Toolin' 'round Tucson

After a great round of golf at the New Mexico State University golf course on Tuesday afternoon, we headed down the I-10 to Tucson on Wednesday. We were sorry to leave the wonderful folks at the Hacienda RV Park but the trip must go on and we're sure there are more nice folks around the next bend.

Every trip has to have it's fair share of "oops" along the way. We've been selecting most of our RV Parks using both the Woodalls and Good Sam recommended 'ways ahead'. Well, we finally got caught! When we arrived at the Prince of Tucson RV Park, we learned the pull thru sites were only 12' wide! To put this in perspective, our RV is 10' wide. There we were happily setting up the RV when a Winnebago pulled up next to us - and I mean next to us! If we opened our RV doors at the same time we would have collided. Should have taken a picture but we were so focussed on getting to another RV Park that the camera was the last thing on my mind. All's well that end's well though, because the park we moved to is almost as nice as the Hacienda.

Located just west of Tucson is the Arizona-Sonora Desert museum. What a place! As we travelled through the deserts in both Texas and New Mexico, I was fascinated by the different types of vegetation. But it wasn't until we reached Tucson that I found the desert I'd been expecting.

The museum provided us with the opportunity to walk through it and view the animal and plant life that is unique to this area. Not all the animals cooperated so we were only able to catch a good view of the coyote,

lovingly referred to as "God's dog".

As far as I'm concerned, the snakes also cooperated because the only ones visible remained safely tucked behind thick glass.

No trip to the Tucson area is complete without a trip to historic Tombstone, stomping grounds of Marshall Wyatt Earp and the site of the gunfight at the OK Corral. Jim had no sooner arrived in town when the local lawmen were accousting him for daring to show his legs in their town.



We managed to escape with all our body parts in tact and toured Main Street, which looks remarkably like it did back in the late 1800s.

We watched reenactments of famous incidents that occurred in the town, including the gunfight at the OK Corral. At lunchtime we stopped at Big Nose Kate's for a bite to eat and a wet, and lo and behold, Jim was fingered again. This time he wasn't so lucky as the Sheriff's deputy made sure he would cause no more trouble in his town!

One thing became abundantly clear as we walked through town; Tombstone was not a safe place to be in the late 1800s! Many a prospector, cowboy or gunfighter ended up at Boothill, the local cemetary. With the exception of six souls, all were carried from Tombstone to Boothill in the horse-drawn hearse pictured below. Built at a cost of $8000, this hearse was one of only six constructed, and the only one known to still be in existence.

The hearse carried folks to the gravesite on top of a small hill outside town.

Jim is standing behind the burial site of the four hombres on the losing side of the gunfight at the OK Corral!

Back then when a mistake was made, folks were not afraid to admit that mistake. (Double click on the photo below to enlarge it and read the headstone)

Like I said, Tombstone was not the place to be in the late 1800s!

We managed to squeeze in a round of golf on Friday afternoon. Played with a gentleman who, in his younger days, played AAA baseball for the Yankees. Needless to say, he kept us entertained with stories. Next Tuesday we'll get to see the big boys play, as we have tickets to a baseball spring training game between the White Sox and the Angels. Should be fun!