100324 - TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA
March 24 , 2010 
Wells Fargo RV
Tombstone, AZ
The sun is starting to shine more brightly and the evening though still cool; do not pose any threats of freezing The Beast or its occupants. With this encouraging thought, we began to thaw out our hibernating ways and shift gears into a more adventures mode, that of a tourist.
Just a few dozen miles south of us is the popular and historic city of Tombstone. This is the town that made Wyatt Earp and his brothers famous and just saying its name congers up thoughts of the
old west.
It is a town that has gone thru the entire spectrum from nothing to infamy to decay and back to life again as a thriving community.
After the civil war, the great migration to the western territories and the West coast was massive and unstoppable. Whenever there was news of a gold or silver mine discovery, the hoards of would-be miners and treasure seekers would shift like the wind in the direction of the precious metal.
“Tombstone was perhaps the most renowned of Arizona's old mining camps. When Ed Schieffelin (SHEF·e·lin) came to Camp Huachuca (hwah·CHEW·kuh) with a party of soldiers and left the fort to prospect, his comrades told him that he'd find his tombstone rather than silver. Thus, in 1877 Schieffelin named his first claim the Tombstone, and rumors of rich strikes made a boomtown of the settlement that adopted this name.”
http://www.tombstoneweb.com/history.html
The population at its height was more than ten thousand. Stores and saloons and brothels and
hotels and banks were built quickly to replace the temporary miners tents and shacks and the town become so famous that it attracted theatre companies that usually played Denver and San Francisco.
AS with most western towns of that era, there were two things that usually caused fear and destruction – fire and outlaws. Tombstone had its share of both and it survived both.
In 1881, the famous gun fight between the Clanton family and the Earps took place at the famous OK Corral. While it lasted less than a minute, it took a firm and permanent place in the history of our growing nation.
“The citizenry of Tombstone decided rather than depending on a vanishing mining industry, they would focus their time and energy on tourism and restoration. Truly a Historical American Landmark, Tombstone is America's best example of our 1880 western heritage, which is well preserved with original 1880's buildings and artifacts featured in numerous museums.”
We found an RV park that was situated right at the edge of town, and my little blue scooter was going to get a real test of endurance and performance. The “tourist “ area is about 4 square blocks, and has had its buildings and streets well preserved. The sidewalks are actually boardwalks, but at each street corner, the curbs are cut for wheelchairs and scooters and the street itself is blocked off from automobile traffic. Only horses and stagecoaches are allowed.
Of course we attended the re-enactment of the gunfight, toured the historic buildings and feasted on the western grub of buffalo burgers and cowboy portions of beef ribs.
There were souvenir shops, clothing stores and all things western on every block with lots of tempting items but we proudly resisted the urge to buy that Stetson, or mug or T-shirt.
Danny was having a great time being out in the crowds where everyone wanted to pet him or feed him. The only problem he had was controlling his enthusiasm around the horses.
Even if we were inside a store or restaurant, if a horse or stagecoach or horse drawn wagon went by, he got excited and barked. For those of you who have not met him yet, I will tell you he is a big guy with a loud bark. The good news is that this was an excellent opportunity to exercise some behavioral training and within a couple of days, he had learned that barking at horses was wrong. He still barked once or twice but then quickly would sit down by my side and wait for his treat. I was very proud of him. I don’t know if he will behave the next time he sees a horse, but I always keep a handful of treats in my pocket so I'm prepared.
http://www.cityoftombstone.com/
Wells Fargo RV
Tombstone, AZ
The sun is starting to shine more brightly and the evening though still cool; do not pose any threats of freezing The Beast or its occupants. With this encouraging thought, we began to thaw out our hibernating ways and shift gears into a more adventures mode, that of a tourist.
Just a few dozen miles south of us is the popular and historic city of Tombstone. This is the town that made Wyatt Earp and his brothers famous and just saying its name congers up thoughts of the
old west.It is a town that has gone thru the entire spectrum from nothing to infamy to decay and back to life again as a thriving community.
After the civil war, the great migration to the western territories and the West coast was massive and unstoppable. Whenever there was news of a gold or silver mine discovery, the hoards of would-be miners and treasure seekers would shift like the wind in the direction of the precious metal.
“Tombstone was perhaps the most renowned of Arizona's old mining camps. When Ed Schieffelin (SHEF·e·lin) came to Camp Huachuca (hwah·CHEW·kuh) with a party of soldiers and left the fort to prospect, his comrades told him that he'd find his tombstone rather than silver. Thus, in 1877 Schieffelin named his first claim the Tombstone, and rumors of rich strikes made a boomtown of the settlement that adopted this name.”
http://www.tombstoneweb.com/history.html
The population at its height was more than ten thousand. Stores and saloons and brothels and
hotels and banks were built quickly to replace the temporary miners tents and shacks and the town become so famous that it attracted theatre companies that usually played Denver and San Francisco.AS with most western towns of that era, there were two things that usually caused fear and destruction – fire and outlaws. Tombstone had its share of both and it survived both.
In 1881, the famous gun fight between the Clanton family and the Earps took place at the famous OK Corral. While it lasted less than a minute, it took a firm and permanent place in the history of our growing nation.
“The citizenry of Tombstone decided rather than depending on a vanishing mining industry, they would focus their time and energy on tourism and restoration. Truly a Historical American Landmark, Tombstone is America's best example of our 1880 western heritage, which is well preserved with original 1880's buildings and artifacts featured in numerous museums.”
We found an RV park that was situated right at the edge of town, and my little blue scooter was going to get a real test of endurance and performance. The “tourist “ area is about 4 square blocks, and has had its buildings and streets well preserved. The sidewalks are actually boardwalks, but at each street corner, the curbs are cut for wheelchairs and scooters and the street itself is blocked off from automobile traffic. Only horses and stagecoaches are allowed.
Of course we attended the re-enactment of the gunfight, toured the historic buildings and feasted on the western grub of buffalo burgers and cowboy portions of beef ribs.
There were souvenir shops, clothing stores and all things western on every block with lots of tempting items but we proudly resisted the urge to buy that Stetson, or mug or T-shirt.
Danny was having a great time being out in the crowds where everyone wanted to pet him or feed him. The only problem he had was controlling his enthusiasm around the horses.
Even if we were inside a store or restaurant, if a horse or stagecoach or horse drawn wagon went by, he got excited and barked. For those of you who have not met him yet, I will tell you he is a big guy with a loud bark. The good news is that this was an excellent opportunity to exercise some behavioral training and within a couple of days, he had learned that barking at horses was wrong. He still barked once or twice but then quickly would sit down by my side and wait for his treat. I was very proud of him. I don’t know if he will behave the next time he sees a horse, but I always keep a handful of treats in my pocket so I'm prepared.
http://www.cityoftombstone.com/
posted by The Highway Guys @ 1:34 PM
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