Laughlin River Run 2009 - Day 3 "Gunfight at the OK Corral"

This Post can be seen online by clicking here

Day 3 - Gunfight at the OK Corral

Not a cloud in the sky, Temperatures in the mid 90's (35C).

Well one would think that as the holiday goes on, the start to the day would get later and later. After all, it is a vacation. Not the case when you're traveling with Kwasy. He was chomping at the bit by 7:00 and we were loaded and on the bikes by 7:30. "Already 8:30 back home", he said. Imagine if home was Newfoundland, "the days half over, we best get going."

Today's highlight, Tombstone Arizona. A little history lesson - Tombstone sprang up around the mines discovered by Ed Schieffelin in 1877. The Settlement became a village in 1879, and a city in 1881. Early in the 20th century, it was dubbed " The Town To Tough to Die". In 1962 Tombstone was designated as a National Historic Landmark because of its significant role in the history of the American West.

Tombstone was probably most famous for the Gunfight at the OK Corral. "Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday fought Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne (who later claimed that he had been unarmed, though some reports credit him with shooting one or more times) ran away from the fight, unharmed. Both McLaurys and Billy Clanton were killed; Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday were wounded."

So what started as a great day, was one that won't be soon forgot. After leaving Tombstone we were traveling North on Hwy#80. Some 5 miles out of Benson an oncoming pickup started to swerve slightly into my lane just as it went by, I watched in my mirror as it over corrected back and then lost control and came straight across into the oncoming lane narrowly missing the back end of Mark's bike by mere feet as it flipped into the ditch. We pulled over, Mark was pretty shaken as one can imagine. There were three people in the truck and 2 of the 3 were reported to be badly injured (details not known). They were air lifted out.

No way to rationalize this and certainly one of those 'life altering experiences'. We took some time, regrouped and cautiously road to Globe AZ. Mark and I are both fine.