Tombstone, Arizona

Memorial Day 2016, happened to fall on Drew's birthday. Since he's been wanting to visit Tombstone, I planned a visit on his birthday, since at the time it was supposed to be my last day in Arizona. Little did we know I would be staying an extra 5 days!

30 minutes away from Sierra Vista, is the little town of Tombstone. Tombstone, Arizona has been titled "The Town Too Tough To Die" and for good reason as many things have worked against this town still standing. The town was formed around the area known as Goose Flats shortly after prospector and scout Ed Schieffelin discovered a wealth of silver in 1877. He had been warned of only finding his 'tombstone' while searching for his treasure and thinking this an appropriate name for this new town site the location soon become known as Tombstone, in the Arizona Territory.

The most famous event in Tombstone's history was the famed Gunfight at the OK Corral, which didn't actually happen at the corral, but in a vacant lot on Fremont Street. On October 26, 1881, members of the "Cowboys" had a run-in with Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp with help from Wyatt's friend Doc Holliday. 24 seconds and 30 shots later, Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury were mortally wounded. In many people's opinion, it was this one event that has kept Tombstone alive for all these years.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect when we got to Tombstone. I haven't seen many Western movies, and cowboys don't really appeal to me. But ever since Drew got to Arizona, he's been wanting to check this place out.

Upon arrival, we found a place to park and decided to wing it and walk around town until we found something fun to do. I was enjoying taking pictures of the town. It looked like we were in the 1800s! We walked around town, unsure of what to do first. We stumbled upon a candy shop that sold fudge. Luckily we were good and only bought one piece.

While walking through town, one of the workers was advertising a Gun show. It was going to be the last show of the day. So we decided to check it out. It was $8 pp to check out the show, and I have to admit, I was pretty hesitant about going, but Drew was so excited, I couldn't say no. I'm glad to report that the show was worth it. I laughed more than I thought I would. 

The show is pretty well rehearsed, it does require audience participation, so hopefully you have an audience that is into it, if not you could drag Drew along, he seemed to be loud enough to make even the actors laugh. At the end of it, we were even able to take pictures with them, they even let Drew hold the gun (they wouldn't let us hold it at Old Tucson)

After the show, we walked around town a bit more, just enjoying all the different people who were dressed up and the look of the town. We stumbled upon one of the Old time dress up photos, I guess Drew's been wanting to take these photos for a while, he says every time we see one, he'll casually mention it, and I'll shut him down without hesitation, whoops. We ended up taking some photos, it was a lot more fun than I thought, although it was more work for me. If you've never taken any of these photos, I'd definitely suggest it!

It was a great day, and now I can say I've been to Tombstone, AZ! For those who've never been, it is a must see if you love Westerns, or if you're like me and just looking for a quick trip from the Tucson area.