Yup.  I went to Tombstone, Arizona.

Amazingly enough, I did see Kurt Russell there… he was in Big Nose Kate’s Saloon – on a big screen TV playing “Tombstone” on a loop.  You sorta know going in that something like Tombstone won’t be legitimately authentic.  The hope is that it hasn’t completely sold out to touristy schmaltz.  Where will it wind up on the scale between Bodie, CA., and Disney’s Westworld Adventureland.*  It’s always going to be subjective, but I have to admit to enjoying the feel and ambiance of Tombstone as it exists today, and was more than happy to have made the trip.

Dusty, rutted dirt streets, boardwalks, a stagecoach, a (small) smattering of horses, clapboard, western facades for each structure and business, decent, authentic(ish) signage and the interiors feel right.  Wood plank floors, rough carpentry everywhere, more dust and dirt, and a good mix of period goods, Native American arts and crafts, more real western historical artifacts than you can shake a stick at, and traditional western wear to go along with the touristy geegaws.

And of course… the entertainment. Saloons, grub shacks, shootouts, dancehall girls sashaying along boardwalks, general stores and mercantiles, stagecoach rides, museums, diorama presentations, and the jewel in the crown; the shootout at the O.K. Corral reenactment.  Tied-down six-shooters, (loaded with blanks) all the big names represented, “witty” dialog, pratfalls, snappy comebacks and finally, thundering gunfire and mock dead bad guys.  It was the best.  And unlike both modern Tombstone movies, (the really great one and the deadly earnest and humorless, but still good, one) where Wyatt was the big hero and Doc Holiday steals the show by a country mile, here, Wyatt is almost a nothing, Doc is the bland voiceover narration and Ike Clanton easily steals the show.  He gets all the best lines. (Take that, Costner)  All in all, a lighthearted little take on a for fun retelling of a bunch of dudes getting shot up.

“Forget it, Jake.  It’s Tombstone.”

(*Note:  Does not really exist, YET, but I’m sure it would (will) be a hootenanny.)