February 27, 2005

February 27, 2005

Benson to Tombstone to Huachuca City, Arizona

DAY 254

 

Today was a very sunny, nice, warm day. Not really warm, since we're at an elevation of over 4000 ft. ASL., but warm enough to be outside wearing just a long sleeved shirt.

Poor Bo. Such an Alabaman "tender foot" out here in the desert. Today, for the second time, he got a cactus needle in his foot pad. A week or so ago, he stepped on a Dog Cactus. I think they're called that because they creep along the ground, and dogs step on them. That one didn't cause him too much discomfort. But today in Tombstone, he got a Fish Hook Cactus needle in his foot. It caused him quite a bit of discomfort. Maybe ! Or else he's a really big sissy. When we tried to examine the pads of his foot to see if there was something we could do to help, he howled and screamed and squirmed and bit. He's done that a few times lately, when we've tried to remove burrs from his fur, which doesn't really hurt. That's why I think a lot of his antics are anxiety and lack of trust, more so than pain. He won't let us do anything about the cactus needle in his foot, so I guess it will just have to work its way out on its own, like a sliver would.

This morning before we left Saguaro SKP Co-op we took Bo to the park's fenced dog run area. He and I went there last night to play with his tennis ball. Last night and this morning were the first times we've had him outside off leash. Well ... first times intentionally ! He has escaped from us a couple of times, usually by darting out the trailer door when one of us opens it. It was great to play with him off leash in a secure area.

We left Saguaro SKP Park, drove into town to visit the tourist information centre, and filled up with diesel. YIKES ! $2.24 a gallon ! And ... I had to back the rig out of the station ! We left Benson heading south on Hwy. 80, to Tombstone. "The town too tough to die" ! For once, our timing was fortunate. This weekend, yesterday and today, there were repeated re-enactments of the famous gun battle at the O.K. Corral between Wyatt Earp and his brothers along with Doc Holliday, against Billy the Kid and the Clanton boys. There was a "gun battle re-enactment" competition this weekend. There's a bunch of amateur historian groups, and amateur theatre groups, who provide regular "living history" in Tombstone. The main street of Tombstone is about half a mile long, and most of the buildings are original. The sidewalks are wood. The buildings are now occupied by bars, restaurants, gift shops, clothing shops ... all the usual commerce you would expect in a tourist attraction. It was a very interesting place to visit. On the edge of town is Boot Hill Graveyard, where all the bad guys are buried. We didn't actually enter Boot Hill, or the O.K. Corral. I didn't feel that the steep admission prices were warranted. We walked up one side and down the other side of the main street ... Allen Street ... twice, window shopping and watching all the various re-enactments that were taking place. There were so many of these "actors" in town, that half the people wandering around town were in period costume. We stopped at a bar and had a drink. We went into a western wear clothing store and I bought myself a cowboy dress shirt. Hey ... I told you ... when in Rome ... ! I almost bought myself a cowboy dress shirt a few weeks ago. So today I figured I might not have too many more opportunities to purchase authentic western wear.

We left Tombstone late in the afternoon, and headed north out of town on Hwy. 80, the same road we came in on. A couple of miles out of Tombstone, we turned onto Hwy. 82, heading west. we wanted to check out a couple of RV Parks along Hwy. 82. We had been told that there was a very nice RV Park along Hwy. 82, in the vicinity of Hwy. 90. We found 2 parks in our campground book, and didn't know which was the one recommended to us. We drove by the first one. It looked nice. We drove into the second one. This must be the one that was recommended to us. We are at The Caverns RV Resort, near Huachuca City. Very nice park, cheap !

We set up, then sat out on our folding chairs, eating cheese and crackers, washing it down with Bourbon and Diet Cola, watching the sun set behind the Huachuca Mountains. Nice work if you can get it !

We took Bo for a very long walk around the park, then Joanne made black bean burritos for supper. We studied maps and tourist guides, to plan out the next week or so.

DSK