I had read a bit about Jerome, an old copper/gold/silver mining town, which has been designated a historical monument. This was one detour well worth the taking and we recommend it to anyone who wants to see a fascinating little town that once had 25 saloons and 14 brothels. There are still a couple saloons, but the brothels are long gone. But where one used to be we found a real treat. The owner billed it as the second largest kaleidoscopes store in the U.S., and she had some beautiful specimens.
The real treat, however, was in meeting 93-year-old Marquerite Haskins, who was in the shop, Nellie Bly, which in a former life was known as Jennie's Place, the most successful of the bordellos. Marquerite had lived in Jerome as a girl during the town's heyday and said she often saw the working girls, but wasn't sure how they worked. From her father's photographs she has produces a series of watercolors and was selling cards in the shop. She was sharp as a tack and loved to tell stories of living in Jerome and how as a young woman she went to Honolulu for a visit and ended up living there for 30 years. She now lives in Laguna Beach, but likes to come back to Jerome to visit friends and do a little business. Oh, we did buy one of her cards, only after she signed it for us.
The Hotel Connor, Jerome, AZ
A glass blower lives and works behind these bars. A sign
stating his working hours are 12-ish to 5-ish.
Never seen a woman in a dress and cowboy boots playing
basketball before. There are apparently a lot of "free
spirits" in Jerome.
The former bordello, Nellie Bly, where we met some very
interesting people and learned about Jerome's past.
Marquerite Haskins shared her life stories as well as her art
with us during our visit to Jerome.
We learned anywhere from 1-million to 3-million people (depending on who you ask) visit Jerome every year. The mines closed down in 1958, but not after digging up enough copper to give every human on the planet 30 pounds worth. They also dug up millions in gold and silver. We were told there are over 80 miles of mine tunnels under Jerome and the surrounding hills.
Main Street, Jerome
Jerome Grand Hotel, which was built as the United Verde
Hospital in 1926. It closed in 1950 when the mines began
to close and remained closed for 44 years until renovated in 1994.
We saw some strikingly beautiful country going back up to 40, then we decided to take Historical Highway 66 from Seligman to Kingman. It brought back memories for me (John) of traveling from Missouri to California on the two lanes. A world away from the four-lane Interstate 40 that took away much of 66. There were only a couple small towns, well not even really towns, such as Valentine that I remembered from when Diane, me and the kids (27 years ago, or there abouts) traveled along this very same route.
Imagine driving two lanes for a couple thousand miles. This
is Highway 66, which exists only in a few places today.
Not every day you see a car on top of a building, but
it's not all that uncommon along Route 66.
Something else you won't see anywhere except along
Route 66, Burma Shave signs. Poetry in motion.
We picked up Highway 93 out of Kingman and made good time until we reached Hoover Dam, where they're still doing 9/11-related security checks before allowing you to driver over the dam. Upon reaching Vegas we dropped in on a familiar eatery, Lucille's, a great rib and chicken place.
Hoover Dam
This bridge is being built in order to bypass Hoover Dam. It is
huge by any definition of the word and I suspect it will be as
famous as the dam one of these days.
Another night at Holiday Inn Express and tomorrow we'll be off early for Bishop.
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