On the Road to Jerome

This a shot of Route 89A going up Mingus Mountain on the way to Jerome. When I was doing research prior to coming on this trip, all of the RV travel sites warned that this was not a road on which to take a motorhome. It was too steep and curvy and the turns were too tight going up and down and the streets were so tight in Jerome that you'd get stuck. Well, it's not quite that bad but I still wouldn't take a motorhome on it. It reminds me of Rt 81 in North Carolina going up to the Blue Ridge out of Morganton. The difference is that 81 has several slow vehicle lanes at critical points and 89A has none. Trucks are limited to 50' in length. there are a very few pull-offs to cool off brakes or engines and only a couple of scenic overlooks. But boy, is it pretty. The pass over Mingus tops out at about 7000' which gets you up into the Ponderosa Pine region. There are several 15 mph switchbacks and great views. Big rocks, too.

There were many spots with great picture possibilities but no place to stop safely to get them. Next time, I'll get someone else to drive and I'll shoot out of the window. Going down, there was one place to stop and get a look out into the Verde Valley.

A couple of miles after crossing the top, you drop down into the town of Jerome. Back in the late 1800's, it was the center of mining for silver, gold and copper. In 1916 the UVX mine produced $10 million dollars of the valuable metals. The town gained a reputation as "the wickedest town in the West". The last of the mines closed in 1953. The population in 1929 was a little over 15,000 people. Today it's about 400.

Now the the town is a National Historic District and home to a variety of artists, museums and galleries. The turns in town are still tight.

The town is perched on the side of Cleopatra Hill and reminds me of the scenes in West Virgina with buildings set in notches in the hillside. When the mines were active, vibration from blasting once sent the jailhouse a whole block downhill, intact. It might not be possible to keep a motorhome in it's lane making the turns through town. Parking is very restricted and walking is the order of the day.

There is a neat old mining museum that I'd like to explore on the next trip.

Lots of galleries, including one offering nothing but articles made from copper. I didn't get a picture of that one. I have no idea what this one offered.

At first I thought that this was a hotel as there is one in town, but this turned out to be a  a whole collection of artist studios and galleries.

Jerome is only about an hour away for us so we'll be sure to back and do the walking tour. Today's trip was to scout it out and get a sense of the place.

It's supposed to start cooling off here today. On Tuesday it was 95 but the forecast high for Saturday is 66. We're planning to travel back into Sedona tomorrow for some shopping. There's supposed to be a great thrift shop up there called Paw Prints that supports the local animal shelter. And we want to go back to the book store. Nothing is planned for the Memorial Day weekend as we all like to stay out of the hubbub on the holidays.

I try to post when I have something to say. That means there are days when there's not much going on and I don't want to bore my readers with my ramblings. I could post on the off days if folks want to read more but I have so few comments on the blog that it's hard to tell if anyone's out there. So let me know, either in a comment or an email if you'd like to see anything change.