Tombstone, AZ

Other than visiting parks, it is not often that we do typical “tourist” activities.  Rarely do we spend money on museums, shows, tours, and other experiences that are commonly associated with travel.  However, being just 30 minutes from Tombstone, AZ, and having heard about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral our entire lives, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see it. 

Ten dollars a person will buy you tickets for the gunfight show at the O.K. Corral, tickets to Tombstone’s Historama, and a reprint of the 1881 Epitath newspaper with the original reports about the gunfight.  There are also a lot of exhibits in and around the O.K. Corral showing different items related to the gunfight along with other pieces of memorabilia and carriages, saddles, etc. that were used during Tombstone’s hey-day.  We figured that was a reasonable price to pay for a couple of hours of entertainment.

We started with the gunfight show.  They have added some humor to the show and it contains an element of audience participation to keep everyone involved throughout.  Was it a little cheesy?  Yep.  But was it entertaining?  Very!  The actors did a great job in their roles while also interacting with the audience.  It was clear that they really enjoy what they do, and that made it so much more enjoyable!  After the show, we enjoyed exploring the exhibits in the Corral area, especially the photography exhibit showing scenes and portraits taken by C.S. Fly of Tombstone life in the 1880s.  It was also interesting to see the actual site of the gunfight.  Did you know it wasn’t actually in the Corral?  It was in an alley just down from it!

Next up was the Historama.  This is a really difficult thing to describe, and no photos or videos were allowed, so we can’t even show you.  There are some pictures on their website, though, if you want to see what we mean.  Anyway, it was a multi-sided physical model that showed different scenes from the history of the town, and would move and light up different sections to illustrate what the narrator was talking about.  There was also a film that accompanied this to show other scenes from Tombstone’s history.  This was created in the 1960s, so we weren’t expecting it to be great, but it honestly didn’t feel dated!  It was still very relevant and held our interest throughout!

After our explorations at the O.K. Corral, we wandered down the dirt road for a bit to see the old store fronts and to just enjoy the town.  We opted out of the rest of the typical tourist destinations, choosing instead to take a few photos and be on our way.  Will we go back?  Never say never, but we feel like we saw what we went to see and our curiosity about Tombstone is now satiated. 

Until next time!