Thursday, March 1, we drove up to Jerome, Arizona. We went north on Interstate 17, took Highway 69 through Prescott Valley, then took Highway 89A into the Coconino National Forest on to Jerome, Arizona. The drive was beautiful with scenic views and, believe it or not, SNOW! That area of Arizona had gotten around 2-3 inches of snow just a day or two before we drove up there. Snow in the mountains is always beautiful! Here are a few pictures of the snow and the beautiful scenery that I took on the drive up the mountain to Jerome.
If you look closely and/or zoom in, you can see a mountaintop in the distance with a lot of snow on it (that mountain is up by Flagstaff, AZ which is about 72 miles away).
Jerome sits at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet within the Prescott National Forest and is located about four miles north of Mingus Mountain. We were coming from the south on Highway 89A, so I’m fairly sure we crossed Mingus Mountain. As we were browsing through one of the many quaint stores in Jerome, I saw this t-shirt, and BELIEVE ME! It is SO TRUE!!
Jerome is built on the side of a fairly steep mountain. The streets are narrow and zigzag from side to side across the hillside ending in a sharp curve (either left or right) in order to get to the next street. The few pictures I took, just don’t do the town justice. If you Google “images of Jerome, Arizona” and scroll through the pictures, you will come across some photos taken from high up that will give you a better idea of how curvy the roads are.
Jerome has an interesting and colorful history of being a mining town founded in the late 1800s on Cleopatra Hill overlooking Verde Valley. In the 1920s it was home to more than 10,000, however, the most recent census in 2010 states its population is now around 400. It was also considered the “Wickedest town in the West” because of the massive number of men working in the surrounding mines and the few number of women (most of which worked in the bordellos). There is even an alley called “Husband’s Alley” because the “working women” were not allowed up on Main Street. This alley was used by the men to “sneak” down a street (I think it was Hull Street) to spend their money at one of the many bordellos. Again, if you are interested in more of the town’s history, just google it. It’s quite fascinating.
Here are a few pictures.
We ate lunch at the Hilltop Deli. It was delicious! Even though it was quite chilly that day, we ate outside at a bar over looking the Verde Valley. The view was GORGEOUS (as you can see in the following pictures) and made up for the chilly temperature.
The view from just about any location in town was fabulous!
Another fun day in the books!
So for now ….. “On the Road Again!”
Betty