We're In Arizona!

We left Hueco Tanks State Park on Monday.  Our plan was to drive to Deming, New Mexico and stay at the Escapees Park there.  We left later because the office would be closed between 12 and 2, so we wanted to arrive after 2.  We knew there were wind warnings in effect, but we weren't quite prepared for the blowing dust.

Once we got on I-10, the wind was strong, but we were o.k. driving.  We got to Deming and were preparing to exit when we saw police cars blocking the exits.  We found another route around to the park going through town and ended up on the other side of a police blockade.  Jim went to ask the police how long this blockade would last.  They told him there was a situation and did not know how long it would take.  We went to Plan B.  I found a Passport America park, called them to see if they had room for us. They did, so that's where we headed.  We never did find out why there was a blockade there.  We got set up and the wind really began to howl.  Checking the weather report, we saw there would be wind on Wednesday as well, but the strongest would be after 11.

We got up early this morning and pulled out of the part at 8 so we could make our 170 mile drive before the wind picked up.  

We wanted to get to the Saguaro SKP park in Benson, Arizona before noon.  We made it by 10:45 because we forgot we picked up another hour in Arizona (they don't do Daylight Savings Time).

This is one of the nicest Escapees parks we have been to.  The sites are terraced and the mountains can be seen out our back window.

We got set up, ate lunch, and decided to make a trip to Tombstone.  This is a place we have heard about all our lives, both of us growing up watching westerns.

Our first stop was the  Boothill Graveyard.

Admission is free here, but we made a $3 donation and got a site map with where people were located and what had happened to them.  

These are the graves of the 3 men who were killed at the O.K. Corral, Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McClaury.

We spent about an hour looking and reading the tombstones.  Some were humorous.

We left Boothill and went into Tombstone.  It's called the town that wouldn't die because there were two fires that virtually destroyed the town, but both times the people rebuilt and brought the town back.

We went to the Tombstone Courthouse.  It was built in 1882 and is now part of the Arizona State Parks system.  We purchased a Visit Tucson Fun Book for $18.  It has a lot of Buy One Get One Free Admissions to places in and around Tucson, we used it here and at the O.K. Corral.

The courthouse is now a museum about the history of Tombstone.  We thought one of the most interesting things we saw was a set of forensic drawings of what happened at the O.K. Corral.  We spent about an hour and a half there.

Next, was a stroll down the streets of Tombstone.

With the wooden walks, you just felt like you were back in time.

Next, we went to the O.K. Corral.  It's more of a museum.  There are signs stating to not use pictures publicly so the sign is the only picture I'm sharing.  It was really interesting and it was just neat to stand in the place you have heard so much about.

There was also a "Historama" that was part of this tour.  We went to a little theater and watched a 25 minute program that was part movie and part diorama about the history of Tombstone.  

The last place we went was the Tombstone Epitaph, the local newspaper.  There was an interesting exhibit of the printing presses and plates they used.

We're excited about being in Arizona.  There are a lot of places we want to see!