Everyday Adventure // Tombstone, Arizona

While we were in Arizona, Cory’s family and I made the long drive to almost-Mexico to visit the fabled town of Tombstone.  I’m not usually one for tourist traps, and honestly I wasn’t quite prepared for how big of a tourist trap this actually WAS – but I suppose with the movie and it being one of the most infamous spots in the Wild West, I should have known.

We didn’t have long to explore so we didn’t see any of the shows, but we stuck our heads in a few of the museums (at least, the free lobbies – they charge for everything) and Cory and I grabbed a beer at the saloon, because obviously, that’s what you do in Tombstone – gamble, shoot and drink.  Or prostitutes, but I’d just rather not.  We decided to do the drinking and leave the rest up to someone else.

All the colorful typography was a highlight for me – so I preferred to spend most of my time wandering up and down reading all the signage.  Yup, probably looks nothing like it did “back in the old days” and the people yelling about gun shows and all that didn’t really help.  But it always helps to look at the bright side.  So, carnival typography it is!

We finished up with a stop at Boothill graveyard, where several of the gangsters killed at O.K. Corral are buried, and a bunch of other people who were shot, stabbed, or otherwise died unnaturally in the late 1800s.  Seems like everyone did those days.

Thankful that I live in the West of the present and not ye old Wild West!

P.S. If you haven’t seen the movie, Tombstone, I’d highly recommend it.  Much more than a visit to the actual location, in fact.