 SUNDAY: On Sunday, we are planning to
have a special event in Tombstone – a Cowboy Old West Shooting Contest. The
Tombstone Buscaderos will open their Old West Town, which features “Cowboy
Action Shooting”. In this, you get a Peacemaker (Six Shooter)
revolver, a Coach Gun (shot gun), and a Winchester 73 rifle. You walk along a
row of building with windows. Targets are in the field in back of the windows.
As you get to the first window, targets pop up and you start firing your pistol
at them. Then you go to the second window, and you use the shotgun on them. And
at the third window you use the rifle. You then total up your time and score and
match it against the other shooters. Price will be a VMG
special of $20 per shooter, and you get about 200 rounds to shoot. It’s really a
hoot if you think you’re a born gunslinger. For those that are interested, we
will try to provide transportation to Tombstone. We would like to be in
Tombstone by 9:30am and maybe have lunch there before returning to Bisbee. We
will need to have a head count on Saturday of those interested to determine how
many people we need transportation for.
For those who are leaving, airport
transportation will be available
Airport Info
 Flying
to Bisbee Airport (P04)
Elev: 4780
Runway: 17/35 (5929' x 60')
Phone: 520-432-6030
CTAF: 122.8
Approach: Albuquerque Center
VOR: 108.8
WX-ASOS at KDUG (nearby): 119.275 (520-364-7208)
FSS: Prescott 122.4, 122.6
Airport Information:
Runway Finder,
Skyvector or
Airnav
Weather Information:
Underground Weather
or AvnWx
Aircraft Parking Info: All Fly-In participants will
be able to purchase fuel at $3.95. What a deal! Thank you Bisbee
Airport!
 Area
& Lodging Info:
Click Here
for Things to Do in the area.
The Copper Queen Hotel is the official VMG Hotel and is where we hope
everyone can stay. It is full of history and we have secured a great
discount. The VMG Rates are Queen Bed ($105) and King Bed
($120). Click Here for more
information on the hotel. The Copper Queen Hotel ( 520-432-2216)
is the perfect
setting for our VMG visit. Make your reservations early as it
is high season and mention the Mooney Group Rate. Our host hotel’s location places us in the heart
of the attractions that continue to make Historic Bisbee a most popular
retreat. The Copper Queen Saloon
sits in a room behind the hotel front desk and spews out onto a patio where
one has a nice view of the streets and park. The Copper Queen Hotel was
built in 1902 to cater the dignitaries and mining officials so they could
relax in luxury. Inside the saloon is a large portrait of Lillie
Langtry, which is over 100 years old. Sit a spell in the same seats where
John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and other famous people once relaxed.
The
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum,
located in the former headquarters of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining
Co., provides an in-depth look at Bisbee's mines and the way of life during
the copper camp's heyday.
Underground Mine Tour: Don a mining lantern, hat
and slicker and ride the mine train deep into the mine and experience the
life of the miners as they tell you how they toiled in the many miles of
subterranean tunnels. Tours last about one hour and 15 minutes and are
offered 5 times a day at 9am, 10:30am, noon, 2pm and 3:30pm, every day.
Underground mine tour is $12 plus tax for adults, reservations suggested.
Group rates may be available if sufficient people sign up.
Historic district and surface mine van tours are
also offered 4 times a day at 10:30am, noon, 2pm and 3:30pm. Tours last
about one hour and cost of $10 per person plus tax. Again, reservations
suggested. Underground van tours and mine tours leave from the Queen Mine Tour Building
located immediately south of Old Bisbee's business district, off the U.S. 80
interchange. Open 7 days a week. If we get enough interest, we can get group
rate discounts for the underground tour.
Brewery
Gulch was once the
liveliest spot between El Paso, Texas and San Francisco,
California. There were over 50 bars and brothels
running 24 hours a day to accommodate the miners coming and going from
various shifts in the mines. Time has taken a toll on the number of drinking
establishments on the Gulch, but enough survive to make a walking tour
through the area interesting.
Lavender Jeep Tours If you are willing to go off the beaten path,
you'll discover more riches than just those found on Main Street. Tom Mosier, a native of
Bisbee, takes locals and tourists on historical adventures through Bisbee’s
streets on his Lavender Jeep Tours. Mosier drives his passengers along
Bisbee’s back streets and regales them with history of the town and its
buildings. Among the ruined miners’ shacks and restored Victorian homes,
Mosier points to the stairs that cling to the steep hillside. “There are
some houses that you can only get to by stairs,” said Mosier. “And in some
places there are stairs that don’t go anywhere at all.”
TOMBSTONE
Truly a Historical American Landmark,
Tombstone
is America's
best example of our 1880 western heritage, which is well preserved with
original 1880's buildings and artifacts featured in numerous museums.
Our plans call for dinner and some sightseeing on Saturday night in Tombstone. Called the
wildest town in the West, it lived up to its reputation.
We will be having
dinner in the Long Horn Café, which brags about having the best ribs in the
Southwest. We believe them.
Afterwards we will have some time to look around town and
maybe have a drink in one of the famous saloons still standing:
The Crystal
Palace looks just like it did in 1880. It’s a great
place to have a drink and enjoy the atmosphere of the Old West.
Today, the Crystal Palace
Saloon again serves fine food and spirits to its customers in 1880's
elegance, complete with servers and bartenders dress in period costume.
Big Nose
Katie’s Saloon This popular saloon of today first got its
start as the Grand Hotel in September 1880. Declared as one of the finest
hotels in the state, the hotel was luxuriously furnished, provided thick
carpeting, and its walls were adorned with costly oil paintings. Providing
16 bedrooms, each with a "view," they were fitted with solid walnut
furnishings, toilet stands, fine fixtures, and wallpaper.
Bird Cage Theatre, now a museum. Imagine setting your elbows down on the
very place that once did the Earps, Doc Holliday, and the Clantons.
The Famous O.K. Corral is still in existence. Its famous gunfight still is world
recognized around the world as representing what the Wild West was.
We will need to get a
idea of how many members will want to go to Tombstone so we can get transportation over
there. A fee will be necessary to cover costs. This will be determined from
the number of members going. Reservations will be required.
Ground Transportation Info: Gadsden Taxi: 520-364-5555 or Quisada at 520-354-9191
Click Here to Register for this fly-in!
Hope to see you in Bisbee,
Ozzie & Jo Kaufmann
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