Tourists in Them Thar Hills

March 18, 2010 (Thursday)

After visiting Prescott College for old time’s sake (the horse sculptures are in front), we headed for the “ghost town” of Jerome on our way to Sedona.  Paula had been here on Nov. 22, 1963 (yes, the JFK assassination) with her family and remembers the town as being a true ghost town, neatly preserved to look like the old mining town it was at the turn of the century. What we found today was another example of what inevitably happens in good, old America: the enterprising commercial interests (the modern prospectors) look for gold in them thar hills by erecting cute boutiques that promise to stock “genuine antiques” from the original pioneer town.  The place was packed with tourists happy to buy the trinkets on display.  We stopped briefly to take a few pics and then headed on our way since we couldn’t even find a place in town to park.  (The pictures I took were taken at the County Park below the actual main part of town.)  Jerome became a notorious "wild west" town, a hotbed of prostitution, gambling, and vice. On 5 February 1903, the New York Sun proclaimed Jerome to be "the wickedest town in the West” (from Wiki). One picture shows the mine which produced over a billion dollars in copper, gold and silver. As you come across Cottonwood Valley and enter the outskirts of Sedona, you see the incredible red rock mountains that rim the area and realize why this place has such a reputation. We’re staying at Sedona Pines on the outskirts of Sedona.  Tomorrow we hope to find some good vantage points for capturing the beauty of the area to share with ya’ll.