You’ve probably heard of one and not the other.
Tombstone, AZ historically speaking is the town where the OK Corral Gunfight occurred between the good guys: Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday vs the bad guys: the Clanton brothers and other “cowboys.” And if you go there today they have it looking like you’re about to witness what happened then and there in 1881. Its a bit tourist-y but its a fun spot. You can watch a reenactment of the gunfight, ride in a horse drawn stage coach and walk down the dusty streets of the old west. You can find anything you need to be a cowboy there….and boy did we come away with one.
When you live with a 5 year old cowboy Tombstone is the best thing ever, it is where “real cowboys live” and where “I want to work when I’m a cowboy” but only after “roping all of my own horses.” So you know we’ve been living in a cowboy world even when we are not in Tombstone. He’s “roping” outside almost daily. And when the campground you work at has a rodeo weekend with pony rides…we get to see the perfect all nature smile. And yes we went back and he got to wear his full get up in Tombstone!
Bisbee is about 30 miles further south of Tombstone. It is an old mining town turned into a posh little European metropolis you would never ever expect to be in the middle of the Arizona desert mountains. It is chock-full of cafes, shops, art studios etc. It a fun little spot to grab a drink and walk around. There are string lights over the street, flowers and planters all around, murals here and there. It is neat. The downtown part is in the valley and the homes are all up the mountainsides, so they compare themselves to Italy or Greece as it kind of has that landscape and vibe. You can do a tour of the old mine and you can look down into the pit from the road. We didn’t do the tour with the littles but we’ve heard its good. We enjoyed ourselves without just as well!
