jerome

Yesterday, we departed for the old mining town of Jerome. But on the way, everyone seriously indulged me and we stopped at the Quilter's Quarters store. while I wandered around, petting the fabric and oohing in awe over the finished quilts, Brother-in-law Dennis started chatting with the owner. Turns out they are neighbors. Dennis now has permission to bring the kids and his camera down to the farm and interact with the cows and chickens and Chester the donkey. Meanwhile, I found the "Washed fabric." This marvelous store will re-sell people's overstays for greatly reduced prices. Fat Quarters for $1.50 each. I exercised terrific restraint and got out of there for less than $30.

And then, on to Jerome. Jerome is a mining community. Tons of copper, gold, silver, zinc and tin came out of these mines. However, the mother lode is thousands of feet up a wickedly steep ridge. The drive up to the town is exhilarating, following a two lane road with more hairpins than Madame Pompador's wig. The views just keep expanding! And people hang houses on the side of the hill where there is NO flat land what-so-ever. At least you don't have to mow the lawn.

The town itself is a historic site, with many of the old stone buildings preserved and in operation. The boutiques are very artsy and charming, mostly displaying the work of local artists. If you go there, do take the time to visit the Liberty Cinema and spend the $10 to see the movie about the town's history. It's narrated quite charmingly by an "ghost" character who lived in the town from 1922 till his death in 1927. The script is very well-written, managing to be engaging and informative at the same time. The theatre is allegedly haunted. As Kyle was trying to get a photo in the dim light, I was looking over his shoulder and saw the face of an indian watching the movie . He was dressed as a miner, with a sweat band binding his hair back. It was just a flash. I could have been mistaken. Jerome is supposed to be quite haunted. Evidently they have quite a wild time over Halloween.

We had lunch at Bobby D's Barbecue. Omigawd, yes! I had the ribs with no sauce. The meat literally fell off the bones! Tender, juicy and full of that wonderful smokey flavor. Dennis had a burger with two patties, cheese, barbecue sauce, and bacon. Yolanda had the taco sampler with chicken, brisket and pork, and Kyle had the chicken. They offer 6 different sauces ranging from mild and sweet to incendiary. the coleslaw has chunks of green apple in it, and the corn bread, lavishly spread with butter melting in, is almost a meal in itself. WE ate on the deck in the shade of a friendly tree with gentle breezes and a hundred mile view.

The old hotel is in operation and is booked up five years in advance.

At one time the largest hotel in Arizona was in Jerome - 200 rooms. But fires repeatedly swept the community, wiping out everything but the stone buildings. The mines built rooming houses for their workers and three different hospitals. But the veins of ore played out, and eventually the mines closed. In the 50s there were about 100 people living in Jerome. But they were stubborn people, and found ways to attract tourist dollars, and now it is a thriving community of about 3 thousand. You have to have legs of steep to live there. Everything this is uphill. Going the length of a city block takes you up about three stories. Parking spaces are rare, and probably not wasted on residents.

But the view! Ah, the views!

We stopped at a jewelry store where the artist/owner does commission work.  If I had several hundreds of spare dollars . . .






But Kyle bought me a a geode about the size of tennis ball
 there.  We cracked it  open with a hammer when we got home.  It's all white and clear crystals inside!!  Neat!!