Tombstone, Arizona

We enjoyed Rock Hound State Park so much, we stayed for 6 days. We left on March 28 and headed west on I 10 for Tombstone, Arizona. We were glad that we started early in the morning because there were fairly strong winds blowing, and it was predicted to be even stronger later.

We picked a private RV park outside Tombstone. The Tombstone Territory RV Park was new and had very large sites and lots of amenities. It was one of the nicest private parks that we’ve stayed at. (Unfortunately, the WiFi was down most of the time.)

Our trip from Rock Hound State Park to Tombstone was only 212 miles, so we arrived early enough to go into town for lunch and exploring.

Tombstone was founded in 1877 when a huge silver vein was discovered. It was a boom town for the next 7 years until underground water seeping into the silver mines caused them to be closed. Lawlessness and violence ruled during these days. There were many gunfights. The most famous being the shootout at the OK corral between Wyatt Earp and brothers and the Clanton Brothers .There is a reenactment of the shootout at 2:00 P.M. every day. (for a fee, of course) I suppose everyone should see this, but we were disappointed (lots of filler). What can you expect from a 30 second shootout? The price of the ticket ($7.50) also included a diorama history of the area (good information but needs to be updated) and a visit to the Epitaph Newspaper Office. The only reason we mention this, is for friends who plan to visit Tombstone. We enjoyed walking the streets and looking at the old buildings and activities going on. There are many free activities going on in town, such as gunfights, rope tricks, etc. It’s also fun to walk into the old saloons. John’s favorite was Big Nose Kate’s ( Doc Holliday’s girlfriend).

We particularly enjoyed Boot Hill (and it’s free). The 300 graves are marked with names and how the people died. Many of them were very unusual (legally hung, shot in the back, hung by accident, killed by Indians, etc.)

The next day we took a 25 mile drive south to Bisbee, Arizona. Bisbee was an important mining town in the 1880’s, but is now known for its many art galleries. Old Town Bisbee is built into the steep walls of Tombstone Canyon. There are many elegant Victorian buildings, old hotels, B and B’s, and rotting miner’s shacks. We ate lunch at the 1902 Copper Queen Hotel that looks as if you stepped back in time.

We were walking around town and decided to go into the local bookstore (RVers are always looking for something to read. John bought a book on Doc Holliday). Anyway, in comes Mary Lee T. a former teacher friend of Pris’s. What a small world. She has retired and lives in a trailer in Benson, Arizona and spends the rest of her time traveling around.