We finally found a good WiFi spot…at the home of the
turquoise arches. Golden arches didn't fit into Sedona’s color palette so they had to go with turquoise. It’s very odd!
We began Wednesday with a trip to Jerome. Jerome is a ghost town clinging to the side
of a mountain on the south side of the Verde
Canyon. In its heyday, Jerome had 15,000
residents and was the third largest city in Arizona. Now, it’s home to 400 people, primarily
artists, craftsmen and those who cater to tourists.
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| Looking 1900 feet down a mine shaft |
Our first stop was an
abandoned headframe….the structure which is erected over the mine shaft and
which is used to lower miners down the shaft and hoist ore and miners back
up. There was a grate over the shaft
allowing us to peer down 1900 feet…or at least as far as one could see. Can’t imagine being lowered in a cage down
into that abyss!
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| How would you like to go down 1900 feet in this cage..every day? |
Next up was a visit to Jerome Historic State Park which is
housed in one of the world’s largest adobe structures. In here is a collection of ores, photos and
memorabilia of the mine’s past glories.
Here you learn that over 500 billion tons of ore were removed from these
mines, resulting in over one billion dollars worth of copper, gold, silver and
zinc. They also show a very cool movie
of the town’s history, narrated by a ghost in a strange looking cemetery.
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| Copper Ore |
The ghost town now has twenty or so shops selling souvenirs
and minerals, along with several restaurants, including the Asylum which is a
part of the Jerome Grand Hotel. The
hotel is actually a converted hospital which had a mental ward. They routinely have ghost hunts here….and
they find them. What gave me the most
goosebumps was the journal at the front desk.
In this book, guests write down their nighttime “experiences”. In just the past few weeks: a woman saw a floating head in her room;
another woman had experiences “which persuaded” her and she asked for a
different room; several heard voices….and on and on. We want to go back and spend a couple of
nights in that hotel!
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| Jerome Cemetery |
On our way out of town we decided to find a geocache at the
cemetery featured in the movie from the State Park. From this cemetery you could see the
mountains at Flagstaff over 50 miles away…beautiful view, but the graves were
very, very different. Each was enclosed
with an iron “fence” and had stones piled on the grave. Some of the fences looked like bed frames,
but others were very ornate...but still with the stones.
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| Mona at her Vortex Tree |
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| Mona Sketching at Oak Creek |
Back to the International Film Festival for the
evening. We were surprised to find out
that a short film was to be presented before the film we had paid for. Turns out, we were attending a world premiere
of a movie short titled “Remember to Breathe” starring Lee Meriwether and Susan
Blakely. After the movie they had a
panel discussion with the producer, director, Lee Meriwether and Susan
Blakely. So cool! On top of that, they presented Lee Meriwether
with a surprise lifetime achievement award.
She got a standing ovation. Now
we’re going to have to watch the original Batman movie to see Lee Meriwether as
Catwoman.
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| We Love Cathedral Rock! |
Friday, we headed for Palm Springs. It was just six hours from Sedona, but a
climate or two away. We left Sedona at
34 degrees and arrived in Palm Springs at 89 degrees! Our first stop, of course, was Blue
Coyote. It’s been a year since we’ve had
their incredible margaritas. Once again
I asked for their recipe but as always, the bartender pleaded ignorance. Also, as usual, Mona couldn't drive after
only one.
We enjoyed an evening stroll to the clubhouse to see an
illusionist show. Then strolled back to
enjoy a star-filled sky. Beautifully
warm!
Best of all, we now have high speed WiFi and 4G everywhere
we go. Mona is happy…thus, I am happy!
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