Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas, Az.
Our final week in Arizona concluded with some touristy stops in Tombstone and Bisbee, and our first hipcamp stay on a really nice lady’s land north of Douglas, Az.
We drove through Tombstone en route to our hipcamp spot. It was a fun stroll through town but we didn’t go anywhere that would require tickets or being inside around others so we kept it short and simple.
The following day we ventured over to Bisbee, Az and did some similar strolling around but did find a good coffee roaster and a bookstore so we got a few things that needed getting. Finding high quality, freshly roasted coffee while traveling has been a challenge. We are total snobs in this department. Blame it on living in Denver and spending so much time in Guatemala where good coffee is the standard and quite easy to come by. I loved the murals painted on the sides of all the old buildings. And the way the town is built up on hills so you have to roam up and down was such a surprising find in this part of Az. I dare say it was my favorite place we visited in the whole state.
The place where we parked at for our hipcamp was heaven! Aside from her and her friend we were in complete solitude and silence. You’d walk outside of the camper and the silence was deafening if that makes any sense. I can’t recall having this sensation anywhere else in our travels. The landscape was sweeping, grassy mountains so it felt like we were in a painting. We could walk along the rocky roads surrounding her property and only hear or see the passing cow or deer or spying hawk. This was a very restoring and resetting place and the perfect spot to ring in the New Year. It helped frame for us what we could be on the lookout for if and when we buy some land. Our host was very hospitable checking in on us periodically and leaving us some cookies and potatoes. She also showed us her art studio and works in progress.
I’m linking to her website for future perusal.
Natalie was of course very inspired. We’ll see what she spins up art-wise in the coming weeks after our great visit. We left this Arizona with a lot of feelings as we continue to navigate this lifestyle. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we spent a little over a month here. When we traveled to Phoenix briefly last September with our friend it wasn’t a pleasant experience in the sweltering heat and never ending strip malls. But other parts of Arizona turned out to be everything we needed in the late fall and into winter; Warmer climate, inexpensive camping options, wide open desert spaces with plenty of amazing sunsets and opportunities for stargazing, budding friendships, kind neighbors, magical creatures and desert plants. As we mosey on over into Texas for some Kinship Market dealings, we will keep these sweet memories fresh in our minds while the wheels continue to roll.
The Writings of Breanne Mashek 