More Memorial Weekend...

The fun continues!

We stopped to check out "Old Tuscon Studios".
Many an old western film was filmed here...I'd tell you what they were, except, I have no idea...
I DO know that some of them were John Wayne films...so, my brother probably knows them all...also, "The Three Amigos" was filmed here...NOW we're talkin'!

Here we are at the set of the movie, "The Three Amigos!"
This movie, has long been a family favorite, to the point where we can all pretty much quote the whole movie...it's a talent.

In this stunt show, rather than "El Guapo", there was the --not just famous, but IN- FAMOUS , "El Gordo"
Looks like "El Gordo" has had one...or five too many enchiladas....

Here come the heroes!
Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms, And Ned Needleheimer...
Wow...I can see why it would be so difficult to escape from such a rope..
pulled by a girl...

...but of course, in the end, they are victorious!

Wherever there is chaos...we'll be there!!
Wherever there is popcorn with peanut M&M's...we'll be there!
Wherever you hear much laughter and fun, you will find....
The nine little Ninos!
Ole!!

(yes, I realize there are only 7 ninos there...two stepped out of the picture...but they're always there!)

And, what's an old western town without a good ol' brawl and shootout in the street?

Sucker punch...

While the other men were fighting...Grandpa swoops in and becomes the real hero by saving the damsels in distress...He's got that , "Go ahead, Make my day" look on his face....you don't want to mess with that!...No sir!
Way to go Dad!

Later, we got a little Gold Fever, and had to stop to pan for Gold!

Everyone hard at work...seeking their fortune...

Conor kept at it until his vial was FULL!

Wyatt really got the hang of it!

So, when they talk about "Fools Gold"...are they talking about us being the fools?...or the gold?...is that why Grandma and Grandpa decided to "just watch"?

We also went to check out the famous "Boothill Graveyard"

Here's everyone...it was close quarters behind these grave markers. There were big ol' cacti right behind us, but I warned mom about it...right after she backed into it....ouch....sorry mom...

These are the graves of the men that Wyatt and Virgil Earp, and Doc Holiday killed at the shootout at the O.K. Corral...I don't think it's "O.K." to shoot anyone....

There were some very interesting Epitaphs written here...for example, this one:

It reads,
"Hanged by mistake.
He was right, we was wrong. But we strung him up,
and now he's gone"

Touching...I'm sure he feels much better now....

Here we are at Saguaro National Park
These Cacti are awesome! They grow only about an inch a year, and the "arms" take 70 years to grow, so they figure these are all about 125-175 years old, or more....They are ginormous!

They bloom once a year from May to June.

As, I've mentioned before, we are fans of "The Three Amigos" movie, and so Wyatt kept calling this "The Singing Cactus" I guess he thought it looked like the singing bush...at one point, we stopped and were trying to decide which road to take back, Wyatt said, "Hey Singing Cactus!!! Which way should we go?!?!?!?!"
It didn't answer, so we had to go summon the invisible swordsman...

It is a very pretty place for a desert... no?

We ended the day like any other cowpoke...with cookies made in our new cast iron skillets mom got for us!...O.K., so maybe other cowpokes don't get these...but we did!..and they turned out great! What a fun treat! Thanks mom!