We were interested in seeing this famous town that we had read about and had seen portrayed in various Westerns. Sadly, it is mostly commercialized and set up to really drain your wallet---to put it bluntly. The prices were steep for a family of seven, so we really didn't get to see much. We did walk down the old wooden walkway and poke around in several of the shops. The OK corral is completely enclosed and they charge a hefty fee to enter, so we will just have to use our imaginations on that one ;).
Towards one end of the town we had lunch in a little restaurant. The food was pretty good, burgers and fries. Then we continued our walk through the old Chinese section of the town and on to the Courthouse. It is now called the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park and houses a museum. Originally, it was the Cochise County Courthouse and it contained the usual offices and jail.
The Courthouse was built in 1882 and it really is a pretty building. The fee to go inside wasn't as high as most of the other things in town, so that was a plus. There are two stories filled with artifacts from Tombstone's history. We learned a lot about the founding of the town as well as the daily life and eventual decline. I am glad we went through it. It was family friendly and budget friendly, too.
As we were leaving Tombstone, we made one last stop on the edge of town at the Boot Hill Cemetery. (Admission is free, for $3 you get a guide.) There are many pioneers and famous outlaws buried there. It was interesting and rather sobering to read some of the stones. It must have been a pretty rough place and time to live.
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