acknowledging that. We arrived in town and got our tickets for the re-enactment of the infamous “Gunfight at the OK Corral”. We had some time to kill before it took place so went touring The history of the place tells us that it had pretty much burned to the ground twice in the 1800 and 1900’s. So even though some buildings are old, not many are the actual buildings. I never really knew much about the actual gunfight but there’s lots of information about it everywhere you go. We were a little hungry and more than a little thirsty, as it was very hot, so we went into the Crystal Palace, one of the few original buildings. The beer was cold and the food was good. I had the chili and Lloyd had the taco salad. Lloyd suggested that maybe we should hang around town till later as they were having shaving cream wrestling that evening, but I didn’t really think it would be worth it. We did have a long drive to get back to Tucson. The waiter, dressed like an old time bartender, agreed with Lloyd but the waitress, dressed like a typical 1800’s saloon girl, didn’t think I should let him stay. Needless to say, the girls won!After eating, we ventured back to the area of the ensuing gun fight. We were ushered into the courtyard area of the location of the OK Corral, which was originally a hay and feed supply store. In the courtyard a fellow dressed like a cowboy gave some background and detailed information about the individuals involved. When he was finished the doors of an enclosure opened up and we were herded in to sit on metal bleachers. It would have been unbearably hot but there was a canvas roof over the top so it was actually very pleasant. Then the characters started coming in and the
events leading up to and including the gun fight took place. The cowboy who was giving us the background before the show commented several times that if certain events hadn’t taken place, the whole affair might not have happened, which would mean today Tombstone would be a ghost town. The only thing it seems to exist for is the tourism industry. I didn’t realize there had been so many movies made about this event but there were movie posters all over town and several shops sold DVD’s of the Hollywood productions. The cowboy told us how some were inaccurate but made for better story lines and each time a new movie is released, tourism in the town increases by about six times.
There were several displays that were quite interesting. One was a replica of the photographer’s residence and studio, on the same location it stood in 1880. Inside were many old cameras that were used by the man who became somewhat famous at the time for his photos. There were a lot of examples of his work and he had some amazing historical pictures of famous men and Indian chiefs. He wound up dying years later- alone, sick and penniless, but the legacy of his photos is a remarkable reflection of the times and it’s people.
The original newspaper printing house is still there and the old equipment is on display. One of the photos on the wall of a group of military men had been greatly enlarged and one man in the centre of the picture really stood out as he looked exactly like a friend of Lloyd’s, at the airport in Guelph. I pointed it out to Lloyd and commented that I didn’t think that Brian was that old. He couldn’t believe the resemblance either. We asked if they had any of those pictures for sale, but other than a very small copy in a book, none were available.
By now we were starting to get tired and warm. We’d toured around town, both on foot
and in a horse drawn stage coach, watched the gunfight and absorbed as much history and sun as we felt we could handle for one day. On our way to Tombstone, the DJ on the radio station we were listening to, was talking about how much he likes spring and how nice it is that the weather is getting a bit milder. He said he knows that people who are not used to the heat here might find 94 degrees hot but to the folks who live here all year, it’s just a nice spring day. And in a way he’s right. If it was that temperature at home we would be dying. Here it feels warm but certainly not that extreme. A stop for ice cream on the way to the car was the perfect way to end our visit. We had about an hours drive or so to get back to Tucson, and in typical style, part way back everything came to a grinding halt. I guess we were lucky as we were near the start of the line because it didn’t take too long to get to the scene of the accident and past it. There was a mini van, strapped to a trailer, and the whole thing had rolled over, so the trailer which was on the bottom of the van, was now tire side up in the air, on top of the van. There was a tow truck there about to try loading it onto the back. That’s the third accident we’ve encountered while traveling in the southwest. We heard reports on the radio about it as we were headed back to town and it seems the line of traffic that was delayed was quite lengthy so I guess we were lucky.
I suppose we were also fortunate to make it through the border patrol as well. Just outside Tombstone, which by looking at the map, isn’t too far from the Mexican border, there’s a border patrol set up. I guess the idea is to catch those who made it across the real border illegally. There are trucks everywhere and two border agents and a dog stop each vehicle. When he asked if we were American citizens, we said no, we were Canadian. Then they weren’t in the least bit interested in talking to us. So if any Mexicans want to be smuggled across the border, they just need to find themselves some Canadian tourists!
After we got back we sat out on our balcony with a cold Corona (can you believe they were $8.88 for a twelve pack of bottles at the grocery store?) and a book to read. We planned to go to the restaurant at the clubhouse for supper. It’s called the Catalina Barbeque Co. and we were both in the mood for some good southwest BBQ.
There seemed to be some confusion over who’s table we were and all in all, the food was very good but the service sucked! I doubt that we will go back there. We will be sure to give them some constructive feedback when we leave. I’m surprised that there are not more BBQ restaurants here. In Texas, the air everywhere is thick with the smell of great smokey BBQ places, some large and some small, but they are absolutely everywhere. I love the BBQ in the south, it’s meat is so ‘fall off the bone’ tender and the smoke flavour totally permeates the food. But not so here. Lloyd looked in the phone book and only found 4 listed. Mexican restaurants here though, are quite prevalent. Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican celebration, of what I’m not sure and I suspect there was a lot of celebrating in those establishments yesterday. We probably should have gone to one of those but to be honest, we forgot about it when we were deciding what to do for supper. We just may have missed a really interesting opportunity.
PS - thanks so much Brenda for checking on the place. I hope the Mayflowers are still in bloom as I'm not sure what they look like. I thought I did, but what I was thinking of is Marsh Marigolds, that bloom profusely in wet areas in Ontario this time of year. Fran really doesn't like them as I think they have an unpleasant smell, but every year when her two girls were little, they always brought these to her on Mother's Day. She dislikes them to this day.
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