On our way to Tucson, we found ourselves in Benson, Arizona which is on I10 but only 22 miles north of Tombstone. We thought this was a town that should not be missed because of all of it's history. So we spent the night in Benson and went to Tombstone first thing in the morning. The town looks and feels just like an old western town upgraded to include anything a tourist would need (or not need). Today there are only about 1,000 people who call Tombstone their home and they would have to drive to Benson to go to the grocery.
Of course, we all know that Tombstone is most famous for the "Gunfight at OK Corral" on October 26, 1881 between the Earp's and the Clanton's. What I didn't know about it was that it was a political fight. The Clanton's were backed by the Democratic ranchers and the Earp's were backed by the Republican bankers and business owners. The gunfight was the end of a long running feud between the two factions. The Earp's were far from hero's, as portrayed in the movies, and had actually been told that the Clanton's were unarmed (only partially true). The gunfight lasted 30 seconds and, when it was over, three Clanton's were dead and Virgil and Morgan Earp were seriously injured but would recover. The dead men were all buried at Boothill. All of this was written up the next morning in the Tombstone Epitaph, a paper which is still being printed today.We had a wonderful day. The town is a joy to visit and all the "facts" were great to hear. It's one of those places that everyone should see once but you don't need to go back again.
Don't forget that you can click on the below pictures to enlarge them. Positioning pictures in my posts is the hardest part of posting to our blog (as you can see from the below).
Don't forget that you can click on the below pictures to enlarge them. Positioning pictures in my posts is the hardest part of posting to our blog (as you can see from the below).
