At about 10:00AM we were told by the tour guide that an ostrich farm would be coming up on the right-side of the bus after we pass a trailer park. About half an hour later we passed the trailer park. Another half an hour passed and still no ostrich farm. Another half an hour passed and my friend Devin realized that it either was never really there, or was passed without us knowing it. I have spent the last couple of days trying to find it on Google Earth without success. Three more hours later (or exactly 32 throwing spork murders later) we arrived in Bisbee, Arizona. After we got off the bus, our tour guide for the away-from-the-bus part of the tour met us. Bisbee was originally started as a copper, silver, and gold mining camp before they found the Copper Queen Mine when they decided to make it a city. After the tour of the city, she brought us to the Copper Queen Mining Museum. There, we learned all sorts of stuff from the equipment they used in the underground mine to how they separate the ore from the dirt in the open pit mine (the gasses from a bacteria imported from Norway literally burn away anything that isn't copper ore.)
After the museum, we got back on the bus and drove another twenty minutes until we reached the entrance to the Copper Queen Mine. We went inside a little warehouse next to it and were given bright yellow jackets, hardhats, and a car battery with a light bulb about big enough to cover the head of a pin, and we were told to haul the car battery around on the belt of the jacket. They then loaded us onto the mine cart: a somewhat small engine that stalled often but had a soft cushioned swivel chair. Hauled by this engine was twelve two by fours on wheels with two thin rods running down the length of the cart. Along with the unstable method of transportation, it was also informed five minutes after we entered, that the mine stayed a naturally flat 52 degrees! If you don't believe me here's a picture of a thermometer in there:
It was fun though, and we got to see many old crystal and mining caves along with a lift shaft, detonation cave, and a honey cart (the portable toilet). Here's a picture of the honey cart (I don't know why they call it a honey cart):
After we left the mine, we ate lunch on the bus and went to see one of the many open pit mines. The mine we went to see was the Lavender Open Pit Mine which was literally 80 ft. from the Copper Queen Mine. Apparently the shadow at the bottom of the mine isn't a shadow. Instead, the shadow is a mass of trapped rain water that is mixed with large amounts of copper, lead, iron, sediment, and bits of TNT. This combination makes a black toxic fluid that guarantees a painful death to a person in less than an hour if the person drinks it. Here's a picture of the toxic liquid:
After we went to the Lavender Open Pit Mine, we left Bisbee, and we were able to play another eight games of Mafia (all of which involved someone eating Teriyaki chicken while someone was being killed with a spork) before we arrived in Tombstone. Brief history of Tombstone: founded by a guy who was thought to be crazy for venturing out to the middle of nowhere and told all he would find was his tombstone. This guy (Edward Schieffelin) found silver and named the town Tombstone as an ironic joke. When we got there, we were broken up into two groups for the stagecoach tour. The other group went first. The group I was in went and found the biggest ice creams I've ever seen (a two scoop is about the size of four scoops). The stagecoach tour was a bit of a disappointment, but it was still interesting. To summarize: now you should understand the case of the freezing mine, the stagecoach ride, the crazed spork murderer, and the invisible ostrich farm. This case has been solved. Never trust anyone with a spork. ;)
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