Memorandum Monday - Tombstone

This weekend for the first time, I watched the movie Tombstone starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot and Bill Paxton.

I knew the movie was about Wyatt Earp and the gunfight behind the OK Corral . . . because on our recent Arizona road trip we visited Tombstone for the first (and last!) time. It was one of the places that Robbie really wanted to see, however it turned out to be the only truly disappointing place we visited. The town is basically a tourist trap, with limited parking even in the off-season when we visited. There are several blocks along one road that allow pedestrian traffic only. There are older buildings (or at least old looking facades) that now house shops, stores and galleries selling over-priced souvenirs and antiques.

The main attraction that we wanted to see was the actual spot of the gunfight, so we paid the admission fee and headed out behind the OK Corral. There was a small area fenced off with life-size figures depicting eight of the men involved in the gunfight.

These were the worst looking mannequins we've ever seen!

There were large goldish cylinders near each statue that I at first mistook for rather large shell casings! (LOL) They are, we think, spotlights in case some other poor soul pays to see this exhibit after dark.

Their clothes were all new looking, but it was the boots that drew our attention.

Seriously! The mannequins were staked to the ground through the center of the boot, and the Arizona sun had obviously curled the toes of all the boots! Here's Robbie's assessment of the exhibit!

During our quick stroll down the main street, Robbie did capture some nice photos. The gentleman in this first photo was one of the few re-en-actors we say who actually looked authentic. (The others were typically talking or texting on their cell phones.)

These horses were gorgeous, but the stagecoach driver would have looked more authentic without the workout gloves.

It was difficult to get photos along the road without lots of people in the background, but I really like this one of the flag.

Now, back to this past weekend, and the Tombstone movie - it was fantastic! I learned quite a bit that I didn't know before about Wyatt Earp, Tombstone and the gunfight.

*Tombstone was a silver mining frontier boomtown in the American Old West.

*Wyatt Earp made a reputation for himself as a lawman in Kansas before moving to Tombstone, Arizona.

*The bad guys were called The Cowboys.

*The gunfight at the OK Corral was between the lawmen (Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, Doc Holliday) and five Cowboys (two who fled when the shooting started and three who were killed).

*The Cowboys got revenge by later shooting and wounding Virgil Earp and killing Morgan Earp.

*After Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and several others went on a vendetta ride, killing Cowboys along the way, they never returned to Tombstone.

I highly recommend watching the Tombstone movie . . . and skipping a visit to the town itself!

Joining in today with Sian's Memorandum Monday meme sharing something NEW (something you did over the weekend FOR THE FIRST TIME or something you learned and DIDN'T KNOW BEFORE).