ROOKIE MISTAKE AND OLD TOMBSTONE.

NOVEMBER 2 & 3, 2018) After finishing my visit to the Casa Grande Monument I made my way to my hotel in Tucson. While making my way to my hotel I made a couple of stops for gas and coffee and saw a bunch of people wearing Colorado Buffalo attire. So being curious I checked and found that Arizona Wildcats were hosting The Colorado Buffalo's in a Pac 12 Football.

Arizona Wildcat's Stadium

So after checking in to the hotel I got on Stub Hub and found that ticket for the game was dirt cheap. I ended up buying a $10 ticket and made my way up to the Stadium in Downtown Tucson. My game ticket cost me $10 bucks and it cost me $20 to park about 3/4 of a mile from the stadium.

Now here is where the rookie mistake come in. Leaving the room I forgot to change batteries in my Nikon Camera and when I turned it on NOTHING. Battery was completely dead. So I knew I was in trouble.

The McKale Center

I had my Cell Phone with but for some reason the battery life on it is horrible. Probably because I am such a social person and I have so many apps running. Even though I charged it in the car I had only about 20% battery life so I was unable to get any photos or video from the Game.

Yes, I have a huge external battery and a smaller external battery that I use for the phone but again in my hast to get to the game I forgot to get them out of my camera backpack.  I didn't want to carry bags and stuff into the game because I want to go through the quicker NO BAGS security line at the stadium.  Come to find out nether the Bag line or the NO BAG Line was busy and I could have gone through either without any delay.

I knew when I was able to buy a ticket for only $10 that the stadium would not be over crowded. My seat was 9 rows up on the 40 yard line so I had a great seat for only $10.  At kickoff the Arizona Home side of the field was better than 3/4 full while the Colorado side, where I was sitting was only about half full.

I had  good time and enjoyed the game but it was a different experience from attending a game at Virginia Tech, Wake Forest or any other ACC School.  Even though both teams were playing to become bowl eligible there was no enthusiasm. Arizona ended up winning the game 42-34.

I stayed for the entire game and from exiting the parking lot was easy, But my GPS seemed to take me the long way back to the hotel but I made it and I wasted no time in getting to bed.

This morning I check out of the Hotel. Even though I am staying in Tucson, I am moving to another  Comfort Inn for the next two night. I has a cheaper rate and I will be using some of my Choice Point for a free stay.  It cost only 8,000 points per night to stay free. So for 16,000 points I am staying free for my last two nights in Arizona.  And I still have over 100,000 points and have reached Diamond Level for 2019.  This will basically give me double points for every 2019 paid stay, free room upgrades and a few other perks.

Once I checked out of the hotel I made my way east on Interstate 10 to Benson Arizona and after a quick stop for coffee, I made my way to Old Tombstone.

You can't come to Arizona and not visit the site of the famous gunfight at the OK Corral. On the way into town I was surprised to find historic Boot Hill Cemetery.  So my first stop was the last stop for the people buried here.




Like everything else in Tombstone there is a charge for entering Boot Hill. I paid my $3.00 and received my map of the Cemetery with a few of the more notable graves highlighted.

Of course the most famous grave at those of the men who died in the Shootout at the OK Corral; Billy Clanton and brother Frank and Tom McLaury.  Their grave are in the near corner of the cemetery in Row 2. They are covered by a large mound of Rocks with wooden headstones. "Old Man" Clanton is buried nearby.

Some of the other Graves of interest in Boot Hill is Lester Moore, whose headstone reads, Four Slugs from a 44....No Less No More. And George Johnson whose headstone details the ultimate mistake.  It reads, "George Johnson,
Hanged by mistake 1882. He was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now he's gone."

A couple of other graves that you might find interesting are the graves of John Heath who was taken from jail and lynched. Red River Tom who was shot by Ormsby and finally the grave of Two Chinese.

From Boot Hill I made my way into Tombstone and managed to find "Free" street parking just outside of the Tourist area. From where I parked I made my way up to the site of the OK Corral shootout.



The shootout site is NOT free. There is a $5.00 charge is you just want to see the OK Corral where the shootout happened and a $10.00 charge if you want to see a reenactment. I fell for the hype and ponied up $10.00 for the reenactment.

The reenactment lasts about 10-minutes and is really cheesy and is nothing like the original shoot out. My advise is don't waste your money. Pay the $5.00 if you want to see the original site and let it go. I can say I have been there, done that, and when on my way.

The site of the Shootout at the OK Corral.

I walked along the main tourist area where carnival barkers are out front of every site trying to lure you in to their business. I did have an overpriced drink in the "Big Nose Kate Saloon."

After visiting the tourist area of Tombstone it was time to head out. Rather than retrace my journey I decided to head down to Sierra Vista, which is a pretty good size town for this area. It has everything including all of the chain hotels, restaurants and yes even a Wal-Mart.

Sierra Vista is also the site of the Southern Arizona Veterans Cemetery. While I was having lunch in Sierra Vista I did a little research and found that the famous clown Emmett Kelly, Jr. is resting in the Veterans Cemetery which was close by.

So after lunch I headed over to the Cemetery and thanks to Find-A-Grave, I quickly found the final resting play of Emmett Kelly, Jr. His dad was also a famous clown and is resting in Sarasota, Florida.

After departing Sierra Vista I made my way back to Interstate 10 and since I still had time I decided to take the scenic drive through the Eastern Branch of the Saguaro National Park.  This is one of the place I had not intended to visit but since my Tombstone visit was shorter than planned I decided to take the drive through the park.

The Saguaro National Park is actually divided into two branches; and East Branch where I am at today and a west branch which is actually a little northwest of Tucson.

I was able to use my National Park Senior Pass to gain my free admission to the park and after picking up a map from the ranger I began my drive through the park. The drive through the park is all on a paved road with pull out along the way where you can hike or simply park and get up close photo of the various types of cactus.

The entire drive is a little over 8-miles and was absolutely great, I spent a little over two hours driving the 8-miles and did manage to walk a couple of the shorted hiking trails. As I was on one of the trailed I met another couple who was kind enough to inform me that there was a rattle snake next to the trail a little ways ahead of me. Since I am afraid of any kind of snake I made the quick decision to reverse my course and head back to the car.

I really enjoy the drive and my visit to the East Branch of the Saguaro National Park. It was a totally unplanned and unexpected experience and one that I would highly recommend.

The day was getting short when I exited the park and I headed to my hotel where I will spend the final two nights in Arizona.

As I said earlier, I chose this Comfort Inn because it only costs 8,000 point per night for a free stay, and because it is only about a mile and a half from where I will turn in my Enterprise Rental.

Once back at the room I check my Twitter Page and some one has sent me a direct message asking me it I would recommend Tombstone. Basically, if you are visiting for the first time, sure, just to say you have done it but definitely lower your expectations. Tombstone today is definitely a Tourist trap. Everything there is pricey and really kind of cheesy. I would not recommend paying for the Shootout Reenactment or any of the other reenactments as they are mostly performed by bad actors who try way too hard to be funny.

Boot Hill was worth the $3.00 and I enjoyed my visit there the Most. I would recommend spending about an hour or so walking around the cemetery reading the wooden grave markers. Other than that, Tombstone itself is over rated. I am glad I went but I have no desire to re-visit.

So today is over and time to look forward to tomorrow, the final day of my Arizona Adventure.