Tombstone, AZ. We've all heard of it. Now we got a chance to experience it.
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| Free parking for all |
We never imagined how much there was to do in this town and really have to thank our guides, Jerry & Kitty Aase (friends we made at Butterfield RV Resort in Benson). Jerry and Kitty stayed the month of December in
Stampede RV Park in Tombstone and were within walking distance of the town and all that it had to offer. They were the perfect guides. We met them around 11:30 in front of the
Crystal Palace Saloon. Great place to start! Unbelievable bar. It was huge. Displays were impressive also.
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| Crystal Palace |
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| Almost looks like the original Wheel of Fortune |
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| Old Roulette Wheel on Display |
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| Crystal Palace - Bar and Restaurant |
From there we traveled down the street to the
Birdcage Theatre.
Jerry said that it was one of his favorite places to visit in Tombstone. The building is original. It is said to be the oldest, in tact building in the town. And what a history. We were fortunate to get a one on one with the woman working there. Among the things she pointed out was the staircase going upstairs to the Brothel rooms. The stairway and steps were original and as such, had to be closed down to access because of the threat of collapse. The steps were so worn from traffic going upstairs that they were not safe. Upstairs must have been a busy place.........Also on display in the main room was a picture of Fatima, the Belly Dancer that performed here. We spent probably 20 minutes in the place, and after buying some souvenir post cards, departed for our next adventure. Below are some pics of the sights.........
And then we met up with the Earps.......
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| Me and the Earps |
After visiting a couple of shops, it was off to lunch at the best place in town -
Big Nose Kates. If you are ever in Tombstone, this is a must stop place. Old time saloon atmosphere, old time western characters walking around( all carrying side arms- including the waiters- the waitress' were all dressed like the old time saloon girls- think MS Kitty in Gunsmoke). We tried to time our arrival for the start of the live music and we did it perfectly. Got a good spot between the music and the bar - so we got a good view of everything going on.
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| Mick was the entertainment - and was he good. |
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| Really quite a place! Ricardo surveying the action.... |
And then I became part of the action - thanks to Kitty!
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| The whole place got a kick out of this. I had people taking pics of me that I didn't know- in addition to Kitty and Mary. |
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| Ricardo was in charge. He had me put on a Long coat, bandana, and cowboy hat. And then hold a sign (one that I couldn't read) |
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| The Town Drunk. What an experience. |
And then it was Mary's turn.....Mary and Kitty and Ricardo, that is.......
And then it was our turn.......
And a Good time was had by all.
From there we visited shops. First on the list was the
Red Dirt Shirt Shop. Kitty is wearing a Red Dirt Shirt Shop Sweat in the photo above. Mary elected to go with a Dirt Bag. All the products in this store are the same color - Red Dirt. The Red Dirt that the west is famous for. Pretty ingenious if I do say. Then it was across the street to the
OK Corral - a Gift Shop and Re-enactment center. After spending a bit of time going through the place, we decided that we would pass on the re-enactment and save it as an excuse to come back in a week or two. We wandered up the street and got to thinking that it was time to start thinking about Molly. We had brought her along and left her in the truck( with the windows open), but with the sun out and temps rising, thought it best to call it a day and get back to her. We left it with Jerry and Kitty that we would definitely like to come back and do it probably before the end of the month, when they returned to Butterfield. All in all it was a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in a truly historical city.
