Touring Three Days Touring Southern Arizona: A Mother Nature "inspired" Change Of Plans

"We plan. Mother Nature laughs". We've all heard that and it's only too true. Steve, Russell, and I had a three day-two night motorcycle trip planned up to the northern part of Arizona last weekend. Alas, the weather turned inhospitable and we scrambled to come up with a Plan B. We did...and it was a good plan at that. Instead of riding up to Winslow and Williams and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Steve booked us two nights in Tombstone, a favorite day destination of ours. While we've been to Tombstone many times over the years on our bikes, this was the first time that we'd spent the night there much less two. And we enjoyed it so much that we agreed we'll definitely do it again!

Here was the original plan. I will admit that we probably weren't too smart (just too hopeful) to plan a trip up into the mountains in northern Arizona in mid-November! Duh.



And here was Plan B. A wonderful new plan....and right in our back yard! I guess we could have just cancelled our plans to do a riding trip. But we already had our dog sitter booked and we were already packed. Plus, we're no quitters!



I was in charge of cancelling our northern AZ hotels and was pleased at how accommodating the proprietors were. Even though both hotels (one in Winslow and one in Williams) had cancellations policies stating that there was no refund for cancellations less than 5 days out, one hotel refunded our entire amount and the other noted our "predicament" in my file and said that we could come stay in our same prepaid room anytime other than a holiday weekend We thought we were going to be out a fair amount of $$...and we were out none.

Steve was in charge of finding us new lodgings on VERY short notice. Here in the U.S. it was a holiday weekend--Veterans Day was on Monday. Our trip plan was to depart from Tucson on Saturday and return home Monday. Yeah, along with a whole bunch of other people who had Monday off! At first we tried to find a place in Bisbee but there were zero rooms available. However, Steve found a great little place in Tombstone right on the old main street (Allen Street) about two blocks from where all the action is happening. There were only two rooms and we got both--one for Russell and one for Steve and me. Plus there was a perfect little concrete pad that fit our three Harley touring bikes perfectly! No coincidences....



Our buddy, Chas, had trailered his bike down to Tombstone earlier in the day for a car and bike show that he had entered. So our first order of business was to find the show and to find Chas and his bike. The population of Tombstone is only about 1,300 so is wasn't to challenging to find them. We meandered up Allen Street and only had to walk about four blocks before we ran right into the show and to Chas.



Evidently the guy who usually runs to the show had his panties in a knot about something so had pulled all the ads to register for the show according to a friend of Chas' who had helped sponsor the show. The upshot to that for the "bike show" part of the show was that Chas was the only one who had entered a bike! So he went home with a trophy, a new battery (compliments of Interstate Batteries, the main sponsor) and a bunch of other swag.



Chas joined us for lunch and then he loaded up his Harley CVO V-Rod and headed home. He just recently bought this little Stinger trailer so we had to check it out before he left for Tucson.



A few more car show photos....









Day 1 in Tombstone to be continued in my next post

 

Day 1 continued:

No day is complete in Tombstone without at least one meal at The Longhorn. Plus it was right next to where Chas' bike was parked.



That's Steve, Russell, and Chas in the middle.



The Longhorn is a gem with lots of great old posters and decorations and some very cool stained glass. There's definitely an "American West" theme going on.



After lunch we wandered along Allen Street taking in the sights and checking out the stores. Tombstone is very touristy--but there's something quite charming even in all the kitchyness of it all. There are gunfight shows throughout the day and we learned there are "ghost" gunfight shows at night and even a Comedy Gunfight. Here's more info if Old West gunfights pique your interest.



These gunslingers were getting ready for a show.





Russell in front of Doc Holliday's Saloon. Which we did not go in, BTW. Next time!



Like many things in Tombstone, we'd seen the Birdcage Theatre from the outside but had never gone in. According to the gentleman telling us about the place, this is the oldest original building on Allen Street.



A bit from Wikipedia + a link...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_Cage_Theatre



We went inside to take a look and got to hear a bit about the place which is quite interesting. They do tours (of course) and we'lll probably do that the next time we ride down to Tombstone.



There were tons and tons of motorcycles all around southern Arizona during the entire weekend. Here were a few of them parked in front of the Four Deuces Saloon about two blocks from our inn.



Day 1 continued in my next post.

 

Day 1 continued:

Steve and Russell had discussed having a cigar on the Allen Street Inn patio after dinner so we went in search of cigars. Steve thought to ask the proprietor (who was not on the premises at all during our stay) if it was permissible to smoke on the patio. Yep. It seems there are fewer and fewer places where smoking a cigar is allowed in public. Not that we need those places all that much.....

And we found Smoke Signals, home of many, many cigars. And several guys smoking cigars as we entered the shop. Actually, I'd noticed this place earlier as we went in search of the car & bike show because I have an eagle eye--well, eagle nose--for the scent of cigars. I don't smoke at all. Never have even had one puff in my life. But I absolutely LOVE second hand cigar smoke! Go figure. And if Steve's gonna have a cigar it's typically gonna be a good one. I like Steve's "seconds" so much that I'll even switch chairs if the breeze changes so I don't miss out on a single waft.



The proprietor helped Steve make his selection because few of the brands were familiar to him. Evidently the owner goes to the "Smoke Out" cigar convention in Las Vegas every year and buys for the shop for the following year. This shop likes to get brands that are not readily available in southern Arizona so people can try something different and to set the shop apart. Steve bought two Placencia's and he really enjoyed his. Russell opted to abstain so Steve now has another one in his desktop humidor.





The Allen Street Inn patio during the day. It became the Cigar Patio by night.

 

Oops! I accidentally hit "Post Reply" a bit early. Out of practice I guess. Day 1 continued. This is the last Day 1 post and I'll continue with Day 2 -- Douglas and Bisbee -- tomorrow.

Steve did a bit of research prior to this trip and learned that Tombstone has a local brewery. I thoroughly enjoy finding local breweries when we travel and trying whatever IPA's the place has to offer. Conveniently enough, the Tombstone Brewing Company was only a block from our inn. As I said previously, no coincidences.



We got there fairly early and the place hadn't yet started hopping. But we also wanted to be sure to get in the door without a long holiday weekend wait when it came time for dinner. This brewery is beer only--no food to be had.



I'm still working on that IPA in the foreground but Steve was pretty darned happy after polishing off his 14.1% ABV stout! It was only a 10 oz. pour, thank goodness.



Time for dinner! We went kitty corner across the street from The Longhorn and found a relatively short line for The Crystal Palace. The wait to be seated was short but the wait for our food was not--1 1/2 hours! But the beer was good, the ambiance was swell, and the company was excellent. Plus we'd cooled our jets at the brewery just prior. And our meals were outstanding! Definitely worth the wait.



But...no dessert was on the menu at The Crystal Palace so we asked our server where we could go. She said that most places were closing up for the night. That really surprised us as it was only 8:00pm! And on a Saturday night! And on a holiday weekend! Small towns....sigh. However, our server said that Big Nose Kate's Saloon would be open for quite some time as it was primarily a bar. And she also said they had a really good chocolate chip cookie with ice cream. So off we went in search of sugar.

Big Nose Kate's is an institution in Tombstone and one of the most fun places in town. We were seated at a little round table that's up off the main floor and provides a great view of the goings on.






Shortly after we arrived, a four-man band filled up the stage and began playing some excellent upbeat country western music. There was a small dance floor in front of the small stage and that began to fill up, too. Interestingly, there was no shortage of children in this SALOON!



Tomorrow we're off to Douglas, Arizona to show Russell the Gadsden Hotel and then to Bisbee, one of our favorite small towns. And more fun in Tombstone, of course. This Plan B trip turned out to be terrific fun!

Day 2 mañana...stay tuned.