Queen Mine Tour, Bisbee, AZ with the NOMADS

Here is the NOMAD team, minus Joe who is still working some and was on a conference call, heading into the Queen Mine in Bisbee, AZ.  This is a copper mine - over 6 billion tons were extracted from this mine over the years.  Bisbee is a real Wild West town with lots of amazing characters, steep stairs, mining houses all with front porches (made out of wood) and also a pit mine which mined lower quality ore.  It is huge and I will put that on my next blog. The couple next to us is from Florida, then Don and Mary are from Sun City, AZ, and Joyce and Joe are from Little Hocking, OH.  Wonderful people and HARD WORKERS!  (not in the mine!)

We will head into the mine on a train rail, spending about an hour with a gentleman who mined all his life.

Here we go!

There were thirteen levels to the mine and we went in on level Ten about 1400 feet.  It was 49 degrees inside.  This is a rail car from level Nine from which they brought up the ore.  Miners were paid by the railroad car amount of ore each day...the faster the team worked, the more money they obtained!

Trinity Methodist Church sold pasties one day...ground sirloin, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion, wrapped in a folded circle of dough - delicious.  That was what the miners took in their metal lunchboxes for their noon meal.  My grandfather on my mother's side was a miner superintendent in upper Michigan, and he took pasties for lunch every day.

Meet Analy, the Assembly of God's minister's daughter.  She met Rufus...having ALWAYS been afraid of dogs.  Now she walks Rufus when she comes and just got her own puppy!!!!

This unit was designed by Gary Prichard, head of the Western area of NOMADS.  We are RV4 and draw 1/4 of the 100 amps to our trailer.  So far, so good, although one motor home is huge and draws more electricity.  We have had no problems at all with it.

We are working at Trinity Methodist, First Methodist and the Y Thrift Store.  All proceeds from that store (almost $3000 a month) goes to low income housing!

I will show more project photos and details next time.  Happy Trails from the Old West where many women here wear clothes we've seen at the thrift store, the men hold on to mattresses on top of racks on pickups going up the steep hills, most men have long mining coats to wear and cowboy boots, and we just love this town!  Today we go to the Mining Museum.

  

The Allens in Breckenridge

Suzanne and Aida dropped by in the morning and Rufus loved Aida.  What a lovely four-year-old

girl who plays with Berlin, Diego's therapy dog when at home!!!  This is what Aida said, "My grandma (Linda) used to hold me a lot when I was a baby and she always had lots of pacifiers for me!"

This is Diego, adopted from Mexico.  We honor Suzanne, Rod and Linda for all the work they have done to help Diego with his autism.  He has had horse therapy and many other activites to assist him.  When he was a little baby, Linda used to feed his 2 tablespoons of milk every two hours.  Probiotics in milk each night have made him a very healthy boy!!! Linda does lots of problem solving with him.  Rod loves to take him to the top of the gondola and treat him to ice cream. Suzanne has been a very active Mom, researching autism and doing everything she can for and with him.  He is now in Kindergarten and doing VERY well!!  What a gift to the family and that family has been such a blessing to this little boy.  Notice that this handsome boy likes his catsup with a little macaroni and cheese!

Aida does not care for ketchup on her macaroni!

Here's the whole family after we went swimming and had sherbet at our campsite!  Rod and Linda are pretty well settled in Hamilton, Montana, but Rod is finishing his contractor work on a three billion dollar house Suzanne designed.  We traveled through it and it is absolutely amazing!  The foundation had 58 corners!  Rod has done a spectacular job and you just know his workers honor him.

I will put photos on the blog of the house.  Rod sent me lots of pictures so I will go through those and then show you some.  Six bathrooms, six bedrooms, family room, living room. etc.