Tombstone - the Town Too Tough to Die

On Friday, Colleen took the day off work and went with Carol and me to Tombstone - which yes, is in Arizona.

Colleen drove, and took us on the long route thru Sonoita and alongside the Santa Rita Mountains. We saw a different side of Tucson - rolling hills of cattle raising grasslands. And lots and lots of RV campgrounds. It was a beautiful drive.

The first stop in Tombstone was at Boot Hill Cemetery. We stopped at the Visitor Center to get a map and a listing of all the people buried in the cemetery - along with their cause of death - or Epitaphs. Most of them died from violence in the early 1880s; many of them are unknown. We walked along the rows in the cemetery while I read out what they died from. Colleen said later that she was glad that we started there; it gave a different perspective to the experience.

We drove into town, parked, and walked down Allen Street, which looks just like it did in the 1890s. The old town burned twice, so it doesn't look

like what it did in 1881 when the shoot-out took place. But it is old, and is on the National Historic Register as an Historic Place. First stop was Big-Nose Kate's Saloon for a drink and lunch. I had a cactus cooler, which is wine and cactus juice. Colleen had a Bloody Mary. Can't remember what Carol had. For lunch I had a Texas brisket beef sandwich that I could barely get in my mouth it was so big. We took lots of photos in the saloon. Everyone who worked there, and some who didn't were all duded up in old-time cowboy gear or saloon hall floozy gear. The guy with the concertina was the entertainer, serenading us with old tunes everyone knew. It was picturesque.

I had a shot of whiskey before we left, after noticing that the whiskeys took up more than half their back bar.

Since the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral took place at 2 pm, and it was about 10 minutes to 2 pm, we headed there, bought our tickets, and found seats in the bleachers. At noon, 2 pm, and 4 pm every day, seven actors re-create the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in what they call a "Histodrama." 30 shots in 30 seconds. It is done like an old-fashioned morality play where the audience is encouraged to cheer for the good guys and boo and hiss for the bad guys. We all did our part well. It was great fun. Doc Holliday played the Deux ex Machina and told us what happened to the 4 people who survived. Most of them died of gunshots later. Only Wyatt Earp survived to a ripe old age - mostly because he moved out of Tombstone.

I bought a photo of Wyatt Earp and some postcards in the gift shop. On the Lindgren side, we have some relatives who married into the Earp family. Then Colleen and I went to the Visitor Center - nothing much there - bought some more post cards. Carol went to the Courthouse searching for the jail.

Colleen and I rode the stagecoach which took us down Allen Street and back up Toughnut Street (named for the Toughnut gold mine). The narrator on the stagecoach (I think it was a recording) also told us the Big-Nose Kate was named for her propensity to stick her nose into other people's business. She was also Doc Holliday's girlfriend. The guide pointed out that the real shoot-out did NOT happen at the O.K. Corral, but rather on Fremont Street right behind the Corral. He also told us that the fight had started earlier in the day at the Oriental Saloon - still a bar/restaurant now called the Crystal Palace. But, he explained, many of the buildngs there today were rebuilt following two fires in the 1880s and early 1890s that burned down most of the current old town - 66 buildings were burned in one fire. The town isn't really a re-creation because it was rebuilt at the turn of the last century, mostly with one-story buildings while the older town had mostly two-story buildings.

After alighting from the stagecoach (not an easy feat), we headed over to the Courthouse to find Carol. The Courthouse was actually the federal building, so it also housed the U.S. Post Office, federal prosecutor, and several other federal agencies - probably the land office for one. We toured all the rooms, checked out the gallows and took some photos there. Carol spent some time in the jail in the yard. I warned her not to rustle my cattle.

I really wanted some old-time photos, so we headed to a photo shop. Carol & I dressed as saloon floozies, and Colleen dressed as Warren Earp. The photo turned out great - you will just have to take my word for it until I am someplace where I can scan it. We all had guns and looked mean - we just don't cotton to no varmints.

Next we stopped at the Crystal Place where the events leading up to the shoot-out took place. Colleen and I took a photo in front of their famous back bar. This place was worth seeing. We stopped at a couple of other stores, but found only some Sarsparillas. Made one final stop at the Bird Cage Theater. Really hokey; the proprietor seemed like a real snake oil salesman.

When we got home, Dan was making "build your own" personal size pizzas from scratch. I had pesto and red sauce, olives, tomatoes, red peppers, roasted garlic and fresh mozzarella cheese on mine. It was fabulous!!!! Thanks Dan. After dinner, we played with our computers for a while. Dan announced that he was going with us the following day and he had a plan! Surprise Saturday. Love it!