Like so many of us of a certain age, we grew up with strains of the Wild West playing in the background. The streets of Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and other legends played on the television screens in our living rooms. Thus when we realized that it was just a short drive from our campsite at the Benson KOA Journey to the historic town of Tombstone, Arizona we just had to go. We started our visit at Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Site to get a good overview of the history of this area before moving on the to walk the streets and to purchase tickets at the O.K. Corral for admission to the Historama, a copy of a Tombstone Epitaph newspaper, and a reenactment of the legendary gunfight. Over the course of the day we learned that the town was founded as a result of Ed Schieffelin’s 1879 discovery of silver and his staking a claim that he named the Tombstone Mine. Just three years later Tombstone was named the Cochise County seat and that status gave the community staying power through 1929 but by the 1930’s the town was nearly a ghost town. We enjoyed watching the gunfight, cheering for the good guys and booing the bad guys but we understand that the reality is much more complicated. Wyatt Earp spent much of the final years of his long life in Hollywood serving as a consultant for director John Ford (click here for video) and others thus influencing the emerging genre of western adventure films and ultimately the plethora of television shows of the 1950’s and 60’s. This sparking of the interest of generations of Americans gave this community the opportunity to embrace tourism, which saved Tombstone from final decline and obscurity and gave us the opportunity to participate in the legend and learn more of the rich history that surrounds this place.
A lovely way to spend a Sunday in Hampstead. We visited the historic Fenton House to view lots of lovely collectibles, to listen to and learn about harpsicords, and to tour and linger in the garden before heading off to the historic Spaniard’s Inn for a most delectable Sunday Roast.
A visit to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden gave us insight into the evolution and role of public transportation in the creation of London as a great metropolitan area.
Bath, England is an amazingly inviting place with deep deep history. One little day trip isn’t anywhere near enough but we did enjoy delving into the history of the Roman Baths, basking in the beauty of Bath Abbey, and topping our visit off with Tea and Bath Buns!
What unexpected fun!!!