Bisbee is a postcard-pretty, small town of around 5,000 people within a stone’s throw of the Mexican border. Bisbee wasn’t always small. Back in its heyday, it was one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi due to its significant copper mining operations. In the 1970s, mining came to a halt, and by all rights, Bisbee was sentenced to become yet another in a long line of ghost towns that litter the desert southwest.However, Bisbee did not quietly succumb due to its change in fortune. Thanks to the never-say-die spirit and creativity of artists and other entrepreneurs - some more law-abiding than others - Bisbee reinvented itself as an artist's colony with a vibrant music scene and a destination for tourists to enjoy everything from birding, to wandering through unique shops and galleries, to cocktail-fueled, themed costume events.