The O.K. corral was… well, just Okay!

The weather here in southern Arizona has been pretty nice with highs in the mid eighties and overnight lows in the high fifties. It has been a bit windy later in the day but nothing that would keep us from checking out the countryside. One of the main reasons we stopped here in Benson Arizona was to give us an opportunity to explore the Huachuca Mountains to the south of here.

To get to the mountains we decided upon a loop that would also take us through Tombstone and Huachuca City. We had never been to tombstone and thought it would be neat to see this town rich in western history. Upon arrival in Tombstone one of the first places we passed was the O.K. Corral so we made a way into town and parked (free) along the roads in the center of town.

The town is a bit over developed commercially as there is all kinds of shops and “tourist traps” for one to visit… We thought it was a bit over the top, Hidden in the commercialism is the history that made this town famous and at the heart of it is the OK Corral where Wyatt Earl and Doc Holliday had their famous shootout with the Clanton brothers. We enjoyed strolling through the streets and also enjoyed watching some of the vendors dressed in period clothing but it was time to move on to the mountains…

South of Tombstone is the town of Sierra Vista, a much larger city than I thought with a population of over 120,000. Just to the east of town is the small town of Hereford where there is a Nature Preserve called the Ramsey Canyon Preserve. This is one of the birding meccas in Arizona as this area is known as the hummingbird capitol of the USA. While visiting we even got to see five different species including the largest hummer, the Blue Throated.

There is a nice trail that leads from the nature Conservancy building to the top of the mountain valley. The trail is only one mile long and the first half is very easy while the second half is more difficult as it is practically straight up the mountain side. Lots of feeders and benches are along the way for one to look for birds. Many different species of birds can be seen here that can only be seen in Southern Arizona in the USA such as the bridled titmouse, painted redstarts, red faced warblers, and Arizona woodpeckers to name a few.

 

We say lots of beautiful birds this day and truly enjoyed the hike in Ramsey Canyon. Tombstone on the other hand where the O.K. Corral is was, well, just OKAY!

One more day here then we will visit Tucson for a few days and then maybe Phoenix for a few more if it isn’t too hot there yet…