December 31

I left fairly early the next morning (12-31) for Tombstone. It’s only about 25 miles from Benson and about 1000 feet higher in elevation. It was a pleasant ride except that my legs still hurt. I arrived about 11:30 which left me with several hours to check out the town before heading back to Benson.

Click on thumbnails to see full photographs.

My first stop was at the Boot Hill Graveyard, which I just “had to see” and for which I expected to shell out a few dollars after noting that it was located next to the Boot Hill Gift Shop. To my surprise (and pleasure), there was no admission charge. Interestingly, it isn’t on a hill above the town as I had always envisioned, but rather on a slope below the town. The Graveyard is the burial place of the victims of the OK Corral shootout (Billy Clanton and brothers Tom and Frank McLaury), as well as many other shooting and lynching victims from the wild days of the early 1880s. It’s most famous, however, for its colorful epitaphs including that of Lester Moore, arguably the best-known epitaph ever written.

From Boot Hill, I rode the final half-mile into town looking for the OK Corral and other attractions (the Courthouse, the Tombstone Epitaph, the Birdcage Saloon, etc.). I also knew there were staged OK Corral gunfights daily, and was expecting to shell out a few bucks if I wanted to see these places and events. However, and again to my surprise, there was a very reasonable package price of $6.50 to see several of the attractions. I visited the Epitaph office (and got a copy of the issue providing the account of the OK Corral shootout), then saw the Historama (a motion picture and animated account of Tombstone’s history). Finally, I got a guided tour of the OK Corral and then watched a local theatre group reenact the shootout.

Click on thumbnails to see full photographs.

The shootout took place October 26, 1881, and is the best known single event of the old west. It’s not only an historic event, but also a very controversial one. Many people considered it to be cold-blooded murder by the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan) and their pal Doc Holliday. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that at least two of the Clanton “gang” were not armed, and that they did “put up their arms” when ordered to do so by Marshal Virgil Earp. Several witnesses claimed that either (or both) Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday opened fire immediately after Virgil gave his order.

In the aftermath, the Earps and Holliday were charged with murder, but were acquitted after an emotional court trial in Tombstone. During the next few months, however, there was an assassination attempt on Virgil Earp, which left him severely wounded, and an assassination attempt on Morgan Earp that proved fatal. The Earps and Doc Holliday were clearly no longer welcome in Tombstone and left for good a few months after the OK Corral shootout. Whether or not they were really guilty of murder will never be known, but I think it’s very fair to say that they were not the “good guys” that Hollywood has made them out to be over the years.

Click on thumbnails to see full photographs.

I returned to Benson in time for another hour-long soak in the hot tub, followed by some time catching up on laundry and e-mail. While I was doing the latter two things, an older couple came into the laundry room, saw me typing on the computer, and asked if I was done. Figuring that they wanted to check their e-mail, I explained that I was just writing e-mail off-line (and not using the phone line next to the electrical outlet). I moved my computer out of their way a little bit, then proceeded to take some of my clothes out of the dryer. That done, I put another quarter into the dryer, and once again it began its noisy task of drying my clothes. I turned back toward the couple only to find her angrily unplugging a telephone and him beginning a tirade with a heavy foreign accent, most of which I didn’t understand, but that clearly ended with “turned on the G__ D___ dryer” as they walked out the door.

Given that this couple was obviously upset with me, and not knowing their status in the campground “community,” I decided to skip the evening bonfire that was to last until midnight. I did some more computer work, and allowed the moment of the New Millennium to pass without celebration. No big deal.

G.A.S.P.

(Great Adventures to Scenic Places)