Back to the Wild West: Tombstone, AZ

This past Sunday, Brian and I set out to find Tombstone, Arizona, "the town too tough to die." It was only a 45 minute ride from where he is staying, but when we got there, it felt like we had stepped back in time to the days of the Wild West!

Tombstone is known as the location of the most famous gunfight in the history of the Old West, which occurred just outside of the O.K. Corral. Today, the site is fenced off and set up to show where the famous players were standing at the time of the 1881 shooting. There is even a reenactment of the gunfight every day.

While I am not a history buff, I had definitely heard of this story and it was interesting to learn more in-depth what had happened. It is hard to believe that this was the world Americans lived in less than a couple hundred years ago. Because I live on the East Coast, we learn a lot about the Civil War. Taking a school field trip to Gettysburg made the stories in our history books all the more real. It was interesting to see a different piece of history that I, admittedly, had never really given much consideration.

It is not only the O.K. Corral that is preserved as it was in 1881; walking through Tombstone feels like going back in time. We ate at Big Nose Kate's Saloon, which was one of the most interesting experiences! It used to be an old hotel; the waitresses were all dressed in corsets and petticoats, and there was a man playing the guitar while we ate.

After spending the day in Tombstone, you could really imagine what life was like back then; Brian and I both found the whole town fascinating! If you are ever in Southern AZ, Tombstone is definitely worth checking out!