Dot's all folks: Retrolicious Dot's Diner of Bisbee, Arizona

These folks were nice enough to scooch over when we arrived so we could get two stools together.

Keep your eyes on the pies.

This is a half-portion, mind you.

Was it good? Guess.

If you didn't have enough of a reason to visit Bisbee, Arizona's Shady Dell vintage RV park (see previous post, and really, what are you waiting for?), they have the perfect accompaniment for the eccentric and retro roadside attraction fan. Dot's Diner is a cute-as-a-button authentic 1957 Valentine model diner, originally located in LA when Dot Bozeman served up the hash and joe. Now it sits as a ray of sunshine in The Shady Dell's parking lot, providing good grub and cheer to retro denizens and locals looking for a bit of friendly Americana served up with with their Two Chicks on a Raft. A counter with nine stools is all they've got, so the atmosphere is warm and cozy. It's the kind of place where, when we arrived and found only two separate stools available, all the patrons grabbed their plates and scooched over so we could sit together. Mighty neighborly. The service was friendly and quick and the food hit the spot in the way only a good Eisenhower-era diner meal can. This place is yet another reason why Bisbee is a must-see destination for happening folks like you and me. Dot's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Happy trailers to you: Bisbee, Arizona's Shady Dell vintage trailer park

Nine vintage trailers await you, including...

The 1957 Airfloat (that's the inside below).

Interior pics are from The Shady Dell's website. Go visit them!

The 1949 Airstream, left, and the '57 El Rey (lawn flamingos come at no extra charge).

Here's the interior of the Airstream...comfy!

This is the 1950 Manor, stately and proud...

...and equipped with a kitchen Lucy would love.

The 1950 Royal Mansion is fit for a king.

Jen is ready to help you at the front office.

We've already done a few posts about how awesome a place Bisbee, Arizona is but everything else this cool town has to offer the eccentric roadside attraction fan pales in comparison to The Shady Dell vintage travel trailer court on Douglas Road. Nine beautifully restored trailers of different shapes and varieties dating back from 1949-57 (plus a 1947 Tiki bus and a 1947 38-foot yacht!) are lovingly arranged in a gravel court with picket fences and trellises. And you can spend a night or two in one of these aluminum dreams, each equipped with vintage accoutrements, like working percolators and period 2-color TVs, to make your visit a retro dream come true. Unfortunately, we were on a rather tight schedule so we couldn't stay overnight in one of these tin can mansions, but we did get to walk around and gawk at them and have a nice chat with Jen, who, with her boyfriend Justin, his mother Annette and their friend Ken run the place. The park dates back to 1927, as a traveler's oasis along Route 80, the old road from Savannah, Georgia to San Diego, California and sister to the more famous Route 66. Today the park is a living, breathing museum of the good life of the 1950s open road, when Lucy and Desi led the way in "The Long Long Trailer." Fancy some bacon and eggs and a cup o' joe? Nestled in the property is Dot's Diner, a tiny gem that diner aficionados will recognize as a 1950s Valentine model. We'll do a post about Dot's later. So come on, eccentric roadside fans...pack up the station wagon and head down to Bisbee. They've got it made in the shade.

Gym dandy: Bisbee, Arizona's retro gym equipment display

A private club. This means you, Bub.

Their state of the art high-tech equipment.

You, too, could look this good with the Signature Vari-Speed Control Belt Massager.

Who's ready for a steam?

Bisbee, Arizona's ironically quiet Main Street has a Twilight Zone-esque time-stands-still vibe that is a delight for the eccentric roadside attraction fan to walk around and marvel at. Of particular interest is the Lowell Gym, which makes it plainly known on their painted window signage that it is a Private Club. Perhaps it's private because you have to be a devotee of ancient, ergonomically incorrect gym equipment like the Signature Vari-Speed Control Belt Massager proudly displayed in their front window. If I had a dollar for every back thrown out by one of these workout wonders of yesteryear, I'd be nearing the end of my second self-financed Eccentric Roadside World Tour. Those Laurel and Hardy-era dumbbells in the window aren't too shabby either.

Pump and Circumstance: Bisbee, Arizona's Indian Motorcycle building

Bisbee, Arizona sits 90 miles southeast of Tucson in the Mule Mountains on the Mexican border and is a very cool place. It was a huge mining town in the early 1900s and had the largest population between San Francisco and St. Louis at that time. Bisbee continued to be a mining community until the 1970s but today it is mostly known as a funky and free-spirited artist community. You could spends days walking around taking pictures of all the cool old Victorian buildings and their colorful inhabitants and their pursuits, the most spectacular of which is the Shady Dell vintage travel trailer park, which I'll get to in a future post.

We got onto a quiet avenue somewhat ironically called Main Street that led us to some beautifully melancholy street scenery. Several posts are needed to do it all justice, so here's the first one. We spotted an abandoned-looking (save for a satellite dish) red brick building with a gorgeous Indian Motorcycle sign painted on its exterior. Out front were two old Texaco pumps and a 1940s yellow Chrysler taxi cab, all just sitting there for the benefit of no one in particular. I love places like this, seeming caught in a time vacuum while the rest of the world hurries by.