Hey! That Jag isn't Italian! Nope - it's a cat of a different color. You just never know what you will find (or find you) in Bisbee!
The 2015 Bisbee Run & Overnight was a great experience. Although attendees were not running their Italian cars for one reason or another, there was plenty to see and do. We started out with a meet-up and breakfast at the Vail Steakhouse Cafe & Diner. We headed east on I-10 to see The Thing. It's just one of those things you gotta do to say you did it. After The Thing, we backtracked through Texas Canyon to the Amerind Museum. The Amerind is a wonderful museum of the American Indian. They also have a wonderful art gallery in an adjacent building. Upon leaving we headed back towards Benson where we caught AZ-80 south from Benson and through St. David to Tombstone. In Tombstone we stopped at the Courthouse Museum for a tour. There is always something going on in Tombstone when the weather is great and this weekend was no exception. If had 2 wheels and said "Harley Davidson" it was there.
After Tombstone we headed into Bisbee and directly to the Jonquil Motel. It's a quaint motor court motel. We noshed on wine, cheese, and fruit and got a bit refreshed before heading into Old Bisbee to check out the sites. There is plenty to see in Bisbee. There is art EVERYWHERE. Of course, we had to stop for some "refreshments" in Brewery Gulch. We worked up an appetite climbing stairs and walking through neighborhoods up to Castle Rock. The only problem with hiking up is coming down! We had a nice Mexican dinner at Contessa's Cantina.
Sunday was just about as perfect as it gets. The cool morning gave way to a balmy afternoon. The breeze was scented with roses and wildflowers common in Bisbee this time of year. We spent the time doing a little bit of window browsing, looking at art and gawking at all kinds of classic and just cool cars that were rolling through town. We stopped for a lite lunch at Ana's Seasonal Kitchen. We heard a "purr" in the street and were treated to a Jaguar D-Type that pulled up and parked at the curb. It is a post-production replica built by the same craftsman who built the originals. It is all aluminum and built to exacting standards and using the same "bucks" that were employed to shape the original D-Type bodies. Check out the builder's signature! Straight six with Weber carbs mated to a 5-speed transmission and brought to a stop with vented disk brakes. When you look at the pictures you will note that this cat gets driven - A LOT. That doesn't mean it is beat up by any means. Rather, it is kept in top shape to do what it is designed to do - RUN and run fast. It participates in a lot of rallies in the Southwest and California. The cool thing is that this particular Jaguar is local to Bisbee. Apparently this Jaguar has spent some notable time in the triple-digits of the speedometer. (Rob - if you are reading this please correct me if any of these statements about your Jaguar are incorrect!) After checking out the Jaguar we headed back to Tucson with a leisurely drive back through Tombstone and over to Sonoita and then up AZ-83. This trip was great incentive for some of us to finish up mods and maintenance and get our Italians back on the road where they belong!
Thanks to everyone who made it out for this event! Everyone had a great time. Those who couldn't make it were missed. Hope to see you at the next event!
A photo album of the event is available > here.<
Here's another album of the event from the Southern Arizona Pantera Club available > here.<
