The Snows of Tombstone

 

   We had wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, but here we were rolling into Tombstone, Arizona on a late February afternoon, 2019. Tombstone is in southeast Arizona not far from the Mexican border and about 300 miles south of the Grand Canyon. We had also missed the last reenactment of the day of the shootout at the OK Corral.

   We had flown into Phoenix four days earlier to visit Teresa's uncle Vernon and his daughter Kelly. Vernon and Kelly are perfect hosts but in order not to wear out our welcome we decided to rent a vehicle and do some sightseeing on our own in the middle of our weeklong visit. These were the carefree days before Covid.

   Teresa and I had done a hiking tour of the Grand Canyon with a group twenty years earlier, but hadn't had a chance to see the sights along the rim. That was our goal, but a snowstorm up near the Grand Canyon had stopped us at the city of Sedona. A guide at the visitor center sent us off to a canyon a few miles outside of town that was like a mini Grand Canyon.

   We returned to Vernon and Kelly's for the night then headed south towards Tucson. I was remembering when my father drove out from Boston for our wedding in 1973. The first thing he said when he got out of the car was, "What do they do with all the corn?" I wondered the same thing about the cactus. Once you got outside the metropolis of Phoenix, it was mile after mile after mile after mile of cactus.

   And now we were going to Tucson to visit a national park full of cactus. Actually, it was worth the drive. The Saguaro National Park highlights the iconic saguaro cactus. Those tall hombres holding up their hands as if to ask, "Is this all there is?" At the visitor center we watched a video showing how beautiful the cacti would be when they bloomed in May.  After purchasing our cactus jelly, we drove a loop road through the cactus filled hills. There were warning signs in the dips in the roads saying these areas could become fast running streams during the summer monsoons.

   By the time we finished our drive, it was only two o'clock, too early to find a motel. We checked out the guidebook. Tombstone was only 85 miles away. Let's go. We looked around the town and decided there was enough of interest to spend the night. We were too late for the reenactment of the famous thirty second gunfight at the OK Corral. It hadn't been on our bucket list so we didn't feel too bad.

   Things moved quickly in old Tombstone. The first silver mine opened in 1877. Four years later a boomtown of 15,000 people had grown up, with churches, brothels, a French restaurant and a county courthouse. In 1886 one of the largest mines burned and the price of silver dropped to unprofitable levels. By 1900 the population was 700 and the county seat was moved to another town.

    Tombstone would probably have become a ghost town if it hadn't been for that thirty second gunfight. After WWII, the town began to capitalize on its history thanks to the movie Gunfight at the OK Corral (1952) and the numerous TV shows featuring Wyatt Earp. The town began preserving its original buildings for the entertainment of the half million visitors that stop by every year. The current population is 1300 peaceable citizens.

   Back in the glory days the saloons were open 24/7. The miners were mostly young and single and the saloons provided a place for them to get rid of their pay. On this cool February afternoon tourist traffic was light, and many of the shops and restaurants were closed. The back lots around town were filled with the campers of northern folk looking for a milder winter. I peeked into one as we walked back to our motel from supper and saw a couple of gentlemen sharing a bottle of whiskey.

  The next morning when we raised the curtain, we were greeted with the sight of an inch of snow on the rocky hills. We were 4,500 feet above sea level after all. But it was like a snowfall in April in Minnesota. It would be gone by noon. After breakfast we drove over to the Boothill Graveyard. This burying place was established the year after the first mine opened, but six years later it was full and the town opened another cemetery. 

   Boothill gradually became overgrown with brush, but when interest in the town revived some locals cleaned away the brush and replaced the rotting wooden grave markers. The woman at the gift shop gave us a guide to the graves arranged in twelve rows. Tombstone was a dangerous place judging by the causes of death listed for the deceased. Shot during argument, was a common cause. Fell down mine shaft. Stoned to death by Apaches. Several died from diseases treatable today.

   The most famous graves are those of Billy Clanton and the brothers Frank and Tom McClaury. These were the cowboys killed by the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. These three adjacent graves are covered in a large mound of stones and small boulders left by fans. After the shooting, the cowboys were considered the good guys. That all changed with the movie and TV.

   The sun came out and the snow on the mountains made a beautiful sight as we headed back to Vern and Kelly's. By the time we reached a  lower elevation, the snow was gone. At a crossroads I saw a sign that said Mexico, 50 miles.  As we approached Tucson we saw signs for the east unit of Saguaro National Park. We had been to the west unit yesterday, but what the heck. Let's go. We won't be seeing any cacti back in Minnesota.

 

The View from Boothill