Addendum to Tombstone June '09

A couple of interesting side trips that I failed to mention in the previous post. I mentioned the trip to Gleeson, but did not write concerning the Rattlesnake Ranch. On the road out to Gleeson - by the way - speaking of the road to Gleeson. The road is dirt and gravel and reminds me very much of the county ranch roads up in Wyoming. The dirt and gravel stretches for miles, interrupted only by cattle guards and the occassional mailbox. A funny story concerning the cattle guards: I will assume that the reader knows what a cattle guard is. If not, please look it up on Wikipedia or something like that . . . I don't really want to have to explain it. Anyhow, while asking a local for the directions to Gleeson, he told us of the Rattlesnake Ranch. This good samaritan told us that we would find a sign to the Rattlesnake Ranch about 20 miles out, right after the cattle guard. He relayed to us that he had given these directions to one city slicker who in turn asked "what if the cattle guard has gone home for the day?"

The Rattlesnake Ranch is run by John and Sandy, a couple who appear to be in their late sixties. About fourty years ago, they got tired of their office jobs and crowded commutes up in Chicago, so they turned in their responsibility keys and headed for southern Arizona. They opened what is now their Rattlesnake Ranch. John goes around the desert hunting rattlesnakes. He captures and kills them using one of those long reach 'grabbers', you know the sort - it has a hand grip on one end and a pincher at the other. This, according to John, makes rattlesnake hunting much less dangerous. He skins the rattlesnake, dries and cures the skin and then he and Sandy make crafts from it. They sell their wares from an old 1950's mobile home (single wide of course). There's a little box outside the mobile home where you place your money after making your selection. Trusting people, huh? On the other hand, a criminal isn't going to drive 20 miles of dirt roads in order to steal John and Sandy's crafts.

While wandering in the desert for the last 40 years hunting rattlesnakes, John and Sandy have come across countless little treasures. At least they see them as treasures. It's pretty amazing what they have collected from the desert over that period of time. Old stoves, skulls, axes, picks, saddles, etc., etc. They have these items displayed all around their mobile home. It is absolutely free to look around at their 'stuff'. Here's a few pictures of some of the junk they have collected.

Yes, those are real guns hanging there, all of them found by John and Sandy over the course of the last 40 years.

Sandy particularly liked this sign. How lewd . . . :-)

So, if you're ever in the Tombstone area, be sure to check out John and Sandy's Rattlesnake Ranch. You will not be disappointed!!

Upon leaving Tombstone, we drove north through Benson (don't forget to have breakfast at Reb's!!) then west through Tucson. Although we were on a bit of a tight schedule, we decided to stop at the Old Tucson movie studio. This is basically an old west town that was put together specifically for shooting movie scenes. Picture a smaller version of Universal Studios, all done in an 1880's theme. Some of the movies shot here are: High Noon, Rio Bravo (John Wayne), Hombre (Paul Newman), The Outlaw Josie Wales (Clint Eastwood), and numerous other films since 1939. Oh, and for those of you who remember the series 'High Chaparral', it was filmed here also. We ran out of memory on the camera, so we didn't get any High Chaparral pictures, but the entire ranch area from that series is here on the property. Here's a couple of pictures along the streets of Old Tuscon:

In a previous post, we had pictures of Sandy and I in jail. It was in the building shown below that those pictures were taken.

There are horses for rent at the studios. Although we did not inquire, I'm guessing that this is a 'nose to tail' trail ride, rather than a real horse rental. Their prices were pretty good though. For someone not familiar with horses or mules, this would probably be a good introduction.

Another shot of one of the buildings with me hanging around outside. The building in this town are not just 'false fronts' such as they are at Universal Studios. These buildings are actually functional. The inside could be used as a set as easily as the outside.

The very well known and loved movie 'Tombstone', starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot and Bill Paxton was partially filmed here in Old Tuscon. A couple of the sets are very recognizable if you are familiar with the movie. Remember the scene at the train where Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp) kills Stillwell with a shotgun and then tells Ike Clanton "run you cur. You tell the other curs I'm coming"? Well, here's a picture of that train.The opening sequence of the movie Tombstone opens with 'the Cowboys' led by Curly Bill Brocius (Powers Boothe) interrupting a wedding of a member of the Mexican Police. The members of the gang annihilate all of the present members of the police with the exception of the groom. Curly Bill, after the carnage ends proclaims, "looks like we win". He then tells one of his gang who speaks Spanish to tell the groom to get on his knees. The gang member tells the groom "De rodillas cabron!!!" (on your knees (expletive)!) Below is the 'church' and courtyard where this scene was filmed. Unlike most of the building in town, this is merely a false front. Since Sandy and I are both such huge fans of the movie Tombstone, seeing this was a wonderful highlight of our vist to Old Tucson.
For more information on Old Tucson, check out http://www.oldtucson.com/