copper mining – Retirementally Challenged

My husband and I had been looking forward to taking a road trip to Arizona to see friends and sightsee. Since the summer temperatures can get rather brutal, we put off our trip until November, when things cool down quite a bit. As a bonus, we got to experience an extra ten days of Daylight Saving Time, since most of Arizona doesn’t practice the crazy twice-a-year clock dance.

One of our favorite Arizona destinations is Jerome, an old mining town perched on a hillside at an elevation of about 5,200 feet. The 2-hour drive from Phoenix features winding roads and twisting hairpin turns which makes it a destination for motorcyclists – not our mode of travel but it looked like it could be fun.

In the 1920s Jerome was home to one of the world’s most lucrative copper mines but plummeting prices in the 1950s led to its downturn. Fortunately, in the 1960s, the town experienced a renaissance when hippies and artists – attracted by the open vistas and cheap real estate – moved in and began to open shops, galleries, and restaurants.

We love to wander the hilly streets, peruse the shops, and take in the views that stretch across the Verde Valley to Sedona’s red rocks and distant San Francisco mountains. In 1976, Jerome was designated a National Historic Landmark District so you won’t find a gas station or a Walmart there, just a funky blend of fine art and steam punk, saloons and restaurants, old hippies and older buildings… and ghosts (although we didn’t see any of those while there).

The setting sun lighting up the distant hills.

Jerome can also be an avid picture-taker’s paradise and I found a lot that captured my attention.

I was taking a picture of this:

A mysterious gate to nowhere, locked with a lion’s head padlock.

When a man stepping out of his truck said that I might be interested in taking a picture of the doors located behind a locked gate:

The owner of the building is a big fan of Greek mythology and snakes.

It turns out that man was the artist and craftsman of both that door and this one:

The artist talking to my husband about his work.

He invited us into his woodshop and treated us to a personal tour of the historic building it is located in.

Our hotel once served as Jerome’s hospital from the 1920s thru the 1950s:

Unfortunately, the Asylum Restaurant was closed the day we were there… but I hear it is crazy good.

The original Otis elevator still services all five levels of the hotel.

Some more openings around Jerome that caught my attention:

At first it appeared there wasn’t anything behind the gate…

Who knows what these old doors used to open into… a bordello perhaps.

I hope you enjoyed a short tour of Jerome, Arizona. It’s definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.

Please check out Dan’s blog to see some more Thursday Doors… and maybe link a few of your own.

Tag: copper mining

Roaming in Jerome