Donna and Jake's RV Trip » Tombstone

In The Middle Of Texas (Somewhere)

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:10:38 +0000

Hello! I’m in the middle of Texas somewhere. We pushed the truck with miles behind us today, took two drivers to get over 450 miles today. You may not think that is a lot but we got a late start (9am) and finally parked the RV at a KOA Campground off the highway somewhere off I-10. Our choice was to either find an RV park in the dark (ugh!) or park in a rest area somewhere listening to engines running all night long (ugh!).

So I guess this is the part of the trip where I know we are heading east bound (Florida bound), but not sure where we are going tomorrow or what we are going to see tomorrow. A part of a trip where wandering aimlessly becomes a daily habit. But everything is good here, OH, I’ve got pictures for you from Tombstone!!!!!

Oh, gosh, I just went thru all my pictures and there are a lot….and I do mean a lot……

Our campground spot is less than 100 feet from the Tombstone attractions….

Just leave the RV and walk one block to see this street…..

This town is full of history……it’s amazing…..

Ohhh, Ghosts!!!

This is the carriage we rode on to take a trip around the town learning new information about what this town holds…..Wow, is that sky white!!

Bird Cage Theatre – We heard a lot about this place……history at it’s finest!

This is considered a state park – read about it HERE……..

We are taking our tour……

This is the place I was talking about…Big Nose Kate’s Saloon! Neat place. Live music, delicious drinks, and OK food…….

Ha! This was outside one of the stores……

Yep, we took this trolley ride…..another narrated tour of the town. This trolley will take you to Boothill Graveyard……..

Oh, I’m gonna be rich!!! I’m gonna be rich!!! Pan for Gold!!!!! Ewwwww, I’m not putting my hands in that sand!! I asked if they could dig the Gold out for me……well, neatless to say, I’m not rich.

We are walking around…..looking around……

Oh boy…….

There’s Boothill Graveyard……

The Graveyard…….

Ohhh, a gun fight…….

Let me tell ya, it’s freezing out. I couldn’t put enough layers on and it was cold to my bones….I just couldn’t warm up at all……time for some hot chocolate. They had a petting farm here too, we just looking at the animals and moved on……

Time to explore a mine……

That’s what they were looking for – Silver! I’m rich! I’m rich! I’m so rich!! What do you mean this pile is only 4% Silver and that’s why it was left behind by the miners????

This guy was part of a tour I went to…..not sure who he is…..oh well, you get to see him too

The OK Corral Gun Fight Show…….this display is where all each of the Cowboys and Law men actually stood that deadly day that took down three Cowboys by the Law men……

Here’s the show getting ready to start. The show was good, the movie displays what happened better. Watch the movie!!

Doc Holliday!! Wow! Too Cool!

Well, the show went on and they showed how 4 Cowboys and 4 Law men came to clash that day. I took all the pictures I could to show you.

Well, this is a short blog posting because I’m off to watch “Tombstone” again! Have a good night. I’ll erase all the pictures on my camera and start taking pictures again tomorrow. I’ll be back. Enjoy your weekend!

Cowboys, Mining, and Legends

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:39:15 +0000

Hi! Sure is a lot of Cowboys in this town. I could get use to this! In a town that purely survives from tourists, they know how to make you feel welcome! Survival of this town tetors between admission fees, shops, and the “tips” jar.
We started today out with a trolley ride around town, giving us another narrated guide tour on the history of Tombstone, Arizona. Every minute that passed today made me more and more interested in the history of the Outlaws and Law men that once stepped foot here and did about their business over 130 years ago. From Doc Holliday to the Earp Brothers, a legendary story that was brought to life for us today.
Our day was extremely touristy as we hopped from attraction to attraction covering everything from touring the mine that brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to Tombstone, to the showdown of the infamous shootout at the OK Corral that brought down Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, and Billy Clanton (Billy was only 19 years old at the time of the gunfight that ended his life). History magnified by dedicated actors that showed how the gunfight erupted and how it went down.
We stopped for lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. They only called her that because she had her nose in everyone’s business. Running a bar and keeping Doc Holliday (and many others) satisfied was her only job. I have to mention here (just from me to you) that we have been to three restaurants here and other than the homemade chili, the food served here is very….ummmmm…. commercialized. I hope that sums it up, because I don’t want to insult their food, but you won’t find too many home cooked meals here. So go easy when going out to eat here, enjoy it, and definitely stop by Big Nose Kate’s for a drink! Well worth it!
Moving on, the mine tour was amazing taking us over 100 feet under earth’s surface to a world of minerals and veins of hollow passages that once held Silver that was transported, exchanged in hands of money, to make US currency coins. Old mining tools were shown to us that over 400 miners used to work with only by candle light. It was 30 years later, gas combination was introduced to keep a lantern lite and 20 years after that came similar to battery operated lanterns. But let’s stay in the late 1800′s for a minute when working with tools caused serious health issues with dust and an inventor from Denver introduced new tools to work water in with the working environment while digging and chipping thru solid rocks. Water didn’t kick up dust, so while using water in with chipping at rocks caused mud, these miners sure didn’t mind working with mud one bit. Oh, and payday came around shelling out big bucks to miners in the 1800′s at exactly $4 dollars a day. $4 dollars was a lot of money those days when enjoying a beer cost less than a quarter. Well, obviously all this information was from our friendly tour guide and I’m happy to share with you all that I’ve learned today, so on your way out near the exit door is a tip jar for you to show your appreciation on all the fun and entertainment I have walked you thru. Have a great night and y’all come back real soon now, ya hear!

Howdy Partner and Welcome to Tombstone, Arizona

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:51:46 +0000

Hi! Once again, I’m posting from my Blackberry and you won’t believe where I am! Tombstone! A 1/2 a day spent here and I love it already! This is where it all started, an old cowboy town with a couple of Saloons! I think I’ll order up a beer tomorrow at one of the local Saloons! “Bartender! I’ll take a cold one and my horse outside will take one for the road.” I love it!
I’ve got a ton of pictures to show you and my camera is back on the charger tonight for a big day tomorrow!
Tomorrow will be great! We’ve got a trolley ride to show us around town, a wagon ride thru the Silver mines, a haunted ghost tour (was told the ghosts will show up in my pictures!), and a reenactment of…..go ahead…say it with me….”On the count of three! Draw Your Gun!”. It’s a daily show right outside on the town road! Too cool!!
Oh, I got ahead of myself again, this morning we left Yuma at around 8am, stopped for lunch and made it to Tombstone at around 3pm. We are staying at Wells Fargo RV Park right against the Tombstone main street. We didn’t have to unhook the pickup because all the action is 100 feet away from us! I like this RV park, they are so very nice here….welcomed us with open arms. They talked our ear off for quite a while telling us everything that is going on, discounts on local restaurants, secret places on where to go first, and they walked us to our site to make sure we were happy with it.” Kudos!! I’m sure there are plenty of other RV parks out there that are just as friendly as this one and I want to visit them all!
Speaking of weather…..ugh, suppose to rain here all day tomorrow, so we will do as much as the weather lets us. We might hop over to the office and sneak in another night, but I’m not sure, Tombstone is so unique!
Other than that, I can’t wait to show you all the pictures I’m taking. Today we went for a horse drawn carriage ride thru town with a narrated guide telling us about the history here. Have you seen the movie “Tombstone”? I have, a long time ago, and I’ll have to watch it again now!
So, I’ll leave you with that and I’ll be back tomorrow. Have a good night!