The Town Too Tough to Die
The most renowned of the Arizona mining towns, Tombstone was a fun place to visit one afternoon. From 1877 to 1884, the mines here produced millions of dollars in silver and gold.
We met up with dentist/gambler/gunfighter Doc Holliday, a participant in the most famous gunfight in the West, the 1881 Battle at the OK Corral.
The stained glass windows in the saloon were magnificent.
A daredevil cowgirl rode down Main Street. There are lots of original 1880s buildings in town.
Don't know what the story is here.
And lots of authentic looking characters, all looking for money.
The Boothill Cemetery had some interesting epitaphs.
"Here lies Lester Moore,
Four slugs from a .44,
No Les, no more."
George, hanged by mistake, innocently bought a stolen horse and suffered the consequences.
"He was right, we was wrong
But we strung him up and now he's gone."
posted by Diana | 8:39 PM
2 Comments:
Diana, you aren't far from Chiricahu Natl Monument. If you turn right just before the Entrance Station onto the dirt road over Onion Saddle, somewhere in the first eight miles or so my Dad and Brother were directed sometime in the early 1950's by a local Rancher to the site of Johnny Ringo's grave. He was found sitting against a tree with a bullet-hole in his forehead and was buried on the spot. Nothing more was ever learned about his murder. My Dad was unable to later find the spot but it is a rock cairn (no other marker, at least then) almost in sight of the road. That is my favorite Southwestern area, the Monument with it's Hoodoo Rocks, Rustler Park with the walks to Barfoot Lookout and Fly Peak, the Hairpin Turn road over Onion Saddle and down to Cave Creek with it's Cliffs and Caves just west of Portal. One of my earliest memories is of a very close-by Lightning Strike while camping at Rustler Park (I'm told I was 3Yrs old). Have you read "Blood Brother" (a well researched historical novel about Cochise) or "Arizona's Dark and Bloody Ground" (about the Pleasant Valley War, the archetypal Cattleman-Sheepman War) or "Tombstone" by Walter Noble Burns?
Enjoy
Lew
I had not looked at your blog for a while so was shocked to hear of your independence. I did much better when I changed my travel partner. Hope the best for you. Keep in touch. Patty McMorrow
Post a Comment
<< Home