Wednesday, March 01, 2023

The I'm Not Kidding Ghost In The Attic

We've driven as far south as we can go - without a passport - and it's still snowing.

↑ 11 miles from the Mexico Border.  ↑

When we embarked on this Let's Head South to Warm Up, impromptu road trip, I packed two suitcases. One for hot weather - one for warm weather. Bit the bullet, got a pedicure, prior to my departure. Couldn't hardly wait to put my sandals on.

Packed three whole items for cold weather. Confident I'd be escaping the snows very, very soon. Been living in a filthy sweatshirt and a pair of dirty jeans for a couple weeks now. The only warm clothes I have. I haven't been warm since we hopped in the car, eager to leave winter far behind.

It makes sense that I'm suffering through a super snowy winter. I live high in the mountains in a ski resort.

It does not make sense that the father south we drive, the colder it gets.

After departing chilly Sedona, we headed much further south.

Tombstone was a ghost town. Which makes sense ~ seeing as how their biggest attraction is shooting each other every hour, on the hour, at the OK Corral. 

I suppose the lack of tourists stems from the fact that it was so freaking cold there nobody felt like cheering on the Gunslingers. 

This is a major thoroughfare and a two-way street.

From Tombstone, we headed farther south, to Bisbee.  We were lost the whole time we were there. I'm still laughing that it took us 30 minutes to find a restaurant that was only 1/2 mile away! 

*  FYI ~ once we did find Cafe Roka (sign in the photo - I think I hold the Guinness Book of World Records for u-turns, while on vacation) it was the best meal I've ever enjoyed.

The town gets much prettier when you drive around the corner. 

Bisbee is an eccentric, artsy, ghost-loving community. Which sounded like kind of a crazy claim to fame. Oh, lookee there! Isn't that cute? I thought to myself, when I saw that Bisbee was listed as one of the most haunted places in Arizona.

We came to stay at this lovely 100 year old mansion. ↓

When the weather cooperates, it looks like this vs. the top photo in this blog post. When it's covered in snow. 

When I booked this place I envisioned me in Donna's glorious garden. Me in a tank top, sipping lemonade, and photographing her lovely flowers... and... what? 

Eleven miles from the Mexico border - it was 18 degrees the day we arrived.

Look up! Complimentary wine but you must climb to rafters to retrieve it. :)

I fell in love the moment we walked inside. Have always dreamed of having a country kitchen in a wonderful old home like this one. Sans the ghost.

Yep. Pretty sure it was haunted. 

That's crazy! YOU are saying to yourself at this very moment. 

I'm a light sleeper - woke in the middle of the night, hearing footsteps. Figured it was Hazel (I picked up a friend at the Phoenix airport for the last half of this journey.) But then I heard her snoring in the next room. Which is right about the time I remembered why I don't travel with her that often.  :)

Footsteps. In the attic. And no dog.

Even when he's bored to tears, while I'm working on my computer, Charlie never leaves my side.

Charlie refused to come upstairs in that house. 

He's been by my side every day for the last 8 years. We sleep together every night. 

But Charlie wouldn't come upstairs to sleep with me while were staying in that house. Flatly refused. Which felt so very strange. Until I heard the spooky visitor in the attic in the middle of the night.

So there you have it. Truth in advertising. Bisbee really is a ghost town. And there's absolutely no need to book one of those super popular ghost tours the town offers. Just book the place I stayed in.

* If you don't believe me, believe in Charlie Waffles. He was smart enough to sleep downstairs on the couch.



2 comments:

ProfessorRoush said...

Hi Kate; good to see you're still out there plugging away and not frozen into the landscape in the high mountains! I know what you mean; just got back from a business trip to the still cold Washington DC and then saw snow here just this week on the lower Plains. It's ridiculous.

Bisbee sounds like a good place to aim for. What would be a "not 18º" time of year to go? Like, how much later before it is too hot to handle?

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi Professor! So nice to see you in my comments! Bisbee - March - might be ideal. This is just a crazy cold weather year. You should definitely go. It's a really fun place to visit. Take a detour through the hoodoos while you're there. :)