In the morning we went to the Pima Air and Space Museum. We
did their tram tour around the vast outdoor space, with around 300 planes of
varying size and age. Lots of fighter planes and some good stories about plane
designs that failed and had to be redesigned, and planes designed for the air
force and while they were in early production some new innovative tech meant
they were obsolete without ever going into service. They had two of the Air
Force 1 planes, a super guppy used to transport the space shuttle and a
specially designed transport plane that moved the Titan II missiles around.
Leaving Tucson we drove a couple of hours south west to
Tombstone. Famous for the Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday and the OK Corral
shootout. As we found out, the shootout wasn’t actually at the OK Corral, but
the reporters of the day thought it was catchier than “the shootout on the
corner of Fremont and 3rd street”.
Luckily we had arrived in town on the weekend of their historical
re-enactment festival, called Helldorado. So the whole town is out all weekend
in period costume, there are gun fights, shows, dinners and tours. We decided
that instead of passing through, we would stay 2 nights to make the most of the
festivities.
First up we did a historical stagecoach tour of the town.
Lots of history, way too much to absorb, but really interesting.
After the tour, we went to dinner at the Crystal Palace – a saloon.
We had a nice pub grub style meal, while listening to a cowboy band and
watching the local guys and gals kickin' up their heels cowboy style. Fun!
After dinner we did a ghost tour of the old Bird Cage
Theatre, where 26 men, 1 woman and 1 dog were shot dead over the years, so supposed
to be very haunted. When Tombstone was in its heyday as a mining town, during
the 1880’s the Bird Cage was open 24 hours a day for the 9 years of it’s
operation and was named the wildest, wickedest nightspot in the country. It operated
as a casino as well as a theatre, and along both sides of the room were
suspended what look like upmarket theatre boxes, but were actually private
booths that cost $25 per night ($1000 in today’s money) for the gentlemen to be
“entertained” by the ladies that worked there. The booths were referred to as
bird cages.
A number of respectable performers held shows there, but mostly it
was can-can, magic acts etc. If the patrons enjoyed the show they fired shots
at the ceiling, if they disapproved, they shot at the performers. Our guide
pointed out bullet holes everywhere in the building – around 140 of them.
Under the casino floor was the basement, with the high roller
poker tables and the more comfortable entertainment rooms. Apparently a poker
game ran continuously for 8 years, 5 months and 3 days, with a $1000 buy in. (in
1880s money).
When the mining days of Tombstone finished abruptly in the
1890s and everyone left town, the Bird Cage was boarded up with all its
fittings and fixtures intact. The owners believed it was a temporary closure,
but it remained that way for over 50 years, until being reopened as a historical
attraction. Everything remains as is, except for the addition of electric
lighting and fire suppression systems.
The ghost tour was at the end, when the guide switched out the
lights and we sat in darkness. She “talked” to the spirits and people reported
hearing footsteps and knocking noises, but living in an old timber house ourselves, we
only heard normal “old house cooling down and settling for the night” type noises.
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