Johnny Ringo's Grave and other weekend 'entertainment'

 Johnny Ringo was a notorious Wild West outlaw 

whose death is shrouded in mystery.

He was born in Indiana, lived in Wyoming, Missouri, California, 

and ended up in the mining boom town of  Tombstone, Arizona.

He joined a gang of cattle rustlers and had many rivalries with

 the lawmen and gunfighters Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.

Upon learning of his death, the Tombstone Epitaph published that, “Many friends will mourn him. And many others will take secret delight in learning of his death.”

His body was found  sitting against a tree with a 

single bullet found in his temple, 

and a revolver with one bullet missing was found dangling in his hand.

The pile of rocks is his shallow grave

(so they say😉)

Even though his death was listed as suicide, 

there are conflicting stories of his murder.

 Wyatt Earp claimed to have done it, as well as Doc Holliday.  

Others, no doubt, wished they could have.

We were fortunate to get to the grave as a club or tour group was discussing the possibilities of the truth of the matter.  The discussions were indeed lively and somewhat heated- all to say that no one really knows who murdered him, but it is an interesting story.

The grave is on private property but the owners give access to it 

from 8-5.

Then, on to a 

German Winery

(really, in the middle of all this dry, arid land?)

Lou's sister thinks Lou should grow his hair like his.

Karen and Chuck live in Tucson, but stay here at the winery most days of the week.  They have imported many vines from Germany and have 20 

varieties in their tasting room.

We had a great time discussing the common German heritage,

and Karen especially reminded us of our dear friend Carolyn and 

reminded Lou of his grandmother.

All wines are made on site in stainless steel and glass 

and aged with finish oak.

We enjoyed  listening to all of Chuck's knowledge of the regions and the language.

Another great day - exploring what we thought was

the middle of nowhere in the middle of nowhere!

Douglas Arizona-The Historic Gadsden Hotel

 Douglas Arizona - a small border crossing town has a history of mining - primarily to treat the copper mined at Bisbee.  

In 1916 Pancho Villa threatened to attack Douglas because he thought the Americans were responsible for his defeat the the Second Battle of Agua Prieta.

In 1926 the missing evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson was found collapsed near a road at the Mexican border town of Agua Prieta.  She was driven to Douglas and told the story of her kidnap, torture and escape.  Large crowds gathered to hear her story and for a brief time Douglas enjoyed a brisk tourist trade.

Douglas has the first international airport in the US

-Bisbee-Douglas International Airport.   

It was also home to Ethnos360 Aviation until they purchased their own land.

Today, the best tourist activities are the historic Gadsden Hotel and good authentic Mexican restaurants.

Gadsden Hotel

The original building was built by a noted architectural firm in 1907

and featured an ornate lobby with marble staircase and pillars 

and Tiffany stained glass windows.

The building burned down in 1928 but was reconstructed 

to be as fireproof as possible.  

He also shot holes in the ceiling as his horse chipped the marble steps.

(according to an eye witness report from a local resident.)

The 7th step 

and the two chips.

The Cafe in the hotel is lovely,  the food is great and there is a fireplace 

that looks beautiful but not really warm.

It has been cold!!

The plaster ceiling is covered with thousands of dollars worth of gold.

The owner hired an artist to create a mural that looked like the Italian countryside.

(I guess she didn't like all the cactus and mesquite landscape)

Tis a beautiful lobby!

And the Tiffany Stained Glass is a real treat!😍