Rick, Jon (our son) and his wife Ivette and I spent the weekend down in Douglas Arizona for the Cochise Bicycle Classic. We got down there a little late around 9 p.m. only to find our hotel had already given away our room and the hotel was totally full. We had just driven through a hail storm in Bisbee I thought our windshield was going to crack it was coming down so hard. Luckily we were driving our Nissan Titan Truck that has four wheel drive. The wheels were starting to loose traction from the ice forming on the road. Imagine we just came from 100 plus degree weather and now we are slipping on ice. We were all tired and worn out and a little scared. Now we had no place to sleep. Douglas is not a real big town, only a mile from the mexican boarder. I didn't want to be out in the cold. Rick had heard that all the rooms in town were full because of the bike race. But we took a chance and headed to the only other hotel in town. The Gadsden Hotel, which is posted as being the Last of the Grand Hotels. Built in 1907 it looked it. But we gave it a chance and Rick must have looked forlorn and they let us stay in a room that was already reserved but the man hadn't shown up yet. It also only had one queen size bed, but Rick snatched it up out of desperation. We unloaded all the bikes and headed to Wall Mart to buy a blow up mattress and blankets for Jon and Ivette. It turned out they had the more comfortable sleeping arrangement. We were all thankful for anything at this point. The hotel is known for being haunted, especially in room 333, but we luckily got room 242. The only spooky thing that happened in our room was a huge grasshopper landed on Ricks back as soon as we entered the room. But there is a log where people enter supernatural weird experiences that happen to them while staying at the hotel. Past guests include Eleanor Roosevelt, Lee Marvin, Shelly Winters,...... Wow!! It is even told that Pancho Villa road his horse up the Italian Marble Staircase. There is an authentic Tiffany stained - glass mural which extends 42 feet across one wall of the massive mezzanine. Each pillar is decorated in 14K gold leaf - worth $20,000 back in 1929. Many movies have been filmed in this old hotel, one "The life and times of Judge Roy Bean". I loved it and had a very peaceful sleep, ghosts and all. Rick and Jon battled the wind the whole 98 mile course that took them through the old mining town of Bisbee and around some beautiful mountains and prairies. The old west still exists, only on bicycles instead of horses. A few of our bike club "Brumby's" came down to get in shape for the Tour De Tucson, which is coming up in November. Rick and Jon are thinking about doing that. Ivette and I had a fun time chasing after our husbands in the truck and catering to their every whim, which was usually just a water bottle here or a banana there. But they were very appreciative of our efforts and we felt we were needed. But it was a great sacrifice on my part since I missed getting to see my new little grandson who was born the day we left....10/10/08.
