A long drive through the flat desert of three states, Texas – New Mexico – Arizona, and we arrived at a town that all Americans of a certain age can relate to: a town that lives in the memories of all of us who grew up watching cowboy TV shows and movies – Tombstone, Arizona of the late 1800s. 

Founded in 1879 in what was then the Arizona Territory, Tombstone became one of the last boom towns in the American frontier. This was Apache land, and its chief was the famous Cochise, a key war leader during the Apache Wars against the U.S. government from 1861-1872.  But people from the eastern states came, drawn by the discovery of silver, and the town grew significantly in the mid-1880s.  In fact, it was the fastest growing city between St. Louis and San Francisco and, in its prime, it boasted a population of 15,000-20,000.

Eventually, though, the mineshafts began to be dug deeper and the mines flooded when the water table was struck at 520 feet.  The town was able to pump water out of the mines for several years using a railroad tanker car of oil per day to run the pumps, until one day the tanker car was unknowingly filled with salt water and ruined the pumps.  Mining began to slow to a halt and people started to leave.  In the early 1930s, there were about 150 people living in Tombstone.

But Tombstone calls itself the “town too tough to die.”  It saw two major fires in the 1880s that nearly destroyed it, but managed to quickly rebuild both times.  Today, approximately 1,500 people call Tombstone home.

It was fun spending a day in old, historic Tombstone.  The main street, Allen Street, has the original buildings – very well-preserved – that are now home to stores, restaurants, and saloons.  We could not resist watching a humorous, tongue-in-cheek-reenactment of the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral – possibly the most famous gunfight in American western cowboy history – between the lawmen: Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday and the cowboys: Frank and Tom McLaury and Ike and Billy Clanton.  The fight lasted about 30 seconds and about 30 gun shots, but its fame in western folklore has been the subject of many books and movies.

We followed that with an interesting 25-minute show on the history of the city. And, of course, as we walked the streets, we just had to stop into the stores.

On a side note (literally), Tombstone is also the home of the Tombstone Flute Company where Bill bought a beautiful native American flute.

The next morning, we woke to find a layer of snow covering the ground and the RV.  Snow in Tombstone Arizona, go figure! At least we can now say we really have winter camped.