The Breakfast Club
An Affiliate of the Arizona Pilots Assn
The Knife & Fork, Special Edition
Breakfast Club Visits
Bisbee, The Inn at Castle Rock
28 & 29 May 2005
by Warren McIlvoy
I can not quite put my finger on any particular reason that makes
me want to keep coming back to this old town of Bisbee,
Arizona.
After all, this is my seventeenth trip here and by now one would think that,
what else is there to see or experience. It's not that the town is loaded with
5-star resorts or hotels or has any ranking in the travel
guide's hottest 100 list. Nor is it on any main travel route from east
to west commonly known as Interstates. No, it is none of these. I believe that
it attracts me because it is so rich in history of the times that my Grandfather
or Great-Grandfather experienced first hand. It is the kind of history that you
can rub elbows with and get you hands dirty if you so with. You can touch and
embrace it in your arms, caress it with your hands, and feel it with your very
soul. I long to touch and feel things that the pioneers lived and breathed
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The
hardships that they endured while opening-up the West, as it was know at that
time, come to life while traversing the up and down streets of this old town
and browsing the old buildings with their shops. Yeah, that must be it and you
know what, I am looking forward to doing it again.
Our indulgence in the past began with an early morning flight from modern-day Phoenix towards the
southeastern part of this great state. After crossing the Phoenix Class B
airspace, we made a direct turn towards San Manuel, a small mining town
in the San Pedro River Valley. This area is to the east of Tucson and is separated from that bustling metropolis by
the Santa Catalina
Mountains. From San
Manuel, it was a straight shot to Bisbee while passing over such
notable places such as Benson and historic Tombstone
and finally, the Mule
Mountains. The town
of Bisbee is nestled in crook of the
mountains of the south side with the Bisbee
Airport being a mere 5
miles south of the town. Upon exiting our aircraft, we were met by Asa & Cheryl Dean, and Bert
Davis (who had arrived the previous day). Bert would take Ken Calman
and his son to town in one of the "airport limos" and I
would take the Dean's with us in another. To get one of the free loaners, it
was just a case of checking-in with the airport manager, Mr
Swan (no relation to the historic Swan family of Bisbee), and off you go.
The ride into Bisbee took us through the residential and business areas
of the Warren
section of town. From there it was through the oldest "round-about"
in the USA
and into the historic, old town Bisbee. We slowly made our way through
the narrow streets and on the edge of the old town area,
we arrived at the Inn at Castle Rock. The Inn is situated on
the site of the first exploratory mine shaft that is right across from the rock
formation know as "Castle Rock". The mine shaft did not get very far as it intruded upon a natural spring
and the shaft quickly filled with water. Since the shaft was no longer of any
mining value, the hole was utilized as a well and a source of fresh water.
Today, the well is inside the dining area of the lower level of the Inn and is stocked with what appear to be large gold
fish. Upon exiting the dinning area, you ascend two short flights of stairs to
the first floor office and the first floor rooms. Since we had arrived to early to check into our rooms, the office folks had
arranged for us to leave our bags in a room right across from the office. We
then retraced our steps to the lower level dinning area to join with the other Breakfast Club folks
that were already seated. There were a number of tables on either side of the
well and the north side of the room was lined with windows that overlooked a
large, sunken drainage trough between the Inn
and the street, that would accommodate the sudden
water run-off from storms that would soak the adjacent Mule Mountains.
Along these windows was a self serve area that contained a number of items that
rounded-out the breakfast menu. There was fresh coffee, a variety of juices,
fresh sliced fruit, Danish rolls and muffins, and an assortment of jellies and
jams. I quickly opted to partake of the "rocket fuel" (commonly known
to some as coffee) and sat down and chatted with Breakfast Club
folks. It took a while to get our food orders but the same person who delivered
your food, served double duty as she also tended to the folks who were needing assistance from the Inn
office. I enjoyed a cheese omelet with bacon that was very well prepared along
with some of the sliced fruit.
I spoke with Jeanine Babcock daughter of Jim Babcock who
purchased the Inn some time in the 1970's. Jeanine
told me that the family lived in Colorado
and her father was a geologist by trade but an avid amateur artist by
avocation. He father traveled to Bisbee for his interest in geology but
the multitude of Victorian structures and other architecture quickly drew his
attention. She said that the Inn was
constructed about 1890 as a boarding-house for the miners that worked the
various mines. At the time, the building was the largest all wood, Victorian
structure in the country. The mining activity slowly waned in the first half of
the 20th century and the Inn was
converted to apartments in 1930. She did not know if, at the time of the
original construction, what the Inn was
called. Her father slowly changed the Inn from apartments to a "bed
& breakfast" facility when he purchased it and it officially
became known as "The Inn at Castle Rock". Most all of the artwork that adorns the walls of the Inn are the creation of Jim
Babcock. Jim Babcock passed-away in the mid 90's and Jeanine
has continued the work that her father started. As the budget allows, rooms are
remodeled and modernized but the Victorian theme is maintained. As Jeanine
put it, "the Inn is a works in
progress".
After breakfast, my wife and I and Asa &
Cheryl Dean chose to take a jeep tour of the historic
mining areas and little "villages" that were spawned by the diverse
population that were drawn to this area. Bert & Dee opted for the Queen
Mine Tour. The mine tour is very interesting but since we have done that
about 14 times, I felt that the jeep tour would add more memories to my Bisbee
experience. Ken Calman and his son were only down for the breakfast so
they were heading out to the airport for their return flight. I called the
folks at Lavender Jeep Tours to confirm our time and agreed to meet them
in front of the Inn. In a matter of about
5-minutes a lavender colored jeep arrived at the Inn
and Damian ushered us aboard for the short drive to their office to take
care of the necessary paper work (also known as "paying-up"). After
leaving the office, Damian made the first of many stops at the Lavender
Pit which, at one time, was the largest open pit copper mine in the world.
We drove past what appeared to be a small trailer park but in reality, they are
rented out just like a hotel room. A 50's looking diner adjoined the
"trailer hotel" that resembles an eatery here in town called the
"Fifth & Diner". Another stop was at the local cemetery
where many of the headstone and monuments, have the names of famous folks who
helped to establish this area. Damian regaled with stories of some of
the famous and infamous folks interred here who had colorful, if not infamous,
pasts who were a part of the lore that abounds. George Warren was one
that had a whitewashed monument with his name on it but he is not buried there.
It seems that George was grubstaked by some eastern investors who had a
financial interest in the potential riches of the area. It became apparent
early on that those investors were not aware that George had a penchant
for the "devils brew" and short order, drank-up his
grubstake. George found some local money and was soon bankrolled for
another try at staking claims on some profitable mines. The claims that he had
established were for the local money and the eastern folks were lift out in the
cold.
Some of the mining claims that he established, were very successful and he had
partnered in some of them but he lost his fortunes when he made a bet that he
could outrun a horse. He had set the course that favored manoeuverability
but he lost out because he was to drunk to take advantage of the course. A
photographer from Tombstone
named Fly, took a picture of George Warren
with his arms resting on a pick on one side and a shovel on the other. That
silhouette now adorns the seal of the State of Arizona. A man know
locally as a town drunk became part of the Great Seal; I guess that it was/is
appropriate.
The tour continued around the north side of the No
7 dump that dates back to 1917. This dump consisted of low grade ore and
"overbearing" that was removed from the Lavender Pit. The
mines of the day were only interested in the high-grade ore that made mining so
profitable during their hay-days. On the north side of this dump, is a new
precipitation plant that uses the "magic" of chemistry to extract the
remaining ore. Thought the plant is relatively small, the end product is almost
pure copper at a low cost per pound to produce. Since the No 7 dump is
quite large, it would seem likely that this plant will have a very long life.
Damian
took us through some of the residential areas that house the local folks today
with some of the mansions where the elite lived.
The Greenway house looks more like it belonged in Wisconsin with its many gables. The house is
currently on the market with an asking price of $1.7 million. The Douglas house is just to the west of the Greenway
house and has 43 rooms. The house has been totally restored and has current
residents. Damian parked the jeep on a small rise that overlooks the
ballpark. This ballpark was where the local sheriff rounded-up hundreds of
striking miners known as "Wobblies"
and loaded them aboard boxcars of a nearby train, and transported them into the
New Mexico wasteland and dumped them off and told them not to come back.
The next leg or our tour revolved around the
historic sites within the "old town" part of Bisbee. Damian
drove the jeep up the hill in Brewery Gulch. As we ascended the narrow,
steep road, Damian would point-out interesting facts regarding some of
the old houses both up the sides of the hill and along the street. I recall one
tale about how a person was fatally injured after being run-down by an errant
piano that was being hauled up the steep stairways to a house well up on the
hill. I asked Damian if he died "on a sour note"...........groan.
We passed-by the old Bisbee High School that is listed in Ripley's
Believe it or Not as being the only 4-story building with street level
entries on each floor. As our tour ended, Damian dropped us all off at
the Inn and we went into the Inn office to
finish our check-in chores.
Our room called "Faraway Ranch", was
located on the back side of the Inn. To get to
our room, we walked through a small pair of doors that led to the 2nd
level veranda and walked to the west end of the Inn.
The "trail" continued around to the back side that is up against the hill.
The rear walkway was covered with a lattice material and that was covered with
corrugated, fiberglass panels. There were assorted planters that lined the
curving walkway with some of them containing bamboo that was more than two
stories high. This was a very secluded and quiet area. The Deans had the
room next to ours and the Davis
folks had a room on the 3rd level or second floor.
After about a half hours
regeneration, my wife and I went back to the veranda and sat on the swing
overlooking the street. The afternoon skies were now clouded over and looking
to the west, we could see lightening and heard the thunder that would echo off
the canyon walls. We were soon joined by the Deans and we got to discussing our dinner plans. I said that we would hike down
the street and check-out the possibilities. We stopped by four places and
finally decided on Winchesters at the Copper Queen Hotel. We then
strolled across the street to the ice-cream store to get a double dip cone and
then head back up the street to the Inn. I
met-up with the Deans and told them that we would meet at the Inn entrance at 5:00 and head down to the Copper Queen.
I said that I would let Bert and Dee know about out dinner plans. We all
arrived at the Copper Queen Hotel at about 5:20 but the restaurant did
not open until 5:30 so we sat on the old leather sofas that were in the hotel
lobby and waited for our dinner call. After a leisurely and very enjoyable
meal, we made our way back up the hill towards the Inn
and encountered a few drops of rain along the way.
Back at the Inn, we went to the second floor
sitting room where the TV was and we watched the 2nd half to the
Suns and San Antonio
basketball game. Following the disappointing outcome of the game, my wife and I
went back down to the first floor veranda to enjoy the cool evening air. While
sitting there, I noticed that there was now a parking place that was much
closer to the Inn entryway so I decided to
move the car. By now the rain had become a bit more enthusiastic so I did not
spend a lot of time enjoying the street scene. Several time
during the night, I could hear the rain sprinkling on the fiberglass cover that
was on the rear walkway of the Inn. It must
have been some time around 5:00am that the rain stopped. Since I am, by habit,
an early riser and the dinning area does not open until 7:00, I decided to
resume my position on the veranda swing to await its opening. At around 6:30, I
could smell the aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafting-up to the first floor
level. As I see it, that is an open invitation to get a cup of coffee and relax
on the swing and do my morning cross-word puzzle. At around 0715, the rest of
the group showed-up and we all headed down to the dinning area. Breakfast was
for the most part, as far as our entrees were concerned, a repeat of Saturday
morning.
The weather had cleared rather nicely and we
decided to meet at the entrance to the Inn by
0900 for our departure for the airport. Following a quick shower and a scan of
our room to make sure that we has all of our gear, we
headed-out for our rendevous with the rest of the
group. We loaded-up the "airport limo" and retraced our route back to
the Bisbee
Airport. One by one
we hauled each aircraft over to the stationary fuel station and Mr Swan deftly dispensed the "liquid gold" into
our fuel tanks. Asa and I decided to retrace our inbound route to Bisbee and
return via San Manuel. Bert and Dee were going to return via Tucson and up I-10. We
departed left downwind from runway 17 and climbed to 8500' and over the eastern
slopes of the Mule
Mountains. As we neared San
Manuel, we encountered some scattered Cumulus clouds so I dropped-down to
6500' and Asa climbed to about 9500'. The air was quite bumpy for a while but
smoothed-out a bit as we neared Firebird
Lake for the crossing of the Class
B airspace and back to Deer
Valley Airport.
For more information on the Inn at Castle Rock and
Lavender Jeep Tours, contact:
Jeanine Babcock at the Inn at 1-800-566-4449
or visit their web site at http://www.theinn.biz
Tom Mosier at Lavender Jeep Tours at (520) 432-5369
The Bisbee Crew
- Warren & Jeri-Ann McIlvoy in 4544X, BC-1
- Bert & Dee Davis in 44806, BC-42
- Asa & Cheryl Dean in 48803, BC-52
- Ken Calman and Son
Click on the Bisbee
event link to view photos of this fly-in event.