When I read on the internet that the world's largest rose bush was in the desert state of Arizona in the little town of Tombstone, I thought it must be a joke. However, after seeing it, I must admit it is no joke.
The Lady Banksia Rose bush was sent from Scotland in 1885 to a young bride living in Tombstone. She gave it to her best friend, Mrs. Amelia Adamson, who planted it in her patio. The house was then sold in 1919 to the Macia family who continued to nurture the rose bush. Robert Ripley (yes, that Ripley!) stayed at the house and marveled at the very large rose bush, calling it "the world's largest rose bush" in his Believe It or Not column. Today it is listed in the Guiness Book of Records and the claim has never been disputed.
Even standing as far back as I could and with my lens as wide-angle as I could make it, I could not get the entire rose bush. It spreads over 8,000 square feet of supports and grows larger each year.
It apparently blooms in April but by the time we were there, only a half dozen or so roses remained.
Founded in 1877 by a prospector, Tombstone began as a silver mining town. Cattle ranches soon followed and with them, trouble. It seems the cowboys and miners couldn't play nicely together and gunfights sprang up almost daily. Perhaps the most famous is the shoot out at the OK Corral when the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday fought the Clantons and McLaurys in 1881. The town stages reenactments every day and for just $10/person we saw a "historama show" explaining the history of the town (very well done!), watched both the confrontation on the street as well as the shoot out back in the corral and looked through the exhibits that explained life in the wild west.
Marshall Virgil Earp (on left) and Assistant Marshall Wyatt Earp (in the middle) confronted the Clanton boys on the street- but the shoot out didn't begin until later when they met up at the OK Corral.
Every boom town has a theater- and Tombstone had two: Schieffelin Hall where the respectable townsfolk saw plays and concerts and the Bird Cage Theater- a saloon, theater, gambling hall and brothel.
The Bird Cage interested us because we saw a mock-up of it at Knott's Berry Farm earlier this spring. We were disappointed they charge a $10 "tour fee" to walk into the theater- we decided not to go.
Tombstone citizens are proud of their historic town and encourage the tourists to experience it. Several groups walk the town in period costumes posing for photos or just chatting with passersby.
These delightful folks arrested most of our group!
Who knew being a floozy was a crime??
What's worse than a politician?
A card cheat, that's what!
While Laurie (who had made herself scarce during all this!) and I were paying the "fines" (a donation to their charity, a no-kill animal shelter), Mike and Richard were getting their "Tombstone Tattoos!"
And they called me a floozy?? ;-)
We wandered through town for most of the afternoon stopping in a store or two (most sold typical tourist fare) and having a sarsaparilla out of the bottle.
The Tombstone Epitaph, the old west's most famous newspaper, printed its first issue in 1880. Today the building is a printing and newspaper museum (and is free!). We spent some time looking at the displays and seeing how the newspaper was put out prior to the digital age.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church (1882) is the oldest Protestant church in Arizona and the oldest Episcopal church west of the Mississippi River. They were getting ready for a service or wedding so we didn't go in.
We stopped at the Boothill Graveyard on our way out of town. It also was free and they gave us a "map" so we could find the famous people more easily.
Because many of the people died quickly and unexpectedly, usually with their boots on, and were buried with their boots still on, cemeteries like this one became known as "boot hills." I'm sure the Clantons and McLaurys were buried with their boots still on!
Blooming cactus among the thorns in the cemetery are like the people buried at Boothill Graveyard; there are innocent women and children buried next to murderers, cattle rustlers and gunslingers.
Strolling along the streets of "the town too tough to die" gave us a glimpse of Tombstone. While we enjoyed it's history, we all felt it was a little too commercial and touristy. I'm glad I went but I don't think I need to go back.
Thumb Up or Down: Neither for both
Miles Round Trip: 415.3 miles
Miles To Date: 4820.4 miles
Percent of List Completed: 51%
Date of This Trip: April 28-29, 2012
That is not fair, I was not the card cheat! I was trying to tell them Richard was the cheat because of the card game the night before and they told me it takes one to know one. How unfair! It was fun to do once, though I would not do it again, I'd like to go back for the silver mine tour.
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