Visiting Tombstone, Arizona

It all began in early 1877 when a guy named Ed Scheiffelin, who was a silver prospector, decided to head to the Dragoon Mountains and see if he could find any gold. Soldiers at Camp Huachuca in Southeastern Arizona said all he would find was his Tombstone, and they were right in a way because when he struck a silver vein, that is what he decided to name his mine. I bet those heckler’s ate their words.

A few years later, silver fever hit, and a town with saloons, gambling locations, and of course all the other diversions of the time grew up around the Tombstone mine. When you hear the word Tombstone, it’s likely you think of the name “Earp”, and to be specific Wyatt. Tombstone’s lawman Virgil Earp and his brothers Morgan and Wyatt were well known for a little gunfight at the O.K. Corral involving the Clanton and McLaurys and enlisting the assistance of gambler dentist Doc Holliday (my hero). Hundreds of movies have marked that historical Tombstone moment.

In the past, Tombstone has been a common ghost-town vacation typically embarked upon during family routes to the Grand Canyon. In the past, Tombstone was not very much to observe. An aunt sent me a postcard from Tombstone once, and it looked very boring like a scene in a wax museum. I don’t think she spent more than an hour there. She told me that she wanted to see where the big gunfight was. I think Tombstone kind of disappointed her.

Currently, Tombstone Arizona has become a piece of living history with residents who actually live there to entertain visitors with a classical approach to Tombstone’s history. You can go buy things in the stores, ride around in a stagecoach, watch daily activities (as well as staged moments,) and feel like you have been transported to 1880’s Tombstone. The buildings all look authentic, and the ladies are dressed in historically appropriate garb. Day-to-day occurrences are well-performed to give visitors the illusion of the past, with clear attention to detail. It’s sort of like a grand-scale live museum.