Paul Spur is the remains of a cretacious limestone reef that is exposed a little more than a mile from the Mexican border in southern Arizona. On the exposed eastern side of the reef, you can see the wavy remains of platy coral more than 140 million years old. There is a lime manufacturing plant alongside the reef and a few factory buildings. Hotels can be found in nearby towns.
Ten miles to the west of Paul Spur, along Route 80, lies the small town of Bisbee, with a population of a little over 6,000. The town is the county seat for Cochise County and houses several hotels and inns. Try out the Copper Queen Hotel, Arizona’s oldest continually running hotel. As you walk into the hotel, it's like taking a step into the past. The Bisbee Grand Hotel is another old establishment that was built in 1908 and restored in 1986. The hotel’s Bisbee Grand Saloon boasts “the best beer and top shelf liquor selection in town.” The Bisbee Inn is yet another old hotel, dating back to 1917. The hotel started off as the La More Hotel, changed to Waters Hotel in 1936 and to its present name after a historic renovation in 1982.
Bisbee has been an important copper mining town since the early 20th century, but declined after the demand for copper itself declined in the 1950s. The 1970s saw an increasing artist’s colony and the 1990s saw baby boomers arriving in town. While in this historic town, you should visit its historic mining museum and make a tour to the Queen Copper Mine where you can look for any residual veins of copper, turquoise, silver, gold, lead and zinc. A definite side trip while in Bisbee is to the historic Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, about 30 miles to the west.
The city of Douglas is a border crossing into Mexico and is located 10 miles to the east of Paul Spur. The city was originally founded as a smelter town for the copper ores that were mined at Bisbee, 20 miles to the west. Douglas has a handful of small but interesting hotels. The Gadsden Hotel, with 160 air-cooled rooms, describes itself as being the last of the Grand Hotels. The foyer has towering marble pillars topped with gold leaf, and there is an authentic 42-foot wide Tiffany stained glass mural on one of the walls. Motel 6 Douglas is a motel located just to the west of Douglas. The amenities here include an outdoor pool, and some of the rooms have a mini-fridge and Wi-Fi.
Today, Douglas is an important crossing point on the border with Mexico. The city, with a population of more than 14,000, has a number of new fast food outlets and restaurants. A new border crossing with nine lanes is planned, with construction to commence in 2012. Other than the Gadsden Hotel, which the city recognizes as a National Historic Site, you may want to pay a visit to the San Bernardino Ranch, about 20 miles to the east of the city.
