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"B" is for Bisbee Sal and Paula, being from San Diego, are understandably skeptical of the sign bragging about Bisbee having the best climate on earth...but it does offer some of the best architecture and art in the southwest

We climbed something like four hundred steps to get a better view of the mining town and work up a good thirst for some local brews. Surprisingly, Sal and Paula still had enough energy for radiant smiles. Up here they got a closer look at the "B" carved in the moutain, left. Unfortunately S&P had to leave their dogs, Jake and Henry, at home. Too bad ... Bisbee even has attractions for the canine set.

Bisbee is an art community — even the graffetti tends toward the artistic

All the shopping, walking, and climbing in Bisbee brought on a big thirst. Fortunately for us, the mountain stairs and roads led us to Brewery Gulch, where we cooled down at Hot Licks Bar and Grill.

On the bar patio Cherie gave Mike a big hug, happy that he could join us for the day

For a change of scenery, we went to the 105-year-old Copper Queen Hotel for drinks on the patio...

...where thirsts are elevated to high art

Sal and Paula were hoping Cherie would reprise her performance at dinner at Cafe Roka by vaulting over backwards in her seat. Fortunately she didn't, as we were sitting at the edge of the 2nd floor balcony

This is the desert?
	Cherie, Anna, Mike, Sal, me, and Paula (the photographer for this shot) took a walk along one of Arizona's few year-round flowing rivers, the San Pedro. We were looking for the old ghost town of Charleston.

With Mike leading the way, we promptly got lost, criss-crossing the river in search of the old adobe buildings on the river's bluff. Here Anna shows how to take advantage of beaver-felled trees to cross the river.

Sal and Mike didn't want to get their feet wet while crossing the mighty San Pedro River. Being the macho brainiacs they are, they scratched their heads, looked around, and found a hefty log with which to bridge the river. Driving it to the shore like a hook and ladder firetruck, they upended it on one side of the river and shoved it over the chasm. The log broke in half upon hitting the ground and floated down the river. More head scratching ensued. To see a video of this engineering feat, click on the photo at left and wait for the video to load.

Sal surprised Paula with his balance, strength, and daring...outdoors, that is. Here he crosses the river without a net, bravely walking atop a...whoa, there, Wallenda, nice two-point landing. To see a video of this crossing feat, reminescent of the Great Wallenda circus act, click on the photo to the right.

Night at the Museum Wandering along the river and abandoned train tracks, we spotted a trail and followed it to find petroglyphs among the rocks dating back some 1,000 years. Walking further we found the foundations of Millville, the town that crushed and processed the silver ore coming out of the Tombstone mines. It was like a walk through a museum. Petroglyphs are hiding in the rocks, like a "Where's Waldo" book. A couple are highlighted, like the snake and lizzard at right.

Likewise, a storybook is etched on this rock. We think maybe it is a story of a sunny day, kind of like the one we had for our river and desert walk. Paula read a story of her own from this rock, below...

Paula saw this deatil from the rock, above, and put her own life story into it. She zeroed in on the stick figure and thought it was a man walking his dog. On further inspection, she decided it was Sal walking Jake, the black lab; and then she saw the smaller dog above the big one and decided that was Henry, her chihuahua. Methinks she and Sal missed their dogs over the long weekend away from them.

All that walking in the desert built up a thirst, and we quenched it with beer salads, bubbling citrus concoctions that nourished lively conversations throughout the evening...

A picture is worth a thousand words. We can only guess who had the most to drink here.

We seem to have had a theme for this vacation, as we enjoyed lunch together in Tucson before Sal and Paula boarded their plane back to San Diego Lunch was a chance to do some wine tasting at Cuvee, a nice little restaurant serving luscious wines and fresh foods

And so the Presidents' Day holiday weekend ended. We have great memories of good times together in the wilds of southern Arizona. What a better way to say goodbye than with an Arizona sunset taken around that weekend.

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