Tombstone Re-enactor Sunny Quatchon

The people of Southern Arizona put their spin on places to visit.

By Stacey Gregory

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who loves Tombstone more than Sunny Quatchon. Originally from Los Angeles, California, she arrived in Mesa, Arizona, around 1986, moved to Sierra Vista in 2005, and found her sweet spot in Tombstone in 2010. She discovered The Town Too Tough To Die while searching for a vintage dress to match her handcrafted millinery (women’s apparel for the head).

“I’m a re-enactor, so I came to Tombstone to have an 1880s Victorian dress made. When the shopkeepers saw my bonnet, they asked if I would sell them in their store, so that was the start of me in Tombstone,” said Quatchon.

Today, she keeps busy as a Certified Tourism Ambassador for Visit Tucson, volunteers for the City of Tombstone marketing department, and works with the Arizona 80 Foundation promoting local attractions along 72 miles from Benson to Douglas on Historic Highway US 80.

“I’m far too busy doing tours to make beautiful hats anymore,” she said. “I am a step-on tour guide for the tour buses that come into town from places like Tucson and Phoenix. And besides that, I also show international writers and travel agents from the Arizona Office of Tourism around Tombstone and our Cochise County, the Land of Legends.”

Quatchon loves to dress in her vintage clothes and share the wonders visitors can explore in Southern Arizona’s Benson, Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas... and also the enchanting nearby Sonoran cities of Agua Prieta, Naco, Cananea, and Nacozari, Mexico.

Follow Quatchon Around Tombstone

Here, she shares some of her favorite attractions. Tombstone is known for the O.K. Corral, the legendary gunfight site, but there’s so much more to see and do there. Quatchon’s favorite is the Good Enough Mine Tour, a walking tour of an authentic 1880s silver mine that now includes an added dining experience called the Toughnut Dinner Theatre.

“The tour actually has four different levels so visitors can explore depending on how much of the stairs and climbing they want to do,” said Quatchon. “At the new dinner theater, you can go deep into the heart of the mine, sit on a dynamite case, have your dinner, and be entertained.”

The famed Oriental Saloon not only features family-friendly indoor live gunfight shows daily and live music every weekend to complement the full-service bar, but it also has electronic bingo Wednesday through Sunday, a big draw. Quatchon thinks it’s because people love to play electronic machines!

She also likes to show visitors the exciting Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, plus the Bird Cage Theatre and Old Courthouse State Park museums. Her other favorite Tombstone gem is the only Gothic Revival adobe church in the world—Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church at 3rd and Safford Streets.

“It’s the oldest Protestant church in Arizona, built in 1882 by Endicott Peabody with financial help from Wyatt Earp, who helped Rev. Peabody hang the classic silver oil lamps from the high ceiling. Tombstone has so many ties into history, and I love taking the tours to Saint Paul’s,” she said.

Follow Her Through Southern Arizona

Quatchon’s tours do not end in Tombstone. Along Old Highway 80, she likes Benson, Arizona, which caters to the RV crowd with more than 1,200 RV sites. It’s the Gateway to Cochise County and is home to Karchner Caverns State Park. Tip: make your reservations ahead of time for the Kartchner cave tour!

She enjoys Bisbee’s Queen Mine Tours too. Guests don a hard hat, miner’s headlamp, and a yellow slicker before boarding a train to head underground. The Copper Queen Hotel has entertained guests and ghosts since 1902 and is filled with Edwardian-era decor, Art Nouveau antiques, grand pianos, and Tiffany chandeliers.

“And then when we get down to Douglas, oh my goodness. The lobby of the 1927 Gadsden Hotel is priceless, all white marble and Tiffany stained-glass windows,” she said. “Downtown Douglas is being refurbished as we speak, and soon will be the largest Dual Port of Entry in the country.”

Quatchon, looking the part in her vintage clothing, is an absolute magnet when promoting her True West town at many important tourism conferences.

“Whether it be Benson, Tombstone, Bisbee, or Douglas—I like to stay with my tours as much as I can so that when we get to our destination, I can answer any questions and just be a good hospitality person wherever we happen to be,” she said.

A Day in Tombstone

Dust off your boots and saddle up, partner. We’re road tripping to the town too tough to die.

|By Amanda Oien

A saloon-lined dusty street and the sound of spinning spurs greet visitors to Tombstone, Arizona, a place known for its Wild West history.

In 1881, gunfire rang out near Fremont Street, which later became known as the famous O.K. Corral Gunfight with Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday. In just 24 seconds, 30 shots were fired.

This gunfight would put Tombstone on the map; along with the American Old West’s famous outlaws and its historic buildings that still stand today, including the Bird Cage Theatre which was once known as the “wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast” according to the New York Times.

Morning

Allen Street Shopping

Giddy up, y’all, we’re going shopping. Allen Street is the main street of Tombstone and is lined with vintage clothing, antique and souvenir shops. You can easily spend hours sifting through the past and present.

The Shady Lady’s Closet has everything from Western wear and accessories to 1880’s Victorian wear. If you’re looking for Native American jewelry, pottery, sandpaintings, fetishes, rugs, or artifacts visit one of Arlene’s three locations along Allen Street.

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Afternoon

Lunch

Don’t go hungry now, ya hear? Half-way down Allen Street, you’ll find Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, named after Mary Katherine Haroney, a Hungarian dance hall girl and woman of the night, who was Doc Holliday’s on and off girlfriend. She later became known as Big Nose Kate.

Hunker down for food, live country music, and beer served in a glass stein.

Pro Tip: If you want to dress up and take pictures, behind the bar, on their piano, or with a cowboy or saloon girl, you can do so for free.

Sight-seeing

The O.K. Corral gunfight is reenacted daily at 11a.m, 12p.m, 2p.m. and 3:30p.m.; each show lasts about 30 minutes. However, you’ll want to get your tickets at least 2 hours before showtime to secure a seat.

Be sure to check out all that the O.K. Corral has to offer, including the stables with buggies, the cowboy bunkhouse, and even a look at the hearse used to take unfortunate souls to their final resting place at Boothill Cemetery.

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Make your way on over to the Tombstone Epitaph Newspaper Museum. Home to Arizona’s oldest newspaper, it’s still published today. Read the original 1881 reports of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and find out how newspapers were printed back in the 1800’s.

Pro-Tip: Admission to the Epitaph is free

Built in 1882, the Tombstone Courthouse still stands today and is now considered a State Historic Park. Learn about the miners, cattlemen, and pioneers of Tombstone and see replicas of the courtroom, sheriff offices, and the gallows where seven men were hanged.

Delve into the silver mining economy that kept Tombstone alive with a tour of the Goodenough Mine, dating back to 1878.

Evening

Before riding off into the sunset, stick around for one of Tombstone’s many ghost tours, including a walking tour of Tombstone or a haunted tour of the renowned Bird Cage Theatre, that has been said to be haunted by the spirits of prostitutes and cowboys.

Tombstone has many annual events centered around the town’s history. Take a gander before planning your next day trip to the town too tough to die.