In an unexpected move Tombstone also contains the world's largest English
rose tree, an attraction that appeared to offer a welcome change of pace, and
subject. However, at $3 a ticket and nearly closing time we chose to forgo this
botanist's dream and watched another show about the town's history instead.
The Tombstone Historama, narrated by the late, great Vincent Price, is
a multimedia extravaganza - and again free to gunfight spectators. It is billed
as featuring 'laser-activated' models and is in effect a huge (possibly paper
maché or Blue Peter) model, which rotates to show different stages in the
town's history, interwoven with film clips. The effects were so bad as to be
good, especially when characters died – only marginally more wooden than
the actors we had seen outside - or when a flood (puddle) devastated the
town.
Perhaps most entertaining was how the stories were at odds with
others we had heard during the day, in this case very biased against the
lawmen. So far our opinion of the town was that it was cheesier than a French
fromagerie, but the attractions do keep the place alive and at least many of
the buildings are authentic.
Finding a place to park for the night was our next concern as the shows and
shops began to shut down for the night. Fortunately we were able to get a
spot at the Wells Fargo RV Park, a mere bullet's throw from the OK Corral -
and surprisingly reasonably priced. We were thus able to walk back into town
for dinner at the Crazy Horse (co-incidence after last night's campsite?)
saloon.
Here we encountered more real life cowboys, with more real life guns –