Dart and Map

Last year, Sara and I went to the Travel and Adventure Show in Long Beach. There were booths with Tourism Bureaus and tour companies. They encourage travel to their cities and countries. Of course, we want(ed) to go everywhere, but that day, Arizona won. We set off a few days later without any agenda.

At one point, we realized that Tombstone is in Arizona. I probably squealed. Sara probably squealed. Lots of squealing. We couldn’t get there in one night so we stopped in Tucson and found a nice quiet hotel far from the downtown area. We ate at some sandwich shop that Sara had seen on a food show. They have a huge sandwich that is free if you eat the whole thing in a certain amount of time and don’t throw it up. MMMM
We did not eat that sandwich.

So, we got to Tombstone and we just freaked out for it. Fricken WYATT EARP was there!! WYATT! EARP! DOC HOLLIDAY! I’ve been to ghost towns and historical places, but some resonate with me more than others. This was one of those places. So, we HAD to see the “shoot out” at the OK Corral.

There are several shows a day. Luckily, we got there in time to catch the last show of the day. We saw the players walking down Allen Street to the OK Corral. Doc tipped his hat at Sara (which made her SWOON.) We were so sold. We watched the gunfight. Re-enactments are so cheesy, but I LOVE them. We waltzed into the OK Corral, site of the famous gunfight, and grabbed our tickets to the show.

I knew the basic story, but the shoot out sorta confused me.
We watched it, then got pictures with the Gunfighters.

We had not planned on spending the night but as we ate dinner at Big Nose Kate’s, we realized we HAD to spend the night in this town.

Here is a thing about Sara that always cracks me up. She yelps everywhere we go. We were once in Bufu, Idaho and she tried to Yelp a place to eat. We stopped at a divey bar/restaurant and she said “There are no reviews.” Well.. Of course there weren’t. People there probably did not know what Yelp IS. The people at the tables around us were all discussing people they knew in prison. It was that kinda place. But, I digress. This particular night, Sara’s Yelping was just fantastic. She was lying in her bed at the hotel and found Doc Holliday’s Saloon. A reviewer mentioned that, sometimes, the actors from the shootout went to the bar, dressed as their character. That was all she needed to see. As soon as we walked in, I started talking to a man named Jim. Everything he said was interesting. And then I babbled “Blahblah Blah blah..” Paused for a new drink. Jim and I talked for a while longer. Then he told me he hosts karaoke, but not usually on that night. He asked the owner (or manager) if he could whip out his equipment and do a karaoke night right then. I have had myself a few karaoke nights in LA. It’s not a big thing. Just some crappy speakers and a monitor. Honestly, I did not expect much from someone in a small town. BOY, was I wrong. Jim starts to unload and set up. It was like the Transformers. Holy crap! Big ole monitors. All hi-tech and shit. Everything was set up pretty quickly and suddenly I became Miss MC. Now, he IS the Karaoke guy in Tombstone (and maybe other towns. I can’t recall.) but I like to think that it was extra magical because I was there. Yea. I used the word magical.

I grabbed a mic and had people sing with me, brought the music books around, and made sure to remind everyone to tip. Hope he made a lot of tips that night! I sang my little heart out. Unfortunately, there is video and it actually sounds like I am spitting my heart out. Not good. At least I know where it is. : )
We loved every minute of it. So so so glad Sara found that place and so glad we met Jim.
You are just DYING to know if Doc and Wyatt were there. Aren’t you?
No. Damnit. No. They were not.

The next morning, Sara and I wanted to walk around a bit more. There is a place with old timey guns you can shoot (that shoot paint) so naturally, we had to do that. People came up to us and made comments about the night before. (Apparently, we were really fun.) We would look at people with blank stares. No recollection of meeting them or interacting with them. Very grateful we were well behaved.

So, we ate. We shot the old timey guns. And we avoided the actors on the streets trying to get us to see other re-enactments. Ultimately and reluctantly, we left. Sedona was on our radar. We were only stopped once by Immigration agents; asking from where we were coming. Tombstone is really close to the Mexican border. Since we were not hiding anyone in our dashboard, we went on our way.

. . .or were we?

I am very pleased with my purchase of Wyatt Earp’s autobiography from the OK Corral gift shop. I love stories about cowboys and western history. Everyone wants their own version of history to be told, despite how bullshit their version was/is. But, I think it’s fantastic. I can’t wait until it is time to read Wyatt’s version of his life. I don’t care if it’s bullcrap. It’s Wyatt. And Wyatt is good with me!

Later,
Jenn

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