Jane Reporting for 8th October
Because of the closure of all the national parks we were unable to go to the Grand Canyon as planned on 8th October and so, on the recommendation of the motel owner in Seligman, we drove Seligman - Ash Fork, then turned off onto the US 89 to Prescott, then onto the US 89A for the scenic drive through Jerome and Sedona before reaching Flagstaff and from there to Tuba City. (Original plan was Seligman through the Grand Canyon and onto Tuba City.)
Jerome
Driving along on the scenic US 89A we started to descend and suddenly found ourselves in Jerome - the most unsual US town we've encountered to date. Unlike most of the sprawling towns and cities we've seen and visited Jerome is clinging to the hillside - much like parts of Wellington - and the US 89A narrows markedly as it twists and turns between buildings close up on either side.
In fact the buildings were so close it was hard to take photos, but here are a few that Lyn took:
 |
| Narrow streets of Jerome |
The fire station is a feature to the downhill traffic as we had to cruise slowly by and negotiate a sharp bend (and tourists who think that's the best place in Jerome to wander across the street). Plenty of time to admire the building.
 |
| Fire station on a sharp corner |
The road is dropping down the side of the hill as it goes so it is something of a zig-zag track; very narrow with the front of the houses right on the edge of the road in some places. In the following photo the road has widened a little and they have room to park their cars.
 |
| More corners |
Jerome is over 5,000 feet above sea level and although we've visited plenty of towns that were as high or higher, this one is special because it's perched on the side of the steep Cleopatra Hill. It was founded in 1876 on a copper boom and the population peaked at 15,000.
 |
| Looking back up the hill at Jerome |
The population then dropped to less than 100 and it was promoted for a time as a ghost town. Nowadays there is no chance of that as the place was packed with visitors when we negotiated the hairpin bends and managed to drive through the streets full of busy arts and crafts shops.
 |
| Gary, Lyn, and Geoff looking back at Jerome |
Sedona
The scenery had already been impressive before Jerome and afterwards seems as if we were down on the plains and nothing more would happen. Sedona happened, though. It seems ridiculous to me that people can run an ordinary (though very attractive) town in the middle of such natural beauty - but perhaps visitors to New Zealand think that about Queenstown.
Anyway, many of my photos from Sedona are taken with traffic lights included because that was what amazed me the most; you could be sitting at traffic lights in the town and see this:
 |
| Scenery in Sedona |
These photos actually don't show how amazing the colours were in the rocks, nor how close they were as we were driving along the streets.
 |
| View while stopped at the lights |
As well as stopping for information we drove slightly off the main road to a art/ design shopping centre where even the car park was filled with interesting things:
 |
| Gary with the Follow the Leader sculpture |
And on the way back to the main road we spied these horses and a cactus:
 |
| Horses in Sedona |
As a last example of how the town is nestled into the scenery, here I got a lucky gust of wind which unfurled the Arizona state flag which was flying on top of one of the buildings. The rocks really are that close in the background.
 |
| Arizona state flag |
State Quarters
Lyn has nearly all the quarters she wants now and the book hasn't been out for a while. This quarter was donated for photography purposes from her massive collection of washing (laundry) quarters. I think we have enough to put money in the machine for the whole motel!
 |
| State Quarters: Virginia |
No comments:
Post a Comment