Tombstone & Bisbee, AZ

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We went to Tombstone and Bisbee, AZ, yesterday. Boys and girls, can you say "Tourist Trap"? Of course, you all know that Tombstone was where the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral occurred. We learned that the real gunfight was out in the middle of a street, not IN a corral. Some book changed the location. Anyway, didn't interest me too much but what really struck me was the amount of violence in the area back in the 1800's. So many people were shot or stabbed, and it wasn't like in the movies, where the good guy only sustained a "flesh wound". Even if it was, I imagine the wounded eventually died of infection. We visited Boot Hill and saw many graves of infants and children, too. Mortality rates must've been a nightmare, with all sorts of diseases (no vaccines or antibiotics at that time). Some of the townspeople died of leprosy! I'm so glad we have vaccines and antibiotics today.

We old timers remember the show about Wyatt Earp (brave, courageous and true). Like many other famous old-west legends, we found that he was just that...a legend with feet of clay, romanticized and redefined by Hollywood. I won't go into detail here, because I can't remember the pertinent facts!

We toured the court house, which had been restored. Fires were common back then, and the town was almost destroyed several times by fire. We saw lots of antiques in the court house. It is a state park and cost $5 per person to get in. We didn't go to any of the other areas because they charged a hefty fee to get in, and by that time, I was thoroughly disgusted with the touristy-thing.

One interesting thing I learned was how the town of Tombstone got its name. A man named Schiefflin came to the area in 1877 from Camp Huachuca, accompanied by some soldiers from said post. When he told the soldiers he intended to stake a mine claim in that area, the soldiers told him all he'd find there was his tombstone. After discovering a silver lode, he named the town Tombstone. He became wealthy but sold his interest in the mine and moved on west. Ironically, after he sold out, the mine blossomed and was worth millions.

We then drove to Bisbee, AZ, known for copper mines. Nestled by mountains, the town is built up on the sides of the surrounding slopes and is a beautiful area. We went through the mining museum (yawn) and I did see some incredibly beautiful minerals and stones which had been taken from the ground. They also have found turquoise in the mines. Bisbee is another tourist trap. There is a HUGE hole in the ground where much of the mining occurs today, and we saw a couple of those gigantic trucks which carry the ore. It was starting to sprinkle by the time we left, and I was SO glad to get back home, where we had leftovers waiting and I didn't have to cook.

There was a restaurant at Tombstone which served buffalo burgers, and you could smell them cooking, but I resisted! Ha, success! Although buffalo meat is lower in fat than beef, I didn't want to eat there because of the methods of cooking and all the extras they put on the burgers.

I'm now down another pound from last Tuesday's weigh in. Perfect.

Tomorrow we leave and head northwest. I am putting some pictures from our trip yesterday, and also from Ft. Huachuca. The houses you see are the original houses built back in the 1880's, restored, and the general and high-ranking officers live here. The snow-capped mountains are west and south of Ft. Huachuca. The victrola was in the court house. We never had one but one of our good friends had a victrola like this. The gallows was (?were?) outside the court house, and was used to hang several men who had murdered some people. Don't know if the structure was a reproduction or the real thing! We saw their graves at Boot Hill. Two of the miscreants were named Halderman! How's that for a coincidence.

More later!