Valentine’s Day in Jerome

WOW ! What a fantastic day. We left the house at 10 Am and headed for Jerome.  It’s a little mining town over 100 years old in the mountains 75 miles north of Phoenix. The weather was a perfect 65 degrees and the people were out in it. The drive took us from Dewey to Prescott Valley and over Mingus Mountain into the Verde Valley. The views are spectacular and the drive a blast in our Land Rover. I hugged the curves and used the shifter saving my breaks just in case I really needed them.  We’re talking mountian roads through the snowy pines ,over the pass and opening to views of the Verde Valley and the redrocks. At one point the San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff, our tallest at 12,500 ft are framed by the road through the canyon. It reminds me just why I consider Arizona among the most beautiful states in the Nation.

Jerome was a flourishing copper mining town in 1900. Then copper was discovered in Peru where labor was so cheap that the cost of production  drastically dropped and took away our market. In its peak, Jerome produced enough copper to give everyone in the world the equivilent of an 18 pound chunk of pure copper. But that ended with the Peruvian discovery.

The town grew weeds and virtually died. Then the hippy generation discovered it in the 1960s. It became a mecca for artists and those not quite willing to conform to society elsewhere. With great weather, fantastic views, proximity to other more vibrant towns, and people like themselves, the hippies stayed on. They are now the artists, artisens, town councilmen, writers, and shop owners of Jerome. They have nurtured their culture and turned Jerome into a gem.

There is the old red light district, the historic Holy family Chruch, the Conner Hotel with the Spirit Room bar. The mine operates today as a museum. Many of the shops and boutiques offer a taste of the olden days and what life must have been like a hundred years ago. Restaurant fare boasts quite a veriety. B&Bs are among the best accomidations in town.

The Spirit Room Saloon is a huge draw for bikers, most of whom are in their 50s or 60s and come up from Phoenix for a Bloody Mary and to show off their ride and leathers. What a site to see a hundreds of custom cycles lined up on Main Street all shiney and decked out on a sunny day.

The Spirit Room has live bands from 2PM to 6PM of Saturdays and Sundays. Some of the best of Az entertainment frequents the joint. The Cadillac Angels played there Valentines Day.  It’s a 3 piece band playing vintage rock and roll. Drums, a bass player both on bass guitar and upright pass, and a singer/guitar player with all the licks and a vintage Guild guitar and Sear’s Silvertone amp. You knew this was going to be something special just looking at that guitar case and amp. The croud was really into it and so was the group.

The Spirit room has the best Bloody Mary’s in the high country. I can attest to it. A couple of hours of embibing with my honey and we were off again dropping out of Jerome into Clarkkdale and them Cottonwood where we had buritos mid-afternood. Then our ride took us back over the mountains to Dewey, this time by the freeway.

We ended the day watching the sun set over the Bradshaws from the spa perched high on a hill at home. Eat your heart out you snowshovelers. We have a place just waiting for you here!  Next week we will be boating on Lake Pleasant and fishing for some of those 5 pound bass. Oh, not through the ice.