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We had a wonderful day in Tombstone visiting the old town and the museums dedicated to the old west. We visited the site of the original gunfight at the OK Corral and sat through an historical presentation with a diorama for a backdrop with Vincent Price narrating. Well, a tape of Vincent Price narrating.

We walked though little shops and went to Boot hill, the famous graveyard in use from 1878-1884 where people from all walks of life were buried. There were housewives, painted ladies, outlaws, gamblers, miners business men and women, blacksmiths, cowboys and those “who died with their boots on” according to the historical marker.

Among its occupants are Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank Mclaury of OK Corral gunfight fame, Dutch Annie, the “Queen of the Red Light District”, Quong Kee and other famous and not so famous residents that contributed to Tombstone's early history.

By the 1920's Boothill had fallen into ruins but it was restored from early burial records by the citizens of Tombstone.

We had an interesting tour of the Tombstone Epitaph which was the newspaper in operation at the time of the famous shootout and is still an operating newspaper. We were given a souvenir copy of the newspaper printed after the shootout at the OK Corral with the news of the shooting reported along with eye witness accounts and testimony from those who survived the gunfight or witnessed it including the testimony of Wyatt Earp.

While we were in Tombstone we noticed horse drawn Wells Fargo stagecoaches taking people on tours of the town and I wanted to ride on one of these stagecoaches. There was one stagecoach that was old and kind of ratty looking – not like the shiny Wells Fargo stagecoaches that were all over the streets – and that is the one that got my attention.

Bill talked to the driver and that particular stagecoach was built around 1860 – it was around at the time of the shootout at the OK Corral. It was the only real antique stagecoach – the others were all new replicas of Wells Fargo stagecoaches. Of course, this is the one I wanted to ride in so Bill arranged it. Our driver was dressed in clothes from the 1880's and his dialog and presentation was much like a player out of on old western movie. He reminded me of an old gold miner or prospector and that is the way he talked as he showed us things of interest around town like the houses that the old legends were born in or grew up in.

It was getting late and there was one more place I wanted to visit in before we left Tombstone. The Bird Cage. I wish we could have spent more time there, it was fascinating! But, we had to drive on to New Orleans - we had a cruise ship to catch.


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