A little trick pony, waiting for the afternoon Wild West Show, Tombstone, AZ 

Main St., Tombstone, AZ 

Denny and friends at the Ghosts and Legends tour lobby, Tombstone. 

Linda having fun with the skeletal cowboy in the "Ghosts and Legends Tour" in Tombstone. Fun and interesting, especially if there are little kids along as there are some things that happen that will make them jump! (You, too!) 

One of the stagecoachs that offers tours of Tombstone. 

A watchful gunslinger in Tombstone. 

The Bird Cage Theater is one of the few original buildings of Tombstone. Most of the original town was destroyed in one of two fires that occurred in the 1880s. The name Bird Cage came from the 13 "cribs" hanging from the ceiling where the ladies of the evening worked their magic. Boarded up for 50 years with all the original furnishings after it closed, the interior remains true to the 1880s. 

Tombstone, AZ

Tombstone, AZ is a funky little tourist trap of a town that manages to laugh at itself and admit its hokiness. However, there is a long, long history here and you can absorb a lot of that if you check out the museums and attend the "Shoot Out at the OK Corral" and wander Boot Hill.

Tombstone got its start as a mining town after Ed Schieffelin came to the area searching for silver. His friends told him he'd find his tombstone rather than silver, so he gave the name of "Tombstone" to his mining claim. Other people soon followed to try to cash in on the mining craze and the town of Tombstone slowly developed. Rowdy and raucous, home to gunslingers and gamblers, Tombstone became famous for that shoot out at the O-K Corral between the Earps and the Clantons. Over the years, the gold and silver mines flooded with water and many folks moved on. During the war years, manganese and lead was mined in the area but afterwards the need for those minerals started to peter out and the townspeople of Tombstone had to figure out what they were going to do in place of mining. They decided to recreate the town of Tombstone into a tourist destination and the rest is history.

You can spend a full day at Tombstone just wandering the shops, but you can also tour the town in a replica of a stagecoach or a Conestoga wagon where your driver will tell you the history of the town. There is a recreation of the "Shoot Out at the O-K Corral" that's fascinating when you see the small area that the shooting occurred in, making you wonder how anyone could have walked away from that gun battle alive. Currently there's also a trick-riding/Wild West show and another gunslinger/shooting demonstration that's shown daily. You can also tour the Tombstone Epigraph newspaper building, where the oldest continuously published paper is still being printed today.

Of course, as you head north out of town you have to stop by Boot Hills to read the "tombstones" that have been recreated (the graves are real). Funny, sad and thought-provoking, the cemetery gives you a small idea of the types of folks who lived during Tombstone's heyday. Stop by the gift shop on your way out and pick up some delicious fudge for a perfect end to a very enjoyable, educational day.

To get to Tombstone from Tucson, take S/B Interstate 10, exit 303 (Hwy 80). Follow Hwy. 80 southbound for about 20 miles to Tombstone.

Been There, Done That

This came in my morning email. Someone was following me today!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D.
- Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. .... As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing.

..... As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. .... I decide to go through th! e mail before I wash the car.

.... I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

... So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

.... But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

.... I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only 1 check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.

.... I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

...! . As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye -- they need to be watered.

.... I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. .... I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

..... I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen
table.

.... I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's ! on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

.... I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. ... So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill . Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

.... At the end of the day:

* the car isn't washed

* the bills aren't paid* there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter

* the flowers don't have enough water,

* there is still only 1 check in my check book,

* I can't find ! the remote,

* I can't find my glasses,

* and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

.... Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming.

GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY ! GROWING UP IS
OPTIONAL. LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC

Rain, the road and spring

Denny and I have discovered that the chance of rain on moving day is inversely proportional to how much we paid to wash the rig two days previously. Washing our rig and truck is surely the best way to insure the local area gets its much needed rain. Yesterday's trip from Camp Verde to St. David, AZ was no exception to that rule, although at this particular campground they prohibit washing vehicles so the area is safe for a few days-in spite of the local forecast.

It was a long, long day for us yesterday due to road construction and a lengthy delay at the Flying J truck stop in Eloy to fill up on cheap-for-the-area diesel fuel. However, once we arrived in the area south of Tucson we were treated to the bright green growth of new leaves on bushes and trees which gleamed against the tan desert floor. Our spirits perked up at the sight of spring and the thoughts of new beginnings and new destinations for the year.

The first picture above is a close up of a cherry tree in bloom and the second one is an apple tree, both in the campground at Camp Verde. It reminded of spring in Ohio-now where are the tulips and daffodils?

Scenery from Sedona

Today's "Lazy Sunday" pictures where taken from Sedona, AZ. At the request of a friend we drove up there to locate a gravesite of a family member to take pictures of the site and surrounding area.

The town was crowded with tourists as always, but the townspeople we dealt with while trying to locate a specific gravesite were unfailingly courteous, helpful and friendly. I imagine it would be irritating to live in an area so thronged with visitors jamming the roads and parking spots, but how could you leave this wondrous scenery?

The picture above is Bell Rock. There is a 1 mile walking trail leading to Bell Rock and as we passed it we saw many people scrabbling about on the hillside itself.

Red rock formation just north of Sedona. 

Red rock everywhere. 

We picnicked at Grasshopper Point State Park where the crazy kids on spring break were jumping into the snow-fed waters of this creek. Brrr. 

The McDonald's in town has teal-colored arches. I once read that they were the only non-yellow arches in the country due to city zoning regulations. 

Looking towards another direction in the Sedona Community Cemetery.  

Elephant Hill. His trunk is to the right of the picture, then his head. There is an outcropping of rock that makes his ear but without the shadows it is hard to see. This picture was taken from the Sedona Community Cemetery. 

Red rock formations along Highway 179 approaching Sedona, AZ. 

This shot was taken approaching Oak Creek, Arizona en route to Sedona. 

Tuzigoot National Monument

In addition to the cliff dwellings at Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well, the Sinagua people also built the huge, 110 room pueblo that is called Tuzigoot (too-zi-goot). Like the cliff dwellings, archaeologists date the pueblo to 1000 A.D. and believe the Sinagua abandoned the area in the 1400s. The Sinagua tribes existed by growing crops and trading with other tribes as far as several hundred miles away.

The pueblo itself is three stories tall at the highest point and you are allowed to walk through the rooms. There is a small museum/visitor center and guided tours are offered throughout the day during prime tourist season. There is a walking loop that is handicap accessible, but it would be difficult for wheeled vehicles to use the Ruins Trail.

As with all National Parks, owners of the Golden Age passport get in free. A visit will only take about 45 minutes, leaving you free to continue up the road to visit Jerome.

Directions: From Interstate 17 take exit 287 and head west on Hwy. 260 into Cottonwood. Once in Cottonwood, take Main St. north to Clarkdale and follow the signs.

Looking down over the ruins of Tuzigoot National Monument. 

The multilevel pueblo that is Tuzigoot in Clarkdale, AZ 

The copper tailings fields below the Tuzigoot National Monument. Copper tailings are the ground up rock left after the copper is removed. 

Overlooking the Verde Valley from Tuzigoot National Monument, Clarkdale, AZ 

The only living resident of the Tuzigoot pueblo. 

The entrance to a cave dwelling at Montezuma's Well. Notice the size of the entrance compared to the size of the people walking by it. 

Another close up of the cliff dwellings at Montezuma's Well. 

The cliff dwellings of Montezuma's Well.