Monday, November 7, 2016

Tombstone, Arizona – Stepping back into the wild west!


Sunday, Nov. 6 we took the 20-mile drive into this 1880’s frontier town.

Founded by prospector, Ed Schieffelin, in 1877 when rumors of a rich strike spread and the boom town spread around the mine. Ed was scouting at Camp Huachuca and would venture out into the wilderness looking for rocks. An army scout friend scoffed at Ed and said “the only rock you will find out there will be your own tombstone”. Ed did find his stone and it was silver but he remembered the warning and named his stake “Tombstone”.
Very accomodating free parking for all sizes
I loved this walk back into history, it was actually more of a saunter and all I needed was the beautiful dress and a parasol to fit right into the times. 

I’m going to post pictures of things I enjoyed, including the costumes, and the rest is ………………………………. history.

It is a bustling town, full of tourists, with many shops to wander through. You could spend a fortune here on authentic handmade articles if you wished to.
O.K. Cafe for lunch
Yummy loaded blts, potato salad and Sarsaparilla for me
with a 10% discount from our gunfight ticket
We witnessed 3 re-enactments of real live gunfights inside The Gunfight Palace and thoroughly enjoyed the stories and actors. 


Getting a professional 'glare' from the bartender

Posiing with the actors, obviously I DON'T know how to hold
a pistol!

Bill uses a 6-shooter and has very good aim!

Wyatt Earp, his brothers and Doc Holliday

Told Bill he could take the picture and he'd take his wife!

Bird Cage Theatre

Wild west family
We also stomped our feet on the grounds of the OK Corral where the famous Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday shot it out with the Clanton and McLaury gang. 
A little history of Wyatt Earps gunfight



Of course, we picked up a few small trinkets, knowing full well we’ll see more of them everywhere we go.
Stage coach rides 2 for $20
Next visit we'll do this


Obliging cowpoke/bartender/actor
(hiding his 'un-conventional for the times' coffee cup)

Schieffelin Hall named after the founder

Tombstone City Hall


Before we left the area we visited the Boothill Cemetery. You walk through the grave markers and can easily find yourself imagining the horrible deaths of the inhabitants here. 
Billy Clanton and McLaury bros. burial site








Thank you for popping in today!

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Trading in One Park for Another in a Different State


Friday morning, we didn’t rush, we only had a 4-hour drive today so had decided to do our showers and pack up in the morning. This was a mistake.  Mostly because the rain showers and thunderstorms overnight and in the morning meant Bill had to put the Weber Q, satellite dish and lawn chairs away in the rain. It doesn’t take long as a rule, but when you are getting soaking wet at the same time, it does slow you down.

I packed up and closed things inside the Suite and we had warm oatmeal for breakfast instead of bacon and eggs, our usual. That seemed to help take the chill off the damp morning. We pulled out of this beautiful park at 10:25 am and it was a cool 53F. 
Clemson checking out someone's face of stones

Great stone lined paths to follow
Park entrance
Because it is such a lovely park, we had driven around on Thursday and chose an area where we would like to stay another year. I’ve taken many pictures of our trek around; down to the marina and close enough to test the water temp at the lake. Not too bad!

Here are some of our pictures:
Driving into Truth or Consequences
Down by the lake

Overnight site - $10/night

Original sign into town


Beautiful variety of cacti

The drive to Huachuca City, AZ was another smooth one, the rain stopped almost immediately after leaving Elephant Butte, NM and even though there were dark clouds hovering over the mountains, they moved off to our north and back to where we came from. It looks like Albuquerque got dumped on again. We were driving into beautiful blue skies with white fluffy clouds highlighting the views.


Wind turbines against the mountains

My first tumbleweed! Yay!
                                                       
If you look closely, someone has named this
"Fraggle Rock" after the tv show




Desert winery, thirsty?

This type of cactus (?) is everywhere. This is one of the largest
and I can't imagine how long it has been growing. Eventually,
they get so top heavy that they topple over
We stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs while on I10 shortly before crossing the Continental Divide, 51 miles from Arizona. The rest areas are well kept and some are quite unique with their adobe shelters and this one was no different, with one exception. I decided to check out the hard-packed asphalt up close and personal while heading to the ladies’ room.
This is where Pat meets asphalt, lol, and the nice man
in the background walking the  area
My goodness did I go down. I’m not clumsy as a rule, at least not without being in a booze-induced state, but there was a slight rise in the pavement that was not visible to the mind’s eye and I found it. Sprawling in a very unlady-like fashion, I went down. Luckily, my hands came out to save my face and I landed on my left side. Bill heard me go down and came to my aid as did a nice fellow who was parked behind us. Boy did the palms of my hands sting for about 15 min. after! Yes, I know how to stop traffic, as a passerby stopped as well to see if I was alright. Yes, just a bruised pride. Bill informed me that this was the first and last ‘incident’ we were going to have all winter. I agreed!
WE DID IT!! We made it  to ARIZONA!!
After 3 plus years of talkiing about coming.
Rest area in Arizona, 19 miles from our destination

We arrived at our destination, Quail 
Ridge, Huachaca City, AZ  at 4:30 pm in beautiful sunshine and a warm 75F, got set up in a site not far from the entrance and across from the camp host, Leroy, who introduced himself to Bill, making us feel welcome. This is one of our AOR parks at $9/night plus hydro so we plan on using our solar panels as much as possible.

The park doesn’t seem to have much going on as far as amenities but we will settle in and enjoy the relaxing time here for two weeks. There are many things to see in this area and we are sure to take some of them in while we are here.

Morning reflections on the park and the view

A seasonal site with nice decor on their car shelter

Another cactus in some form of flower

Looking out to the entrance, we are up there in the middle.

Our Site #35 not far from the entrance/office/clubhouse

After dinner, leftover dressing and hamburger goulash, we cleaned up and just settled for the evening. I will get my morning fix of sun until noon hour and we will be shaded from the 80F temps in the afternoon. It is a nice spot. We didn’t get our satellite dish set up last night as it was very dark early so we popped in a Jag dvd and watched a few episodes. We love our dvd season collections.

Nice clubhouse kitchen

Sitting area and book library



By 10:30 we were all three in bed and I slept soundly until Bill got up with Clemson for his first deposit and then dropped off until 7:40! It was a great sleep. First, doing my usual morning stretches, I confirmed that other than a couple of tender areas on my elbow and left arm, thumb and left thigh, I suffered no major repercussions from yesterday’s ballet flop, I tiptoed out and got in a short walk around the park vicinity, oohing and aahing over the views from here. Gorgeous!
Morning sunrise


Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the pictures.