February 1 &2 2008 Belle Starr's Silverado Ranch

From the time we were first in Tucson we had been reading about Belle Starr's Siverado between Bisbee and Douglas, Arizona. When we departed Davis Monthan we decided to check out Belle's place.

It was not a long drive (about 90 miles) so we arrived early in the afternoon. We took one look at the gate and were not sure we could fit, so Bob and I both sucked in our breath and we made it through the gate in the rv with the car in tow.

We were met by Belle's ranch hand Richard. He told us to follow the dirt road to the farm buggies and turn left. There would be a loop where we could park anywhere. Bob unhooked the car and I followed him down the dirt road as he drove the rv between the mesquite bushes. It was pretty close in some places!

We found the loop and Bob oriented the rv to maximize solar reception on the panels. This was going to be an experience!
We were parked in the middle of the desert with mountains facing us and mesquite bushes all around us.

We ate a late lunch then went outside to fly kites. The wind was whipping up pretty good and we thought we had a good chance to get the kites in the air. Bob was able to get Hoss and Lynn's kite up with not trouble--it had experience. But the one Joyce had went straight up and then dove toward the ground! Bob is to the left of the rv and the kite is the dot at the upper right.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day. The sky was a deep blue with no clouds in sight.We put the kites away and walked down to the corrals to see the animals. We were met by three friendly dogs who love attention. Joyce had carrots for the horses, burros, and mules. She held them until we met Belle who said it was okay to feed the animals

The first corral we visited had Comanche (miniature burro), three mares and their babies.One baby was unusual. We found out later that it is a blue paint--it has not one, but two blue eyes.

Across the drive were more mini burros, geese and chickens. The roosters were like watch dogs, every time we came close, they crowed.
Behind Belle's house was a mini burro with a baby in with the chicken coop.There were more corrals with other horses. The largest horse we found out was a percheron. He is in retirement now, but he pulled Belle's carriage at one time.

At 80 years old, Belle is still very active. She drives a 'gator' around to visit with anyone who stays. We saw her using a pickaxe to remove a tree root near one of the out buildings.

Belle found out Joyce had never been on a horse and she said she would fix that first thing in the morning when Enrique arrived.

So, yes Amy, Joyce was finally going to ride a horse!

Saturday dawned with a few clouds and a little wind. The clouds dispersed early and it was another beautiful day.

We walked down to the corrals where Richard and Enrique were both hard at work. Richard was building a wheelchair ramp for Belle's cabin which is a replica of the infamous Belle Starr's cabin in Oklahoma.

Enrique saddled a gentle horse.

He rode it around the arena to show Joyce how it was done.

Okay, so now it was Joyce's turn. Are you sure the horse is ready?She has to throw her leg how high?

With a little help from Bob, she made it. This wasn't so bad after all!
I think she's got it now!

After the ride, Bob and Joyce drove into Bisbee to see what it was all about. It looks like a town you would find on the northeastern coast with houses going up the hills.There are many artists' studios and antique stores in Bisbee.

Bisbee is also famous for the Queen Mine. The road was built around this old open pit mine.We decided to have lunch at this quaint little diner with a special name. The diner was crowded (only 10 stools inside at the counter and a small outside patio). We were able to eat at the counter. The food was good and the milk shakes looked scrumptious--we may have to go back for a milk shake.On our way back to Belle's, we made a wrong turn. We managed to find a sign that pointed us in the direction of AZ 80, but after about a mile it turned into a dirt road. We perservered and found ourselves on the US/Mexican border. We know this to be true because of the fence!

After a few miles, we met a border patrol truck. We stopped and asked if this was indeed the road to AZ 80. The patrolman told us we would run into 80 if we continued on our way and went right as soon as we saw paved road. So we continued on our way wondering just how far away that paved road was.

As we drove we saw a vehicle used for mobile border monitoring on a hill . The crane has a camera top as well as holding the observation booth.
We eventually found the paved road and AZ80. We were not as close to Douglas (border town) as we thought. We were just a few miles south of Belle's ranch.

Bob checked the solar panels on the rv roof since it was so windy. As he went up the ladder one of the bolts came loose. It looked like we were going to Douglas after all. Douglas is home to Wal-Mart and we knew we could find something to fix the ladder. So off we went to Douglas. It is a border town and there were a lot of people coming into the US to shop at Safeway and Wal-Mart. Many of them were walking back toward Mexico carrying shopping bags. Bob found what he needed and we drove back to Belle's. It was getting dark and time to think about dinner.

I wonder what adventures await us tomorrow.....

Oh, yeah. I forgot it is Super Bowl Sunday!