THE Trip, THE Encore' :: The Characters of Tombstone Arizona

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

December 9, 2012

For us a revisit to Tombstone, land of the Shootout at the OK Corral and Boot Hill Cemetery.  Let's meet some of the characters of Tombstone, shall we?

First stop, the Visitors Center, where we met America.  She is in her 8th decade.  She went on and on about her hair and how the braids were the only way to control it.  She had stories to tell and I did not have enough hours to listen. RATS!  Oh, I sooooo needed time and a good video recorder!

I am not sure if this guy is holding up the bar or if the bar is holding him up?

Hmmm, wonder what they were chatting about!?!  Just between you and me, that guy in the back, facing us, looks like he has the devil up his sleeves, eh??  Pity the person he is spying on!  LOL

Oh, dear, looks like a bit of trouble on Main Street, eh?? Cannot be good when a cowboy's hat ends up in the dust.

Oh, yea, the locals are all in an uproar over something.  (As an aside, I do love that ladies hat!)

Ah, the sheriff!  Nope, he was NOT after Carol!  No infractions today, unless taking photos is considered an infraction.

For those that have not been, Tombstone is a lot of fun.  I have called it hokey history in the past and caught some flak for that term.  The town and the stories and the acting and such, are based on history, with a bit of creative hokey fun tacked on top.  Several of the street "shows" are in fact based on events in Tombstone.  And, yes, I loved the cemetery,  I blogged it two years ago when we visited.  For the kid in you, if you have not been, don't miss it.  And, if you get a chance, go look up Doc Holiday for me, tell him I will try to get back, I so need a photo with him!  Who has some boas I can borrow???




* If you want to read more about our experiences in Tombstone, go over to that right column here at Reflections, find the search box, type in Tombstone!  Have fun, we did!
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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Las Cruces New Mexico, Then On To Tombstone Arizona

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

December 7 and 8, 2012

We spent two nights in Las Cruces, shopping and enjoying a great meal in Old Mesilla  at La Posta, yep, Mexican food, really good Mexican food.

La Posta was decorated for the holidays.  The day we were there they had over 24 trees up and decorated, and more were coming in!  And, yes, this is a chandelier, not a tree!  LOL

The restaurant is beautiful before the holiday decorations:

We strolled around town after our yummy meal, look at this neat old gate, ignore the modern PCV plastic pipe behind it. SIGHHH

I know I took a photo very much like this two years ago, I was drawn back to this area, loving the color, the style, the gate like wrought iron.  An, ohhh, myyy, I see Man's reflection too!  LOL

We would have enjoyed staying in the Las Cruces area for much longer, but, we had one more stop to make before our holiday layover in Tucson where we had a reservation for the 12th, so we had to move on out, heading west once again along I-10.

We saw signs about dust storms and zero visibility and we were passed by this, oversized load.  I'll say it is oversized:

Along this stretch of I-10, I am also always impressed by the long trains, lots of trains.  And, a nice display of geology too!

Ah ha:   Arizona state line!  WOOT!

And we know we are almost to Benson Arizona when we see these fascinating bolder/rocks/formations at the Texas Canyon rest stop.

Next stop, Tombstone area, where we will spend time visiting Tombstone, Bisbee and the Kartchner Caverns.




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Tombstone Tuesday, Boot Hill Hearse, The Black Moriah

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Tucked deep in a corner of the Bird Cage Theatre (Museum) in Tombstone Arizona I found the "Black Moriah."

The signage stated:

Tombstone’s Original Boothill Hearse

Owned by Watt & Tarbell Undertaking Parlor of Tombstone. Used from 1881 - 1917, with the exception of six people, it buried everyone in Boothill Cemetery. It was built by Cunningham Bros. of Rochester, NY. for $8,000 new in 1881. There were only 8 of these models built that year, it is the only one left of the original 8. The trim on the hearse is all sterling silver & 24 carat gold leaf. The curved glass is the first ever manufactured on a vehicle. Its value today is over ten times its original cost.




* Getting any photo was difficult, the lighting was poor and the building was full of treasures, I wish I had a better photo.

** I have not done any research to verify the facts stated on the signage, if there are errors, the blame rests elsewhere.

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S. McFarland, Boothill Grave Yard, Tombstone, Arizona

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

One of the first interments I happened upon while strolling through Boothill Grave Yard in Tombstone, Arizona was this one:

That surname jumped out at me, as one of the Lashbrook brides was married to a McFarland.  My ole leaky memory kept screaming at me, 1882. 1882?? 1882.  Really??

As soon as we returned to Tana for the evening I dug into the data base, and found:

Alexander McFarland, born around 1848 in New York, married February 14, 1878 in Stacyville, Mitchell County, Iowa, died by October 1883, probably in Mitchell County Iowa.  Alexander had married Julia Ann(a) Lashbrook.  Julia married her second husband Charles Benjamin Cummings on October 15, 1883 in Mitchell County, Iowa.

Alexander and Julia had one son, Ernest.  Ernest was born October 1, 1878 in Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa, and died June 15, 1949 in Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa.  We learn from Ernest's obituary the following tidbit:

"Mr. McFarland's father died when he was a boy. His father was a tutor in Mitchell. His mother was a Lashbrook and died about 12 years ago."

I have yet to find a death or burial record for Alexander McFarland in or around Mitchell County, Iowa.

There is a booklet you can purchase for the small sum of $2.00 with data on the interments at Boothill Grave Yard.  They sell it at the visitor's center/gift shop at the cemetery.  In it they give, briefly, information on each burial in the cemetery.  The entry for S. McFarland, reads, simply:  "S. McFarland, 1882".  I was disappointed to be sure.

So, that 1882 date knocking around in my ole leaky memory was close, and the name was close, darn that initial tho, I need an "A", not an "S".  It is just a coincidence - - SIGHHHHHHH

Oh, well, got the old genie blood pressure raised up a bit for a few hours.  Hopefully when we get  back on the grid in a few weeks I will be able to take a few hours and see if there is anything new I can learn about Alexander, seeing that it has been a while since I have searched for him.

THE Trip, Tombstone Arizona, Boothill Grave Yard, Tombstone Tuesday

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

No trip to Tombstone Arizona is complete without a trip to Boothill Grave Yard.  It was originally called Tombstone Cemetery, has more than 250 graves, most of those burials done between 1878 and 1884.  There is a small brochure available describing each burial, row by row and if any information is known about the interred, it is included.  The "inscriptions" here are interesting, here are a few of my favorites:

Lots of Unknown (click on the photo for a larger version):

* In a future post I will chat about one of the first graves I found, and my interest in it - -

THE Trip, Tombstone Arizona, Home of The OK Corral and Shoot Em Ups, Part 2

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

In the afternoon in Tombstone, the town comes alive (and then, mmmm, dead) with cowboys, floozies, sherrifs, docs, and noisy with a bit of gunfire.

Above, the stage coach arrives in town, oh, look a floozie is coming to town, oh, what shall we do??

Not long after the stage rolled into town, a street fight broke out, starting to look like there is gonna be BIG trouble in the OK Corral later - -

Sure nuff, later in the corral Doc Holiday showed up, mmm, well, a bit, inebriated.

OO, OOO, sleeping it off in public, goodness Doc - -

Tempers started to flare, words were exchanged, and then, 30 seconds of gun fire - -

And, 3 lay mortally wounded - -

Doc and the Earp brothers.

* We enjoyed the recreation of the Shootout at the OK Corral.  It is just a bit hokey, but a lot history.  It was our opinion, that the actors this day were quite good.  Nita and I had to agree that the actor playing Wyatt Earp (second from left) was good, but the actor portraying Doc Holiday was outstanding.  He could really pull off a "2 step backwards drunken stumble"!

Next we will visit Boot Hill and - - - -

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THE Trip, Tombstone Arizona, Home of The OK Corral and Shoot Em Ups, Part 1

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

We met up with fellow MOCers, Nita and Al in Tombstone.  We stayed at the Wells Fargo RV Park in downtown Tombstone.  The sites are a bit narrow, we were parked door to door, which normally Man and I do not care for, but, when you are with friends, it is kinda nice.  The staff and owners were extremely nice and accommodating, helped direct you into your parking space, gave us great hints for what to see and do in the area (other than the obvious shoot out and Boot Hill cemetery.)  The best part is the park is literally one block from the action, you leave your trailer, walk a block, and you are in the old historic part of town.

While we were there we ate in several of the restaurants, visited the museum in the old Tombstone courthouse, the Bird Cage Theatre of Tombstone, sat in on the historama show, and of course, attended the reinactment of the shootout between the Earps and the cowboys Clanton and McLaury at the OK Corral.

OK, I just love this sign, and that is about all I am going to say about it - -

Found in the Tombstone Courthouse museum:

And, it says:

Dr. Geo. E. Goodfellow


Q:  Have you examined the body of the deceased.


A:  I have


Q:  Make any statement to the Jury with reference to the cause of death of the deceased.


A:  I find that the deceased died of emphysima of the lungs which might have been caused by strangulation , self inflicted or otherwise.


Dr. George E. Goodfellow, County Physician

Also from the Tombstone Courthouse, you need a safe in the old west, they have one.

There was silver in them thar hills, where there are miners, there are men and tools to process them.  (I won't even try to explain all this silver stuff, if interested you might try to Google "silver assay".

And, behind the courthouse:

And, you know that if you are in a western town, one with this kind of reputation, there just have to be a few bars around, who are those cowboys and cowgirls??  (Answer, from left:  Man, Al, Nita, Moi)

*By the way, Nita has done a wonderful blog post about Tombstone as well.

** All you cowboys and cowgirls, don't get off your horses yet, more to come on the visit to Tombstone, come on back, ya all!

THE Trip, Las Cruces to Tombstone Arizona

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Our last morning in Las Cruces, I just happened to be up when the sun was creating a silhouette of the Organ Mountains.  I hurried down to the end of the campground and snapped away.

After a month here, as much as we enjoyed our stay in Las Cruces, we were ready to be on the road again.  We were under way by 10:15ish, heading west.  We drove I 10 all the way to Benson Arizona where we turned south on SR 80 and onward to Tombstone.

How's this for some scenery along I 10 just before we crossed into Arizona?  (Oh, and shot out the window at about 60 MPH too!  Ya, getting better at this, and ya, I take a lot of photos to get a good one.  You can see some glare in the top left corner of this photo from the windows, but, I'm reasonably happy with this shot.)

Before long we crossed the state lines, see:

We saw all kinds of signs like this one, go ahead, Google it!  Ya, a tourist trap.  I asked about it on Facebook and my friends suggested Man and I did not need to stop, so, we didn't!  LOL

Just before Benson Arizona there is a rest stop, should be renamed a "photo-op stop".

This photo will give you a bit of an idea of how large these formations really are, note the 18-wheelers below:

In Tombstone we met up with fellow MOC members and friends Nita and Al B.  They are on the way to Quartzsite as well, and we decided to meet at Tombstone and let the boys relive their youthful cowboy memories.  (Stay tuned for posts about shoot em up Tombstone and Boot Hill Cemetery and a ride in the mountains that was not what we expected - - - )

Our trip from Las Cruces New Mexico to Tombstone Arizona was about 250 miles.



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