Tombstone Arizona is the reason you do a road trip in the United States. Tombstone has a colourful, if somewhat violent and lawless, history that has been exaggerated in ways only Hollywood can do. It's the quintessential wild west story of the early days of the taming of the American frontier. Hardened men chasing the dream, unbridled patriotism, rough justice, and a boatload of guns- it just doesn’t get any more American than this. The Town Too Tough To Die exists today largely to provide a Disney-like experience for adults looking to clomp along the wooden boardwalks in cowboy boots and hats, working the squinty eyes, striking a match against a three-day growth, and with a toothpick dangling ominously- all the while looking for a chance to pick a fight with Doc Holiday (or any reasonable facsimile).

Tombstone was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West and the town prospered from about 1877 to 1890, during which time the town's mines produced US$40 to $85 million in silver bullion. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. It is best known as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral- the Cowboys (a loosely organized band of outlaws) repeatedly threatened the Earps over many months until the conflict escalated into a confrontation that turned into a shootout.

Within two years of its founding Tombstone boasted a bowling alley, four churches, an ice house, a school, two banks, three newspapers, and an ice cream parlor, alongside 110 saloons, 14 gambling halls, and numerous dance halls and brothels. The miners and cowboys saw shows at the Bird Cage Theatre, "the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast".

Our very own grizzled, somewhat-beyond-primetime, gunfighter, Dusty Dave B, and his own wicked, buxom trollop, Shay Lady fit right into the Tombstone atmosphere. Dave had actually picked up his gunfighter nickname some years earlier when, as DH’s training officer, he kept falling asleep in the patrol car and a thin layer of dust would settle on him only to be dramatically stirred when he awoke with a start to find DH questioning bad guys through the open window. Although Dusty Dave had forgotten his cowboy boots, he did develop a bowlegged walk and as we meandered along the wooden boardwalks, his hand started hovering over an imaginary gun holster- just like his former policing days. Shady Lady kept looking for a saloon piano that she could sprawl on top of in a petticoat outfit and begin flirting with cowboys.

There was even a Boothill graveyard adjacent to the town (OK Corral losers were the most famous residents). During the 19th century Boothill was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters, or those who "died with their boots on". Given his recent multi-candle birthday celebration, Dusty Dave B was understandably uncomfortable wandering through the graves of his gunfighter contemporaries but he was a good sport about it.

Tombstone was enormously cheesy but a lot of fun and the literal walk through this important piece of Americana made for a great stop for the Killer B Posse.