GREAT WEEKENDS

You'll Find Nostalgia, Charm, Good Food, and a Laid-back Life-style in Old Bisbee

A tiny mining camp in the early 1870s, Bisbee became-by 1910-the "largest municipality" between St. Louis and San Francisco. Today a bonanza of attractions makes it a destination for tourists and retirees tired of the bustle of urban life.

Great weather provides one of those attractions. It's pretty much always a nice day in Bisbee. At 5,300 feet, the city escapes the punishing heat of Arizona's desert summers, and even if a winter snow falls, chances are it'll be gone by noon.

A laid-back life-style is another lure. Locals never seem to be in a hurry. After all, Bisbee's been here awhile, and they figure it'll be around a while longer. History, with its patina of nostalgia and charm, is perhaps the biggest draw.

The place that would become one of the richest mineral sites in the world got its start when Army scouts and cavalrymen filed claims after finding promising rocks in the hilly terrain. By 1880 Bisbee was calling itself a town, but it wasn't until Phelps Dodge brought in the railroad that mine production soared. The mines yielded millions of pounds of copper, plus substantial quantities of gold, silver, lead, and zinc.

But the heyday of the mines would eventually end. Prohibition had closed the lively saloons, and many people moved away. As the saying goes, "It wasn't like the good old days."

Tourists, in particular, think it's better. The old copper mines are still here. But instead of taking minerals out, guides take visitors in for a look around. The Victorian houses still cling with regal dignity to the upand-down terrain. Brewery Gulch, which once offered hard-working miners a choice of 50 watering holes, now tempts tourists with funky boutiques, jam-packed galleries, surprisingly good restaurants, and unusual hotels.

Bisbee sits about 200 miles south of Phoenix and close enough to the Mexican border that a loud Buenos dias! just might get an answer. My car moved along State Route 80 as it slid into the Mule Mountains, made a few swoops, then settled down before entering the 500-yard-long Mule Pass Tun-nel, the longest in the state.

Beyond the tunnel lay Bisbee. If the surrounding mountains were higher, this would be an Alpine setting. But they're not, and there's an off-beat majestic quality about the un-folding vista. Travel brochures say the town's buildings nestle into the sidehills. Some do, but others appear to be hanging on for dear life.

The best way to see much of Bisbee is on foot, as most of the stores and nightlife spots huddle along Brewery Gulch and Main Street. Buildings that once housed saloons and brothels now host such respectable establishments as Cafe Roka, Mr. Pipkorn's Gold Shop, and a place called the Crystal Moon.

As something of a history buff, my plan focused on: the Queen Mine tour, museums, St. Patrick's Catholic Church, plus stops at the historic Copper Queen Hotel and a place I'd heard about called Dot's Diner.

For the mine tour, expect to don hard hats and rain slickers and then board a train that takes you deep into Buckey O'Neill Hill. The guides, usually retired miners, share stories about the history of the mine and explain how the ores were extracted.

The mine tours leave from a building adjacent to the Lavender Pit, an open pit mine 1,000 feet deep, three-quarters of a mile wide, and a mile and a half long. Now closed, the pit's for looking only. Nobody's allowed into its depths, and a chain-link fence makes sure nobody tries. Taking photos through the fence may result in some interesting shots, but many visitors climb atop their vehicles or leap up and down, trying to rise above the fence and aiming their camera as they go. Some of the best pictures are not of the Lavender Pit, itself, I decided, but of tourists taking pictures.

A stop at the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, housed in a splendid old brick building, takes visitors into Bisbee's past through old photos, maps, and artifacts.

Two other museums also are must-sees. The Bisbee Restora-tion Museum on Main Street offers three floors of turn-of-the-century artifacts with particular emphasis on mining and the daily life of miners and their families. To add to your visit, start a conversation with the volunteer guides, who eagerly share vivid descriptions of what life was like here in the old days. The Muheim Heritage House Museum offers a fine example of elegantly restored 19th-century architecture. The building served as a private residence until 1980 when it was donated to the city.

Then on to St. Patrick's. The hike there, on Higgins Hill along Tombstone Canyon, proved long but worth every step. A Gothic Revival struc-ture, the church was modeled after St. Begh's in Whitehaven, England. Completed in 1917, it was one of the finest places of worship in the Southwest. The stained-glass windows are noted as one of the 10 best sets of Victorian glass in the nation. Lining both sides of the church,adds to Bisbee's off-kilter image with its restored vintage travel trailers for overnights. They're big with nostalgia buffs, and even more importantly for me, mere steps away from the aforementioned Dot's Diner, which occupies an art deco building hauled onto the site after being rescued from a California roadside. The burg-ers at Dot's were humongous, the catfish delicious, and the prices harkened to the days of the diner's origins.

The old School House Inn, our choice, offers such suites as the Principal's Office, the Library, the Arithmetic Room, and the Writing Room. We selected, oddly enough, the Writing Room. Jeff and Bobby Blankenbeckler stocked each of the onetime school's rooms with antiques, comfortable beds, and an air of peace and quiet. Also acting as the kitchen crew, the couple served our breakfast on the patio under an old oak tree that looks like it's been around as long as Bisbee, itself.

These unusual places to spend the night somehow summed up the attraction of Bisbee for me it's off-beat and laid-back for sure, and its peek into Arizona's past can't be surpassed.

The windows depict the life of Jesus Christ in brilliant color and detail.

And now on to another good reason to visit Bisbee: shopping. My wife, Lyn, and I are serious lookers but discriminating shoppers. We took close looks at a Carmen Miranda quilt in Dentimenta, a $4,000 oil painting of a cowboy by Mary Wyant in Jane Hamilton Fine Art, a pair of desert ram pedestal sculptures priced at $10,000 in a small gallery, and a $60 pachinko game in VaVoom.

Still searching for exactly the right souvenir of our trip, we admired the $39,000 back bar in Main Street Antiques and a $5 pork pie hat at Horse Hotel Antiques like one I wore in college.Our search came to an end in the Meridian Gallery in Brew-nery Gulch, where I added a cast concrete face of a mythical deity All that walking and touring and museum-going eventually brings up the question of lodgings, and there's an impressive variety to choose from, some of which are adventures unto themselves.

The Copper Queen Hotel, built in the early 1900s, offers antique-filled rooms and a saloon in which hangs an oil painting, circa 1890, of a lady of the evening, clad in her working attire. This may be the most photographed painting west of the Mississippi because few first-time visitors can resist posing in front of "the lady" while hoisting a glass of lager to show the folks back home they have achieved some degree of culture. The Queen's small sidewalk cafe overlooks Brewery Gulch and is open "most of the time."

The Shady Dell RV Park LOCATION: 205 miles southeast of Phoenix; 94 miles southeast of Tucson.

WEATHER: Average temperature in April: high, 74° F; low, 46°.

LODGING: All area codes are 520 unless otherwise noted. Copper Queen Hotel, 11 Howell St., Old Bisbee; (800) 247-5829. Bisbee Grand Hotel, 61 Main St., Old Bisbee; (800) 421-1909. School House Inn, 818 Tombstone Canyon, Old Bisbee; (800) 537-4333. The OK Street Jailhouse, 9 OK St., Old Bisbee; (800) 821-0678. Shady Dell RV Park, 1 Douglas Rd., Lowell; 432-3567.

RESTAURANTS: Cafe Roka, 35 Main; 432-5153. Dot's 50s' Diner, 1 Douglas Road; 432-2046.

ATTRACTIONS: Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, 5 Copper Queen Plaza, Bisbee; 432-7071. Bisbee Restoration Museum, 37 Main St., Bisbee; no telephone. St. Patrick's Church, Higgins Hill; 432-9954. Crystal Moon Gift Shop, 76 Main; 432-1341 (handmades, collectibles, textiles, clothing, kitchenware, children's bibs). Mr. Pipkorn's Gold Shop, 26 Main; 432-1226 (located in oldest commercial building in the city, originally a Goldwater's store owned by Barry Goldwater's grandfather). Muheim Heritage House Museum, 207 Youngblood Hill; 432-7071. Queen Mine Tours/City of Bisbee, 118 Arizona St., 432-2071. Tours are available: Queen Mine Underground Tour and Historic District and Surface Mine Tours (including the Lavender Pit).ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Bisbee Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box BA, Bisbee, AZ 85603-0560; 432-5421.