Despite the morning sun, I managed to sleep in, due to exhaustion probably. I had decided that if I had any chance of enforcing a rest day, I had to get away from the trails so I devised a day-trip to the town of Tombstone about an hour and a half away. It was back east and somewhere I’d planned to visit on my way to Tucson but my car trouble interrupted that idea. On the way, I did some shopping, happy to re-discover the 99c stores, but disappointed in their lack of options compared to Walmart. I’ve learnt so much since the early days!

My chores done, I drove out to the old Western town. The road out was ok, but mostly interstate, so nothing too interesting. When I drove into the town, I missed the signs for the info center, then turned around and found myself at the Boothill Graveyard. The lady at the front desk here informed me she was the information center, so I started with my questions and she was astounded at how little I knew about this famous town. “You haven’t seen the movie? You have to watch the movie!” Anyway, it was free to wander around the graveyard, which I did, noticing that there were a lot of unknowns ad instead of just “Here lies John Smith, loving father and husband…” a lot of the tombstones explained how those beneath them met their end. Most by shooting, but some were hanged by an angry mob and one unlucky guy was killed in a stampede, none that I saw were from old age. Such was life in the town of Tombstone.

I drove into town and managed to score a park as someone was leaving. The four blocks were teaming with tourists, most holding icecreams or sipping on some sort of icy drink to kerb the heat. Cars were strewn everywhere, but it was nice that no one was charging for parking. I wandered the dust covered main street along the timber boardwalk as cowboys and working girls paraded the streets in their costumes. Horse-drawn carts transported tourists slowly along the streets while the horsemaster explained the history of the town and its buildings. I wandered into the Bird Cage Theater where I listened to an old cowboy explain a bit of the building’s history and also point out a number of bullet holes around the bar and its ceiling. Something like 400 bullet holes were discovered during restoration of the building. Not surprising considering this was one of the main watering holes of Tombstone back in the late 1880s.

I continued wandering, torn between the attractions I should pay for. After trying to glean some tips from the guy at the visitor’s center in town, it was clear I’d have to make up my own mind. I booked in for the 2pm show at the O.K. Corral, a re-enactment of the shoot-out that made the town famous in 1881. It was supposed to be the most authentic of the three or four shows on offer. With my $10 ticket, I got entry into a bit of a museum that explaine the history of the O.K. Corral and the gunfight. I’d been confused by the name, but found out that a corral is a place for horses to come and be re-shoed, fed and generally looked after. The name “O.K. Corral” is exactly what it means, the word “OK” was new slang and they used it in their business name so people would know the corral was a bit of alright.

Tension was building amongst the mingling crowd as show time approached. Finally, just before 2pm, a line formed outside the stage area and we were all let in to sit on the aluminium benches under a shade cloth. The small stadium quickly filled up until we were about 200 strong. Doc Holliday introduced the show, in a brilliant cowboy accent with a few gunshots let off from his gun when the crowd didn’t do as he pleased. We were instructed to be interactive, cheering whenever the men of the law appeared on stage and booing and hissing when the bad guys showed themselves. The show got going and it was hilarious from the outset. The actors did a brilliant job in what was probably their third show of the day and the crowd was in fits for most of the show, but we all got a bit confused at what to do when both the cowboys and the policemen were on stage. To cheer or to boo?

I was glad I didn’t really know the story. Everyone else in the crowd knew what was coming, whereas I was paying close attention to see what would happen next. After about fifteen minutes of build up, there came the main event. The shootout was over before it began, everyone was shooting everywhere, Doc Holliday cool as ever, shooting from the hip. The cowboys all acted out convincing deaths while the men of the law stood triumphant, if slightly wounded, after taking down their enemies. Doc finished the show with a roundup of where the living characters ended their days up. Once he finished, there was a great cheer from the crowd and he appealed to us all to give to their charity of choice, the Starving Actors fund with all proceeds going to the purchase of Mee-Go-Reng noodles. The actors stood around to get photos with enthusiasts while the rest of us filed out. Great show.

I wandered the streets some more, visiting the Tombstone Epitah where I received my free copy of the newspaper printed the day after the shooting. The words of the time covered not only the front page, but all four of the publication without a single image! There were eyewitness accounts and testimonies from the trial, which I assume happened the day of by someone of authority going around town and asking people what they knew and saw. I found out about the Soiled Doves that serviced the many mining men who worked in the town and learnt that the red light district started because of railroad men who visited the brothels and kept their red lantern outside so they could be found in an emergency.

After calling Michael B to wish him a happy birthday, I looped back around to the O.K. Corral to watch a pictorama, also included with my $10 ticket. This was a bit gimmicky, but was the result of a lot of effort. In between film, a huge diorama rotated to explain the history of Tombstone and how it got its reputation as the town too tough to die. It is so named because it endured not one, but two fires that completely destroyed the town, only for it to be rebuilt in all its glory.

A little more wandering and after finding out I was too late to go on the Silver Mine tour, my time in Tombstone was done. The car was a sauna having been parked in the sun the whole time I’d been out, so I got going as soon as I could to get some breeze coming in through the windows. I decided to take the scenic route back to camp, which was a long way around and didn’t turn out to be all that scenic, probably because it was the wrong time of year, but the mountains around Patagonia were impressive. I came to within a mile of the Mexican border, then turned north. Having seen border control checks on my way into Tombstone, I’d fished out my passport ready to present it, but when I came across a checkpoint and held it out the window, I was waved on through.

Highway 19 back into Tucson had its mile markers and signs in kilometres for some reason, a nice reminder of home, but it also made camp seem so far away. When I made it back to the BLM, I saw Larry was camped in the usual spot, but my park had been taken up by a huge RV that was running a generator so definitely no room for me! I drove around a bit and found another spot further back from the road and within minutes, Larry came over to say hi. He explained that when Mr. RV had come along, Larry asked if he would mind choosing another spot since there was a young lady usually camped there. Mr. RV basically told Larry to get lost (in different words). Since Larry didn’t want to be near a 24/7 running generator, he came over and took a flat spot right by me.

I had a video call with Mum and Dad as the sun went down, showing off my camp and my brand new comfy chair and home-made table. They were suitably impressed. After getting a quick update from Kevin, I took my beer and heated up dinner and sat with Larry by his camp in the moonlight and we talked the night away. The moon was one night away from being full and we were both in awe of its powerful light, casting solid shadows off everything.

I was right to go so far from the trails because as afternoon came, I thought that maybe I could get back in time to go for a quick ride, but I think a rest day was needed, but I will definitely be doing some more riding tomorrow!