So we headed towards Jerome Az. Along the way we saw a sign for Tuzigoot National Monument and decided to drop in to see what it's all about. It is a 2- to 3-story pueblo ruin on the summit of a limestone and sandstone ridge. Basically a pile of old rocks. The pueblo was built by the Sinagua people between 1125 and 1400 AD. Tuzigoot is the largest and best-preserved of the many Sinagua pueblo ruins in the Verde Valley. The ruins at Tuzigoot incorporate very few doors; instead, they use trapdoor type openings in the roofs, and use ladders to enter each room.
From there we had an exciting drive through twists and hairpins turn to the historic copper mining town of Jerome, Arizona. Once known as the wickedest town in the west, Jerome was a copper mining camp, growing from a settlement of tents to a roaring mining community. The population peaked at around 15,000 people in the 1920's producing an astonishing 3 million pounds of copper per month. When the mine closed in 1953 less than 100 people were left in town. It was promoted as a ghost town. Today Jerome is a bustling tourist magnet and artistic community. It includes a modicum of artists, craft people, musicians, writers, hermits, bed and breakfast owners, museum caretakers, gift shop proprietors and fallen-down-building landlords.
Now off to Sedona. Wonderful unique red mountains surround Sedona
See Snoopy lying there. And Nancy up on the hill looking over him.
The area surrounding Sedona is beautiful with lots of hiking trails. But the town is a real tourist trap. Uptown is all restaurants and souvenir shops. Apparently, it is a health and wellness mecca and artisan town.
There is a Stupid Motorist Law in Arizona. Any motorist who becomes stranded after driving around barricades to enter a flooded stretch of roadway may be charged for the cost of their rescue.
The drive from Sedona to Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon was more fun switchbacks and hair pin turns.
No comments:
Post a Comment