Travels with Twinkles: Side Pony Music Festival Trip

November 8 - 11, 2024:

On Friday November 8th, I’m off for a short road trip in my van to Bisbee, Arizona for the crazy Side Pony music festival which runs for three days from Friday November 8 through Sunday November 10th. I had decided ahead of time that two full days will be enough excitement at Bisbee so I am doing something more historic minded on my first day. I begin with a stop in Tombstone where I visit the Tombstone Courthouse which is a State Historic Park. The Courthouse was built in 1882 and served as the Cochise County seat for several years until it was relocated to Bisbee, Arizona. The Courthouse was then mostly abandoned and fell into decay. A local prominent town woman, Edna Landin took up the cause to save the building by appealing to people all over the country for donations to restore the Courthouse. This cause also helped to bring attention to the town of Tombstone and helped to create the tourist and attraction attraction that exists today.

I saw several historical items that I found interesting, way more interesting than the OK Corral and the other touristy crap that most people come to see.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone_Courthouse_State_Historic_Park

Why does this sound familiar

The border has always been a problem

There is always someone to do the right thing

The first woman Attorney

A good drinking Judge

The myth of old west is relived here

This Saloon actually is the real deal

After leaving Tombstone I drive on route 82 to the Balance Ranch Road and to the trailhead for the Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate. The Presidio was built on a bluff overlooking the San Pedro River as a Spanish military post in 1776. It was part of a series of territorial defenses stretching from Louisiana to California to protect the frontier of New Spain. From the beginning, this mission came under attack from the Apache Indians and they were unable to protect themselves. As a result, the Mission was abandoned in 1780 and all that remains today are a few crumbling stone and adobe walls. There is a loop trail with interpretive signs on the history and what is in front of you. There isn’t much to see however, but by looking at the signs and the surrounding terrain, you can appreciate the amazing effort required to build such a fort in this hostile secluded landscape and the constant deadly threat from the Apache raids.

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/presidio-santa-cruz-arizona/

Next, I drive a few miles back to the Fairbanks Historic Townsite. It was once a prosperous town during the mining boom days, but was mostly abandoned when the mining ended. All that remains today is a restored schoolhouse, now turned into a museum and a few other buildings. This was once a railroad town, hard to believe now, but several railroad artifacts and history exhibits remain in the museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbank,_Arizona

After leaving the museum, I take a trail to the old Fairbanks graveyard located on a hilltop, abandoned for decades with old wooden crosses laying over the graves, which are mostly unmarked with only a few primitive grave stones.

I then drive to the bustling city of Sierra Vista where I spend a cold night at the Walmart parking lot. Sierra Vista has beautiful mountain views and a very historic old army base, ___________. It's a fast growing city, stopping centers, restaurants and all the amenities, but no actual downtown area, kind of boring, but many people prefer that, I don't ?

I get an early start the following morning and drive straight to Bisbee arriving about 10 AM where I go to weekly Saturday farmers market before the festival starts at noon time. The Bisbee farmers market across from the historic baseball field in the new Bisbee townsite area. It is a good one market with many food and craft vendors.

The Side Pony festival is huge with over 100 music participants, covering about all music genres, many which I have never heard of, who are mostly from the Phoenix AZ area along with several other local or touring musicians.

The music occurs simultaneously at 21 different venues, local bars, restaurants and various businesses which involves lots of walking (good exercise) from venue to venue. There is a list posted each day giving the daily lineup. It's pretty amazing how the performers / bands get to the proper venue at the proper time. It appears that this is worked out by the performers themselves. Sound equipment, amplifiers and such are left at venues to be shared so the bands don’t have to lug everything around.

Add lineup sheet

I started off taking photos with my SLR camera, mostly landscapes and downtown shots, but switching to my phone to most videos. The following photos and videos tell the story of my wandering around Bisbee during the festival, the captions add some insight.