“You tell ‘em I’m coming and Hell’s coming with me, you hear? Hell’s coming with me!” I shout at the cows that we pass as we fly down Interstate 10 on our way to Tombstone, Arizona.
We’re two hours into our drive from Phoenix and my wife and daughter are exhausted from my never ending supply of ‘Tombstone’ movie quotes and references. They surprised me with a trip (a quick flight from Vegas to Phoenix with a rental car to Tombstone) for my birthday and I, in return, have surprised them with my deep knowledge of everything Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday related.
“Did you know Doc Holliday actually graduated with a degree in dentistry?” I ask my teenage daughter.
“Yes.” She replies.
“Did you know he loved his cousin Mary Melanie when they were young and she became a nun over the affair?”
“Gross.” She replies.
“Their other cousin Margaret Mitchell wrote ‘Gone with the Wind’ and may have based a character in the book on Mary Melanie.” I continue.
“Mom, make him stop.” She complains.
We arrived at the Fairfield Inn in Sierra Vista, Arizona, around 4pm that Friday afternoon with just enough time to leave our bags and freshen up before we headed to Tombstone. We were headed for a walking ghost tour of the famous frontier town and I didn’t want to be late and upset the spirits.
The Tombstone Ghost Tour
There are a number of options if you want to do a ghost tour of Tombstone. A quick Google search will give you a host of choices, so research a few and decide which one works best for your group and your budget.
For this adventure we chose The Gunfighter and Ghost Tour and we were pleasantly surprised by the interesting tidbits of history provided by our host, Laura. In a past life she was the City Secretary for the city of Tombstone so it’s only right that she knows the place backwards and forwards.
I don’t want to spoil any surprises so I won’t go into too much detail, but the interactive walking tour features EMF readers and infrared lasers (to detect ghosts) and is a history deep dive into the Bisbee Massacre, China Mary’s opium den in Hop Town, and the infamous courthouse hangings.
Be aware that this is a 90-minute tour, so if you aren’t prone to walking or standing for long periods of time you may want to try a different activity. I brought along a bottle of water and was happy I did, because even in the winter months (February to be exact) the dry desert air left me a bit thirsty.
Did we encounter ghosts from the past? Who knows, but we did have a fun time before heading back to Sierra Vista to sleep for the evening.
Which Gunfights to See in Tombstone?
Tombstone, Arizona, is a tourist attraction at this point. The town itself has 1,600+ residents but it swells each weekend as visitors flock to see reenactments of famous gunfights from the Wild West.
While the “tourist” part of the town is only a few blocks, every inch of the city was crawling with people. The 1993 film starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer is still engrained into the lifeblood of the city almost 30 years after the movie was a surprise hit. To a lesser extent is the much more historically accurate ‘Wyatt Earp’ film released in 1994 and starring Kevin Costner, but that film had Dennis Quaid as an angry Doc Holliday while ‘Tombstone’ had Val Kilmer’s legendary turn as a quipping Southern gentleman.
What can I say, people love the ‘Tombstone’ film because it’s more fun. Isn’t that a daisy?
There are also a number of choices for gunfight reenactments. My recommendations?
Check out the “official” gunfight at the OK Corral because it’s such a legendary location and a fun time. Suspend belief because, well, the actors aren’t always Academy Award winners but it’s still a good time and tickets are pretty cheap ($10 per person when we were there). They offer 3 shows per day: 11am, 1pm, 3pm (but fit more in on busy weekends) so you have plenty of chances to catch the action.
Viewers sit just a few feet away from the action and they use “blanks” with a nice pop so if you have small children who don’t like loud noises, this may not be the best thing for them. The first shot of the show caused the entire audience to jump a bit, so fair warning.
We also spent a few bucks attending the shootout at the Oriental Saloon reenactment. These “scenes” play out inside the real Oriental Saloon that Wyatt Earp held stake in for a number of years. Again, blanks are used but the noise is real so be warned. This is a real life working saloon where you can grab some food and a few beers before, during or after the show and I saw plenty of people chowing down.
I grabbed us some seats on the second floor to get a good view of all the action. As long as you, again, suspend belief and realize that these aren’t meant to be movies just scenes of real life events you should walk away pretty happy.
At each show, cast members were happy to take pictures and fist bump (during the coronavirus pandemic anyway) and they were all smiles to each person who interacted with them.
Bird Cage Theater and Boothill Cemetery
The world famous Bird Cage Theater opened on December 24, 1881. At one time the New York Times called it the “wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast” or basically between New Orleans and San Francisco.
Over 140 bullet holes remain in the (mostly) untouched insides of this rowdy tourist attraction and while it was once known for hosting the world’s longest poker game (8 years, 5 months and 3 days) and some of the more bawdy shows in the Old West, these days it plays up that tawdry past by hosting ghost tours and a chance to get up close to real American history.
While stepping into the front parlor of the Bird Cage is completely free (they have a number of souvenirs and trinkets to purchase), a closer look inside will cost you. We ran out of time to come back to the Bird Cage but a quick search shows that it has a number of 5-star reviews and is packed with history so it may sit high on your priority list.
Before driving back to Phoenix for the night, we stopped by Boothill Cemetery where some of the most famous tombstones and their epitaphs (not to mention their owners) lay in rest.
It only cost a few bucks to check out Boothill but the pictures and memories of standing and observing one of the most famous final resting places in the world was worth the price of admission.
Is Tombstone worth a visit?
Tombstone, Arizona, won’t be everyone’s favorite place.
Living and working in Las Vegas has made me numb to fancy tourist traps and has tempered my expectations for trips like this, but I’ll honestly say that for entire weekend I smiled from ear to ear. Those with young children who are more excited about the newest video game app instead of cowboys might be bored pretty quick outside of the gunfights.
If you love history, the Old West, or hell, if you’re a fan of Kurt Russell, this is a destination you shouldn’t miss. You can explore the entire district in a few hours and leave happy, but if you invest a little time and move just past the surface of the movie posters and cheap baubles, you’ll find a true travel experience and a real life slice of American History.
