Wyatt Earp Days 2010

For better or worse, I live in California, not Arizona. But my “day job” involves a good deal of travel, so I usually visit Tombstone when my job requires me to go to Arizona. I was fortunate to be working in Tucson this last Memorial Day weekend and had time to take in the Wyatt Earp Days festival in Tombstone.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It’s my knowledge that, even today, opinions in Tombstone are still divided as to whether or not Wyatt Earp and company were on the right side of the law. There are those who believe that the Earps and Doc Holliday were honestly trying to disarm the McLaurys and Clantons with one or more of the “cow-boys” drawing first; and there are just as many who believe the McLaurys and Billy Clanton had their hands raised in the air in surrender when Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday began firing. So it was my preconception that Wyatt Earp Days would be a muted affair at best, catering only to the casual tourists (Helldorado is apparently the biggest annual festival in Tombstone, held in October).

I actually arrived in Tucson a day before the Wyatt Earp festival began and drove the 45+ minute drive to Tombstone. I was somewhat taken aback by how few tourists there were at 2pm on a Thursday before the holiday weekend. For the first time in about a dozen visits, I was able to find a table at the popular Big Nose Kate’s Saloon (which is at the site of the Grand Hotel, a favorite stop for the Cow-boy faction during Tombstone’s heyday).

It looked like my original preconception might prove to be true, until I returned 3 days later with the festival in full swing. Sidewalks were packed with tourists, happy participants in period garb, local authors signing and selling their wares in one of the bookstores, about 8 tents set up in the middle of Allen Street for a chili cook-off, a dunk tank manned by kids from Tombstone High School’s cheerleader and athletic squads, the Lions Club of Tombstone selling raffle tickets and T-shirts, and of course street performers re-enacting gunfights and barroom brawls.

The controversy over Wyatt Earp is not likely to abate anytime soon, but his notoriety (if not popularity) is still worthy of Tombstone’s attentions.

PS – From the “Didn’t Get the Memo” department: One gentleman came dressed as the Lone Ranger. Texas is that-a-way, pard.