Day 12: Douglas, Arizona

Rain threatened our ride all day.  It sprinkled a bit on our climb to the highest elevation (5900 ft) on the coast to coast trip.  Lisa's irritated and winded comment at the top of the 5-mile climb was, "I'm not climbing any more, that's it, I am done." The descent was dry, thankfully, and began with passage through a well lit tunnel.  Fortunately no cars were following us. Our planned lunch spot, in downtown Bisbee was closed when we stopped by at 11:10am.  Although their sign said they opened at 11am, it was deserted, as was the cafe across the street that also opened at 11am.  Must be "Bisbee Time".  We quickly decided to head for home and race the rain.

Note:  Bisbee was a runner-up as one of the "quirkiest" towns in America.

Exiting Bisbee, a little rain fell; just enough to wet our tire.  Approaching our final destination, almost a complete descent all the way, Douglas, there were dark skies with rain to the right and more to the left.  A mountain in the distance reflected the yellow glow of the sun.  Then five miles from town, the mountain darkened and the dark skies merged.  Two miles from home, we cycled right into the downpour. 

As Lisa, Bruce1, and Jeff  hunkered down, wishing the rain away, we slogged through the final miles to the historic Gadsden Hotel.  This is an improvement from previous years which stayed at a park, not a campground, in Bisbee with very limited facilities.  Wonderful to have a roof over our heads and a warm, dry bed tonight. If you have never been to the Gadsden, it is an ornate, gorgeous old hotel in the middle of nowhere (no offense, Douglas, AZ, residents!) with a chip out of the big marble staircase in the lobby where the story has it Pancho Villa rode his horse straight up the stairs and the horse's hoof chipped the stair.  Such an amazing story, it has to be true.  Just hoping we do not have one of the Gadsden's haunted rooms, but doubt even ghosts can wake us after a day of racing the rain. 

Unfortunately because of the rain, our chef will not be able to serve our meal outside, so restaurant food it is.  Based on our lunch experience, it may be interesting.  The special of the day was Gadsden Quesadillas, ironically, only five blocks from the Mexican border, they were out of tortillas.  Bruce and Lisa had to retrieve their own soda refills from behind the counter.  The waitress was too busy phoning home to wait on us or deliver our bills.  There was only 1 other couple dining at the time we were there, so...?  Eventually, we met her at her station, then she read the wrong price from the menu and overcharged us. 


More rain expected tomorrow as we enter into New Mexico.