The trip there took about three hours. First we headed east through the Phoenix metropolitan area, turned to the south and went through Tucson, then got off the interstate and drove for another half hour. Along the way the scenery changed from desert scrub to trees. Just outside of Tucson we passed a huge pecan orchard that stretched on both sides of the Interstate, and as we got close to our destination we saw several roadside stands offering nuts.
When we arrived in Tombstone we parked the car and set out on foot to explore. The historic district covers sixteen blocks. Half of them had boardwalks lined with stores, saloons, and places to eat. We purchased tickets for the O.K. Corral shootout, which also included admission to a newspaper museum and an orientation film.
The gunfight reenactment was entertaining, and the actors did a good job of weaving in the history of the bad blood between the lawmen and the cowboys. The climax came when both sides started shooting. At the end three of the cowboys were dead and two lawmen were wounded. Of course, everyone jumped up, and the actors posed for photos with audience members as we filed out. During the film I learned that in the late 1800s, Tombstone was the center of the largest silver district in Arizona. Eventually the mines penetrated the water table. They started pumping it out, but in 1886 a fire destroyed the pumps. The city nearly became a ghost town, saved only because it was the county seat.
We had lunch at a restored saloon, browsed through a couple of stores, then decided to head back. Tombstone is only 30 miles from the U.S.–Mexico border. On the way home we had to go through a checkpoint. A dog sniffed around the trunk area, and an agent looked to see who was in the car before we were waved through.
Five years ago today: Best Of The Fools
Sounds like fun.
ReplyDeleteIt was :-)
DeleteYou are seeing a lot of Phoenix. I hope to visit there someday as my brother and his family live there, and my nephew.
ReplyDeleteWe try to do different things on each trip. I hope you can get there sometime, too.
DeleteAh, to have lunch at a saloon. That has always been interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the weekend!
We have hazelnut orchids here, that stretch forever. Very lucrative to grow. That would be interesting to visit such a historical location and scene of such a bloody and famous gunfight. I bet the rein-actors love doing that, or maybe they get tired of it over and over.
ReplyDeleteSome of the actors seemed more enthusiastic than others.
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