Sunday, July 8, 2012

Tombstone (lots of pictures)

Ever since I was a little kid I have been fascinated by the old west and the history of Tombstone. When we moved to Arizona we realized how close we were to Tombstone and I was so excited! We decided to drive there yesterday and spend the day. It was probably the most amazing day trip we have taken in a very long time!

We started out the day by going to the Bird Cage Theatre. This is the only building in Tombstone that has not been changed or restored. It was in business from 1881 to 1889. It was a bar, gambling hall and brothel. In the lobby near the bar you can see several bullet holes and knife marks. When the original owners left they just boarded up the place and left everything inside. When the new owners took over they left everything as it was and turned it into a museum. It is the most haunted place in Tombstone.




The actual faro table that Doc Holliday dealt at.

This piano was handmade and shipped via railway to Tombstone

The Black Moriah: An actual hearse used in the 1880's

The room where Wyatt Earp and Josephine Marcus stayed

Actual Whiskey Barrels


Next we went to the reenactment of the Gunfight at the OK Corral where Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton were killed.



It was about 45 minutes long and a great show!!!


Next we took a stagecoach ride around Tombstone and learned about all of the historical buildings and places people were killed during gunfights:


View from the stage coach

That green house was once the town Hospital



Once we were done on the stagecoach we walked down to the Courthouse, they have it filled with pictures, artifacts and the actual courtroom that was used during the 1880's. 


Barbed wire


These are not the original gallows where 7 men were hung (the original burnt down) they were built in 1902, but this is the exact spot of the original.


After walking around most of the day we were starving and decided to go eat at Big Nose Kate's Saloon. It was amazing!!!! They had the movie "Tombstone" playing and everyone was so nice. Even had a live piano player singing and joking with everyone. 


We had a Ghost and Murder tour set up for 7pm and we needed something to fill the space so we decided to go on a mine tour. This tour took us underground into the Good Enough Mine. This was the first mine in Tombstone where silver was found. Ed Sheiffelen was the founder of Tombstone and made a lot of money on his silver discovery.







This black stuff is actually Silver!!!! Crazy, huh??!



We grabbed some dessert at another local restaurant and then headed off for our Ghost and Murders tour. We were taken to all of the haunted spots in Tombstone and told some pretty amazing stories. We went to Boothill Graveyard and shown some pretty awesome graves:

The graves of the 3 killed in the Gunfight at the OK Corral

The grave of Newman Clanton (father of Ike, Billy and Fin Clanton)


Most people don't believe in the paranormal, but I do. I have had a few experiences of my own and believe that town is very haunted and very active. Some of the pictures I took after dark are pretty awesome. Especially in areas where shootings took place.


We had an awesome day!! Learning all of the history of Tombstone and feeling so close to history. If you have never been there and have a chance to go do it!!!! You will not regret it! 


Morgan Earp was shot in this exact building

On this rooftop 5 men waiting for Virgil Earp to exit the Crystal Palace and shot him, but did not kill him

This is the Oriental Saloon where Wyatt Earp spent most of his time

One last picture before we head home. 





3 comments:

  1. Great pictures! Looks and sounds like it was fun :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. How fun! You a re a great tourist...I need you to plan our weekend trips!

    ReplyDelete

Love hearing from you!! :)