Arizona, A Day Trip to Jerome!

While in Prescott, I wanted to visit the old mining town which is literally built on the side of a mountain, Jerome. It is only about 34 miles from Prescott, but you must cross over the switchbacks of Mingus Mountain to get there. 

Mingus Mountain is in the Black Hills mountain range, it is within the Prescott National Forest traversed by State Route 89A. From the mountain, there are views of the Verde Valley, Sycamore Canyon Wilderness and the towns of Cottonwood, Jerome, and

Clarkdale. As a side note, Mingus Mountain is also the premier flying site of the Arizona Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. According to local history, the naming of the mountain has various versions. One source attributes the name to William Mingus, a pioneer prospector who lived and worked on Mingus Mountain in the 1870s. Another source believes that Mingus Mountain was named for Joseph and Jacob Mingus, two brothers who settled in the area in the 1880s and later operated a sawmill business near the base of the mountain.

As you drive north on State Route 89, you can see the mountain in the distance and as you get closer, you can see some of the roads that traverse across the mountain. At the bottom, there is a sign that clearly indicates that

nothing over 50 feet long is allowed. We started the climb and quickly ran into a line of slow moving traffic. It was going to be a long climb over the summit at this pace! We quickly discovered that we ran into a crew painting the lines on the road. After about 10 minutes of slow moving, they painting crew find a place to pull over and traffic got moving again. It sure did not take long for the traffic to spread out. Traveling up the mountain on the south side, there were several spots to pull off to let traffic pass. We pulled off a few times to let traffic clear behind us. Unlike climbing to the rim on Route 17, we did not need to turn off the A/C to avoid overheating … because the jeep has no A/C!

The Mingus Mountain lies between the Sonoran low desert and the higher Colorado plateau to the north. At the summit of State Route 89A, the elevation is about 7,800 feet. Running on the downside of the mountain, the hairpin turns were as equally as severe. 

But the lower side of the road opened up to a beautiful view of Verde Valley. Before you see the signs for Jerome,you can see remnants of old buildings and mining operations. Many times as we traveled on SR 89A, you could see the road you would eventually be on, from your current location on the road. We climbed back up a bit, to enter Jerome. 

Jerome’s elevation is just over 5,200 feet. All of the town of Jerome has beautiful views of the Verde Valley.

The roads in Jerome are very narrow and the houses and businesses are right there at the edge of the road. On our first run through town, we drove all the way through the town and stopped at the Jerome Historic State Park. At one point, the road narrows so much that it had to be turned into a one way street separated by businesses.

The Jerome Historic State Park features the Douglas Mansion. The mansion was built in 1916 by the Douglas family, an influential mining entrepreneurial family. The Douglas Mansion has been a landmark in Jerome since 1916, when it was built on the hill just above the Little Daisy Mine. It was designed as a hotel for mining officials and investors as well as for his family. It featured a wine cellar, billiard room, marble shower, steam heat, and one of the first central vacuum systems. A unique fact is the house was constructed of adobe bricks that were made on the site. The house is the largest adobe structure in Arizona. 

The Douglas family also built the Little Daisy Hotel near the mine as a dormitory for the miners. The concrete structure still stands and was recently remodeled into a private residence. It is a huge building for a private residence! 

While touring the mansion, you can see the mining history of the Jerome area and the Douglas family history. It exhibits of mining artifacts and minerals. We even saw diamonds from the Herikmer Diamond Mines in Central New York State! 

There are photographs, measuring tools, old electrical components and a video presentation narrated by a ghost! There was an old scale manufactured in Buffalo New York. It is intriguing that you can travel across the country and find items from your hometown back yard!

On the outside of the mansion, besides the panoramic view of the Verde Valley and Jerome, there are additional mining artifacts.

There mixed reviews on the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town, but we had to see for ourselves!

We drove past the fire hall and toward the Mine & Ghost town. 

Many reviews said it was a must see and others said it was a junk yard. The cost to tour is $5 per person. We followed the signs out of town and realized that in our opinion, it was a junk yard. 

We did not need to spend $5 each to tour a junk yard! So, we skipped it!

We went to Jerome early in the day to avoid some of the heat, so it was too early for lunch … but the names of a few of the establishments were very unique! The Haunted Hamburger, the Asylum Restaurant, too bad that the Belgian Jenny's Bordello Pizzeria is closed. We might have stopped for a slice! During the 60s and 70s, Jerome say its share of hippies arrive. Some came and moved on, they were not welcomed with open arms. However, many stayed and opened shops and are a big part of the tourist trade in Jerome today.

We headed back over the Mingus Mountain, the same way we came in on State Route 89A. I would not recommend taking an RV into Jerome, but as a day trip in a vehicle it is a must do! Arrive later and enjoy lunch or dinner!

Arizona, On the Move Again!

We woke up early at our son, Tim’s house and loaded the RV frig from his refrigerator and freezer. I am sure his frig is sad to see all our food go, I don’t think it has ever seen that much food! We got on the road by 7:30am, trying to beat the heat … it was already 93 degrees! We took Arizona 51N, to avoid some of the surface street traffic. The thing about traveling on highways, is there is not much too see … not true for us!

I was watching the pedestrian bridges over the highway. These bridge were designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, instead of vehicular traffic. Footbridges can complement the landscape or area and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas. In this area, the pedestrian bridges are both functional and works of art. Also known as footbridges, they are situated to allow pedestrians to cross the highway.

In our ongoing quest for cell phone coverage and network access at all times, companies must erect more and more cell phone towers. While seeing these towers, indicates coverage for our phones. Some people see the towers as eyesores that painfully stick out and ruin landscapes. To curb this, some companies have attempted to ‘disguise’ cell phone towers to better blend in with their surroundings. We spotted one of these cell phone towers, it was disguised as a palm tree. I have heard of these, but never have seen one! Do you like it?

When 51 North ended, we headed onto the 101 Loop West toward US 17. We passed by an exit where our family members used to live, 7^th Street. Hey Donny and Donna, does any of this look familiar? It is amazing what you remember, Charlie remembered the QT on the corner of the exit ramp and 7^th Street. 

We headed north on US 17. We chose the highway because there were too many switchbacks on the two-lane roads we were considering taking.

As we climbed toward the rim, and hopefully some relief of this heat … there was a sign on 17, that said turn off your air conditioner to avoid overheating. Since we were climbing and towing the jeep, we heeded the warning and turned off the air! Yikes, it is 103 degrees! We opened the windows and enjoyed the warm

breeze! We could have started the generator and run the motorhome A/C unit … but now what kind of a story would that make! We passes a sign for Crown King. Our son and his friends with RAZRs were always talking about riding to Crown King, now I know where it is. Crown King, which was at the end of a branch rail line, was named for the Crown King Mine, which was a big deal there for a while between the late 1880s and early 1900s. We also passes a sign for Horsethief Basin, it certainly is a unique name. Research has several myths or legends for this name … I am going with Horsethief Basin was an area where outlaws holed-up until the heat was off and they could move with their hot horses!

Remember that when we started the climb it was 103 degrees ... at the Sunset Rest Area, near the top of the rim, it was a welcome 93 degrees! We walked around and enjoyed the cooler weather! I got a couple of cool pictures of the sundial, can you tell by the picture what time we were there? 

I also took this shot of a unique flower, with the blurred image of the mountains in the background!

Our friends, were in Cordes Junction during the Bug Creek fire was active. She had some awesome pictures of the fire and the firefighters fighting it. We knew we would be passing this area as we headed north. The Bug Creek fire scorched over 1,000 acres and came up to the edge of the Interstate 17. 

We took these pictures. You can see how lucky the homes in the valley are, as the fire looks like it was all around them! 

This sign had the letters melted off from the heat of the fire! In Cordes Junction, we turned off of I-17 and headed north on Route 69.

Along this route, I captured one of my favorite pictures … I might have to send this one into the Arizona calendar contest … it is a simple American Flag along the road, with the mountains in the background!

We passed through Mayer and worked our way to Dewey-Humbolt, where the town motto is -- "Arizona's Country Town." Most people see Dewey-Humboldt as a rural community with historic buildings, scenic vistas and wildlife. It is located in the high desert of Northern Arizona at an elevation of 4,556 feet. It is a mild climate which includes an occasional snowfall during the winter months.   Dewey and Humboldt represented two different communities during the last 100 years with Dewey providing an agricultural and ranching economy, while the Humboldt area had an economy based in mining. They incorporated in 2009, to stave off the Prescott Valley growth and potential annexation. An interesting fact about this town … there is a total of about 117 miles of roads within the town limits; only 28 miles of the roads are paved.

We traveled through Prescott Valley and stopped at Sam’s Club and got unleaded gas for $2.159 per gallon and a few groceries. We had about an hour and a half until we could check-in at the campground. We headed onto the outskirts of Prescott, missing historic downtown for now and turned north onto Route 89. We passed Watson Lake and arrived at Point of Rocks RV Campground. 

Arizona, Day Trips – Unique Signs and Skating

On one of our drives west of Phoenix, we headed into Native American country and came across another unique “crossing” sign. We have seen bear, panther, turtle, and jack ass crossing signs … we can now add wild horses to that list!

Yes, we saw the sign and a few miles later, we actually saw the wild horses taking a water break near the creek we were crossing! We did see a few more out in the desert, but the pictures did not come out as clearly and the horses did not show up as well ... not that they are huge in this picture!

Another adventure I had was ice skating! Yes, you heard right … we are in Arizona in July and I went ice skating with my granddaughter. It is hot enough outside to fry an egg on the sidewalk, but we dressed in layers and prepared to head to the ice arena. It is tucked behind a strip mall next to a Walmart only a couple of miles from my son’s house. Our son, went along and watched, but he was too chicken to done some skates! I guess you’re never too old to give skating a try?!

We paid a mere $8.00 each, got our big pink sticker and were ready for a few hours of sheer terror and the rental of the torture equipment! Safety first … I looked around for a pillow to tie around my waist … no, luck … I should have brought one from the house! Oh well, I spied the “tot walkers” … they look kind of like a standard walker, but made out of PVC … if I could get my hands on one of those, the falls would be limited for sure! My spirits were quickly dashed, when I was told they were for ages 6 and under! Archaic skates was all I was given, Madissen on the other hand got cool looking skates with high ankle supports! She was lucky enough to have small feet! I do remember that the skates need to fit and be laced properly, no skipping eyelets. This helps keep your ankles from wobbling … my ankles wobbling are the least of my worries.

So, we were laced up and ready to take to the ice … we stood up and started to wobble to the stairs. When they announced to clear the ice … what? We just got all laced up and ready to go! No …. Okay, we quickly learned that this was only a temporary action … the Zamboni was coming out to freshen the ice. Damn … I thought I had weaseled out of this family activity!

A quick few minutes later the ice was ready and it was as smooth as a sheet of glass, literally! The saddest part of this adventure was that during the open skate we attended there was a little one, maybe only 2 years-old and he is already a master on ice skates! It probably wasn't long ago when this adorable toddler learned to walk. Now he was doing what most adults can't do without falling in embarrassment. Yes, I was ready to have to pick my dignity up off the ice!

We, my granddaughter and I started out, with both hands on the railing along the boards. More or less pulling ourselves along with the states never left the ice! As time went by, we slowly let go of the railing and maneuvered around the ice. I did learn that I could indeed stop without the help of the boards. I was analyzing the falls that everyone else was taking, and trying to visualize how I would do it. I thought I was ready …. There was a great deal of teetering back and forth, but I did not fall! Yes, that is right … I did not jinx myself by saying that during one of the many breaks we took, but I did not fall!

While your legs work particularly hard, skating can provide a full-body workout. It is a tremendous core workout, there is so much body control and balance. It really strengthens the core quite a bit. You wouldn’t think you would work up a sweat on the ice, but you really do when you’re skating or attempting not to fall. I am not sure which I did more, skating or attempting not to fall! 

In the end, I was able to push off with the left foot and kept the right blade planted on the ice, not graceful by any means! It was a great afternoon spent with our son and granddaughter in an air conditioned environment in the 110 degree heat of Arizona.

Arizona, Day Trips – RZR adventure

Our son is an avid UTV adventurer. He often can be seen with his friends riding the trails in Arizona or hitting the sand dunes of Southern California. He wanted us to experience the thrill of the ride while we were visiting, so we picked a cooler day … it was only in the double digits in Phoenix … and headed out!

What is a RZR? It is a side-by-side sport performance utility vehicle made by Polaris. To me, it feels like it is equal parts dune buggy, 4-wheeler and dirt bike. But in actuality, it is a 4-wheel machine that fears nothing. You can jump, slide and get sideways for an exciting full-throttle rush in all of them without the danger of dirt biking. Some would say a two-wheeled off road vehicle, like a dirt bike, offer the fullest and most exciting off-road experience. But for the more risk-averse, the Polaris RZR is more than just a viable substitute. 

I prefer to have 4-wheels under me, rather than just two! The RZR is a loose cannon in deep sand and on steep climbs. It’s all built to take a beating, even though I spied duct tape on parts of our son’s fiberglass body! He told me I was looking too close! Side-by-sides are hugely popular in this area. Our son selected the four-seat configuration for a couple of reasons. One, he feels that the longer wheel base gives you a smoother ride. Two, he has friends and family to tote. While dirt bikes are single-track nimble, the wider RZR is closer to a Jeep Patriot than an ATV, and so naturally can’t access narrower trails. 

We met another Jeep coming down the trail, it was not a Patriot, it was a Jeep Cherokee! Yikes, our friend Jackie has a vehicle like that ... I can not imagine her on these trails, but that is who I thought of when we saw the vehicle. But it’s fast as hell and handles all other terrain with self-confidence. The RZR makes so much power that we hit 50-plus mph blasting through the trails before my son cut back on the throttle. It’s quite a rush, at first …

He took us along the Sycamore Creek trails, the Crosscut and Mud Springs heading to the Four Peaks. Before we off loaded the RZR, we trailer-ed it from central Phoenix to north of Fountain Hills on Highway 87. I took a couple of pictures of a mountain in the distance, that was in the clouds. He later told me that was where we were headed! We turned off the highway onto a dirt cut-off and then up and over the ridge into the parking area. We met up with one of Tim’s friends and his RZR and got them unloaded.

Before we departed, we had to gear up … helmets, gloves, intercom connected, seat-belts and shoulder harnesses. Yup, harnesses … our son told us we did not need the shoulder harnesses, but oh yes I did!

It was a very scenic ride (if you enjoy looking over the edge of the trail), with lots of up and down, sharp corners and dust. On the way up, I was on the outside edge of the vehicle ... at least on the way down, I will be against the rocks and banks!

Our son, Tim, told us that about 10 years ago,

the Lone Fire burned thousands of acres on and around the peaks. But, most of the ground shrubs had grown back fine … you had to look really close to see some of the burned portions on the lower part of the cactus's. The good thing about climbing the mountains, is the higher we climbed the cooler it got! In the staging area it was 87 degrees and once we got to the top, it was only 82 degrees … much better than the 100’s we have been enjoying in the Phoenix area.

We could not head toward the Four Peaks, because the road was closed due to fires. So, we meandered toward Roosevelt Lake. We did not go all the way back down to the lake, it would have added too many hours for our first ride! 

We later learned that this area is one of the highest concentrations of black bears in Arizona. Yikes, I am glad that I did not read that before we went on the ride! Because we stopped for lunch on the top of a semi-shaded summit! 

Resting for a bit, helped my stomach settle a bit and after our picnic lunch, we started to head back the way we came. Every time I thought we were rounding the last corner back to the staging area, I discovered that we had to go up another mountain and back down again!

Overall, it was a great ride and we enjoyed spending the family time together. I would go again, but it would have to be a much slower ride and that would take the fun out of it … I am sure!