Early Sunday morning, we joined another bird walk led by Alan, the BLM volunteer. This time the venue was Sierra Vista's Environmental Operations Park (EOP) a glamorized epithet for the city's wastewater treatment area. Nevertheless, it was a birdy place. Just off the parking lot, we were already greeted by a Loggerhead Shrike, another skittish species in California but not so in Arizona. Continuing with the friendly-bird format, we also saw (and photographed) a Virginia Rail, a bird that is more often heard than seen as it skulks among the dense marsh vegetation it inhabits. We also had good looks at Yellow-headed Blackbirds, one of our target birds on this trip. The walk ended at 9:30 am giving us sufficient time to go back to the motel to change into our church clothes.
The service (and preaching) at Calvary Chapel Sierra Vista was very uplifting. The congregants, friendly. For lunch, we decided to live it up and had a sumptuous buffet at Grand Corral.
Inspired by lunch at the Corral, we took off our birding hats and put on our tourist caps as we proceeded to Tombstone. Yes, this is the site of the famous gunfight between Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday against the notorious Clanton Gang. The center of the town was kept in its historic original, complete with dirt road, stagecoaches and, of course, gunslingers. Nothing historic about the prices of the merchandise, though, as the primary source of their economy are curious tourists such as this two. Of course, we didn't succumb to this highway robbery - we're smart dudes, ya know.
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