The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a 30-second shoot-out between lawmen and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that took place on October 26, 1981 in Tombstone, Arizona. The gunfight is generally regarded as the most famous showdown in the history of the American Wild West.

In 1879, Tombstone was a rapidly growing frontier mining town after silver had been discovered. In the same year, three brothers, James, Virgil, and Wyatt Earp, together with their wives, arrived in the town where they invested in several mining claims and water rights.

The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud over the control of Tombstone with Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side, and town Marshal Virgil Earp, Special Policemen Morgan and Wyatt Earp and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side.

It began in the 18-foot wide lot behind the O.K. Corral next to C.S. Fly’s Boarding House and Photo Studio. When the shooting began, unarmed Cowboy Ike Clanton ran into Flys and kept on running. In the next 30 seconds nearly 30 shots were fired. The three Cowboys who stood their ground were all killed. Tom McLaury, who may have been unarmed was cut down by a blast from Doc Holliday’s shotgun. Frank McLaury stumbled onto Fremont Street and was shot in the head. Morgan Earp shot 19-year-old Billy Clanton.

Both Virgil and Morgan Earp were badly wounded while Doc Holliday suffered a superficial hip wound. Only Wyatt Earp walked away unscathed.

If you’re looking for a good western film to watch, check-out “Tombstone” staring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, who delivers a stonking performance as Doc Holliday. We re-watched it ahead of our visiting Tombstone!

The Cunningham Hearse which was kept ready to transport the deceased in style to Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone.

Mike and I attended a re-enactment of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral when we visited Tombstone. It was cheesy (and very wet), but great fun and the gunshots were very loud!

As we journey West, we pass through Fort Stockton in Texas where I spent very many happy days during my working career. Tumbleweed blows across the roads, scraggy-looking sheep raise their heads above the sage brush and Roadrunners make a fleeting appearance.

The scenery in this part of the State is stunningly beautiful. Magnificent mesas line the horizon conjuring up images of old western films starring Clint Eastwood sitting on his horse surveying the landscape, a cigarillo protruding from the corner of his mouth!

The road from Fort Stockton to El Paso in Texas is a known drug-smuggling route;  from El Paso to Tombstone in Arizona it is used for both drug and people smuggling. There are regular border patrol unit stops where truck drivers have their vehicles inspected, and border patrol cars sit on the roadside ready to stop any vehicle which they think is suspicious.

After Fort Stockton, our route to Arizona closely follows the border with Mexico. Across the Rio Grande river from El Paso lies the city of Ciudad Juarez, notorious for violence between rival drug cartels. Today, the murder rate in “Juarez” as it is known locally, is way down from its peak of 8-10 per day. Now, it is fewer than 10 per week with armed robbery and aggravated assault popular gang activities!

Needless to say, we don’t stop but just keep driving, doors locked and Poppy-dog keeping guard, when she’s awake! We do pass through one border patrol stop but they wave us through!

Wind turbine blades loaded onto a train between Fort Stockton and El Paso. 

A border patrol stop just outside Tombstone, Arizona.

For us, the big deal in heading out on a road trip, is that it takes so long from where we live to get out of Texas! The state is so vast, that we add two days of serious driving before we really begin our journey. That said, there are some very pretty parts of the State and it is always a pleasure to enjoy the scenery as we motor along.

And, that is so true of this road trip where we plough along the I-10 West (Interstate/Motorway) all day long. Today will be our longest day of driving covering some 600 miles and whizzing through Texas towns of Hempstead, Brenham, Paige and Johnson City, a town which rose to fame after one of its residents, Lyndon B. Johnson, became the 36^th President of the United States.

Known as LBJ, Johnson moved to Johnson City at age five. After graduating from Johnson City High School, he enrolled at the Texas State Teacher’s College where he excelled in campus politics and earned a teaching certificate.

In 1936, from the front porch of his family’s home in Johnson City, LBJ announced his campaign for a vacant seat in the United State House of Representatives. He went on to serve six terms in the House until 1948 when he was elected a United States Senator.  Lyndon quickly rose in the ranks of the Senate and became Senator Majority Leader until his nomination and election as Vice President in 1960.

Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, LBJ was sworn in as President. Some six years later, the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site was created by Congress and included the president’s boyhood home and ancestral cabin of his grandparents.

Lyndon B. Johnson died of a heart attack at his beloved LBJ Ranch; he was 64 years of age.

On this special day of Love, I hope that no one has been disappointed!

I hope that your card(s) were well received; that you swallowed your Scrooge inclinations and paid the exorbitantly inflated prices for Roses; that the chocolate-covered strawberries are eaten; and that at some stage today your hearts beat just a little faster because of LOVE …

Oh my! It’s good to be back and by that introduction I need to re-hone my writing skills to once more amaze and amuse you with tales from our latest road trip!

And what an adventure we have ahead of us! We set off this morning on a really fun trip that will see us cover some 3,000 miles over a five-week period. We are heading to Tucson, Arizona where we will participate in our first-ever Tiffin Motor Home rally where we have both volunteered our services to do who knows not; from there we go to Bullhead City, Arizona to check-out the area; onto St. George and Moab in Utah, Durango in Colorado, Albuquerque in New Mexico, Lubbock in Texas and back home!

On-board are the usual suspects: he who must be obeyed (ha, ha, ha!), Miss Poppy-dog and kitties Abigail, Archer and Artie. Very sadly we lost Miss Holly on New Year’s Day and even though she was with us for such a short space of time, she has left a void for everyone! We are searching for a replacement, but that said, I am a firm believer that pets find you and not the other way around!

Off to the Races:  me holding the best-ever Kitty Valentine balloon and in the fridge is strawberry-cream cake and my favourite wine! Well done Mr. Valentine!