Tombstone, AZ, 10/2020

We are Texas bound to visit our youngest daughter, Jessica in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and Craig’s friend Craig, in San Antonio.  On our way home we will visit Oklahoma, Kansas and perhaps Colorado. Why? Because we can.😁

We got Shorty ready for this adventure last night.  We filled his tank, loaded our provisions clothing and other necessities so we could depart bright and early. We departed this morning about 5:30 a.m. headed east bound on the 91 freeway. We stopped at McDonald’s for coffee just outside of Indio. (Sidebar: we have not eaten at 🍔McDonald’s  for about 25 years. However, McDonald’s is our ‘go to’ for coffee ☕ when we are on the road.😁)  So, we stopped at one McDonald’s to grab a cup of Joe, but it was drive thru only, so we pressed forward. We drove about 5 miles and found another McDonald’s so we pulled into the lot. Just as I was getting out,  I saw a gentleman (let’s call him Rafael) walking from McDonald’s who told me that they were drive thru only and he hopped in his pick up truck and proceeded to the drive thru.  I really wanted, needed, a cup of coffee so I got in the line with the cars. (I only got about 4 hours of sleep, so I really needed my coffee😑😄.)  As I was standing there Rafael and I began to chat. He asked me what I wanted to order and offered to get it for me; “Two cups of black coffee,” I said. I offered him  money but he refused.  I thanked him and walked back to Shorty to wait.  A few minutes later Rafael pulled up with our ☕ coffee. Again, I offered to pay him, but he refused the money. We chatted a bit more. I learned that Rafael is from Temecula, CA, on his way back from Georgia. He has a home there that his daughter lives in that was in need of some repairs. Being retired, he drove to Georgia to make the repairs and visit with his daughter. He shared that he has visited all 50 states in his little pick up, and that he has over 400,000 miles on it!😱 I shared that our goal is to visit all 50 states as well, and that we have only been to about 21 so far. He said it was a great experience, one that he will treasure.  Before he departed he said  “life is so short, so, be sure to enjoy it!  Stay safe and be blessed.” Words of wisdom, I say! ☕.👍🏽👀

RANDOM INFO.  In AZ on the 10 about 90 miles before Phoenix, we passed ‘Sore Finger Road.’ What prompted that name I wonder? Hum..  🤔   Also, on the open road we always see a lot of big rigs… those most common are; Amazon Prime, UPS and Fed Ex trucks along with Pensky, U-haul moving trucks, and Wal-Mart trucks along with a host of other RVers.🚌💨

We arrived in Tombstone, AZ about 6 p.m. While on the road I had called ahead and made reservations for the night at the Wells Fargo RV Park. Upon arriving, the gentleman in the office was welcoming and friendly. This small park was located right smack at the end of town which is why I selected it, (and the reviews were good.) It was PERFECT! The park is well maintained, well lit, with hook ups, CLEAN showers, wifi and laundry facilities for $35 for the night.  Well worth the money I’d say. I DO recommend this RV park. 👍🏽👍🏽

We set up camp and took a walk through town to stretch our legs. (We had been on the road for about 12 hours, so we needed to walk!) The main street, Allen Street, is about 6 or so blocks long. It was dark and the streets were empty. It was nice and quiet and it felt as though we had stepped back in time.🕰

The first sight we saw on our evening walk. The OK corral.

Sidebar: Why Tombstone? You may ask….  Have you ever seen the movie ‘TOMBSTONE’ with Kurt Russel, Sam Elliot, and Val Kilmer? It is about the famous lawman Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and his pal Doc Holiday.  It is our all time favorite Western movie that we have seen at least a dozen times. AND, since we are heading to Texas to see our daughter, why not stop for a night? After all it is on the way.😉

This morning I got up early to take another walk around town. It was about  8 a.m. and only the breakfast spot was open. I walked the town enjoying the morning quiet and explored a few other side streets that we did not venture down the night before. After exploring for about an hour I went back to the RV to get Craig. After Craig got ready we did some RV housekeeping and hit the town. It was about 10 a.m., the town establishments were opening and the streets began to fill with tourists and locals alike.  Here are some sights around town.

The Trolley tour revealed some facts and myths about Tombstone, the movie.  Such as, 1) the original gunfight with the Earp’s and McClaurey’s took only 30 seconds. Three men died, 2 were wounded. 2) The gun fight actually happened on Freemont Street, but Hollywood didn’t like the sound of it, so they changed it to the  “OK Corral” because it sounded more ‘Western.’  3) In its heyday, Tombstone had more bars and gambling houses than anything else in town. Of course there were a ridiculous amount of “ladies of the evening” to entertain the travellers. 4) The ladies of the evening had to register AND pay taxes.😱 They were considered working women.  5) There was a large population of Chinese that lived in Tombstone. 6) When taking the census, only white men over the age of 18 were counted. People of color, women and children were not counted. There was so much interesting historic information shared that I just can’t remember it all. Oh yea, Tombstone has a population of about 1,500.

More pix.

Tombstone: We thoroughly enjoyed our time here! We had a great, interesting, informative and fun day with you. 😁 The best tourist town I have been to this far. 👍🏽 BONUS, the costumes characters, boutique shops, restaurants and VERY friendly folk added to the charm of this destination. Thank you!

We left Tombstone about 3:30 this afternoon and decided to drive as far as we could before we got tired or it got dark. Well, about 20 minutes outside of Tombstone there is a Border Patrol station.

The Border Patrol agent asked us if we had an “illegals” in our RV. 😑 “No.” Was Craig’s reply. The agent smiled and waived us on.

We drove for a few hours and ended up in Deming, NM for the night at a Wal-Mart parking lot. We are just about 30 minutes outside of Las Cruces. On our drive we saw this big rig.

Sidebar: A couple of days before this trip I grilled some chicken with BBQ sauce, some lemon mango chicken, and shortribs. I stowed them in Ziplock bags and tossed them in the freezer. Tonight we had the BBQ chicken 🍗with our 🥗 salad. YUM. It makes dinner so easy; a heat and eat meal.😉

Dinner is done. We are tired. Time for a shower and some rest. We are next to the freeway in the Walmart parking lot with several other RVs and big rigs. It is noisy but safe. Besides the noise from the highway, I hear music off in the distance. Oh well, time for some shut eye. 💤 Tomorrow is another day on the road.🚌💨 Next destination, San Antonio via El Paso, TX. ✌🏽