We made reservations for the nightly observatory showing that same night and dutifully arrived to take our place and let our eyes become accustomed to the darkness and red light used during the presentation. Our volunteer host was very informed and entertaining. We looked at Cassiopeia, Sirius, Andromeda galaxy, Orion Nebula, and some very bright star clusters. There were maybe more but after my big meal, being tired from driving and the late hour, I had difficulty maintaining my attention. It was still very cool and interesting to look through a telescope in an observatory at a RV Park.
Do you know what word the Japanese use for the Orion Nebula? I didn’t either and was very surprised to find out it is Subaru. That’s right the Subaru car is named after this heavenly body. If you look at the logo or placard on the car, you will see the stars right there in it.
The following day was going to be sunny and warm so we intrepid adventurers decided it would be an appropriate day to watch some people getting killed. Not just once but every hour on the hour there was going to be some killing taking place. So we struck out for Tombstone, AZ and the OK Corral.
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| Looking for a gunfight! |
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| Found it! |
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| The participants! |
Our
first impression upon arriving is the town is definitely a tourist
attraction. Even though it is ‘winter’
time the crowds were pretty impressive.
We located the scene of the shootout and dutifully took our places (along
with about 100 other folks) to await the inevitable killing that was about to
take place. Sure enough, at the top of
the hour, here come the participants in the historical drama about to unfold in
front of our eyes. As we listen intently
to the dialogue that takes place prior to the actual killing our palms become
sweaty with anticipation about the bloodshed we are about to witness. Then in a flash, bang, boom, bang, bang, it
is all over with and just like the historical record, there are three dead men
lying in the dirt. The question comes to
my mind, why did we want to watch someone being shot?
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| The confrontation |
 |
| The shooting |
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| The aftermath |
But there is much more to see in the town that is ‘Too Tough to Die’ (the town motto). The old newspaper (aptly named "The Tombstone Epitaph") office, still in business today that printed the account of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, many historical artifacts on display, the horse drawn carriages and stagecoaches about town and the Tombstone Historama. If you are ever in the area, you should experience the historama.
We encounter another Border Patrol checkpoint on the return trip. We later learned there had been a joint sting operation between the U.S. and Mexico not too far from this area. They managed to catch some drug cartel individuals but others had eluded capture and the border patrol agents were definitely watching (with binoculars and otherwise) the comings and goings since the border is very close.
Our last day in Benson was very sunny and warm. As Bibi and I walked through the park, we encountered a parrot (who just happened to be whistling at Bibi) in a cage on a table next to a very nice lady from Montana. The parrot took a liking to and was enamored by Bibi’s presence. It repeatedly said “Hello!” even though the lady tried several times to get it to do its imitation of a horse whinnying.
As it turns out, the lady and her husband come to AZ each year as snowbirds and return to Montana during the warmer months. We told her about our friend from Wyoming that returns each summer but lives in Texas the rest of the time. She, in a very polite manner, told us she did not care much for Wyoming, something to do with regional rivalry. Sorry Bart, but we sure enjoyed our time in Wyoming so take solace in that.
The next day we moved on the short distance to Tucson to check in at our new home for the month of February. The Valley of the Sun RV Resort located in Marana, AZ a suburb of Tucson.
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