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RadioactiveDustbunny

RadioactiveDustbunny

November 23, 2014
Rated 5.0

I was working in town from out of state and decided to do an evening Ghost Walk tour. (I then came back to do a daytime history tour the following day.) There's much to be said about the history, and it is rather fun to photograph. The evening tour that I took allowed you to tour three of the buildings, plus the execution chamber. Rather than explain to you the details and try and convince you to visit (on that note, you should visit, it's awesome, and that's all that needs to be said regarding that) I would prefer to give you an idea of what tour you want to ask for based on what you would prefer to see. Firstly, both tour guides I experienced were former prison guards, and their perspectives and stories made the tour worth taking twice. Secondly, the evening ghost tour allowed you to tour both the women's cell block and death row, which were omitted from the day history tour. Death row was interesting, and the added ambiance of them shutting off the lights and leaving you in the dark for a moment certainly gave you a moment of solitude to digest where you were standing. The day tour lacks death row (you still tour the gas chamber) however, compensates in a more detailed history of the site. The website explains what tours offer what sights, so I would certainly recommend checking there over taking the word of this review as a promise as to what you will see. Both tours last roughly two hours, and given the expansive grounds, the matter that you can explore the cells and question the former guards about their experiences, it's not a terrible idea to consider going twice.

3 people found this review helpful
September 22, 2014
Rated 5.0

If you enjoy Old Western towns, or really even if you don't, it's worth the trip. It has the ambiance of a living ghost town: you can walk the entirety of the town in half an hour, enjoy the quiet of the mountain village, tour the buildings which remain set up as they were in the 1800's and go back in time for a day. The staff was very informative, and the bed and breakfast located on site has rather delicious food. Evidently it was voted the best preserved town in the West, and with its impressive history, the preservation is most well deserved. The artifacts on display in the Tunstall Store are in stellar condition, museum quality and definitively the best I've seen (and greatest in number) in the dozen plus western museums and towns I've visited. Perhaps I've missed better museums and sites but it was insightful, almost like an old Sears Roebuck catalogue on display. Not to mention, the drive there is scenic as well.

1 person found this review helpful