Tuesday we decided we'd explore the world outside of Sedona for a bit. There are a few towns relatively close by that have their own personalities and charm. We first headed to the Old Town section of Cottonwood, about 15 miles to the southwest. It's a sweet, small town that has re-invented itself in recent years to be a tourist hotspot. Think of New Hope in the good old days, when there were shops and restaurants that were actually interesting. We got there fairly early and some of the shops didn't open until 11am, so we strolled the quarter mile of main street where the action is. Although we'd eaten a light breakfast before we left, we both felt like we could use a coffee and snack, so we popped into a restaurant called Crema, which serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week. What a delightful place! There was a inside dining room, a covered patio, and sidewalk seating. We chose the patio and were glad we did. The temperature was perfect with just a slight breeze, the ambiance was fun, and the styling was definitely 70's throwback with everything being avocado green, burnt orange, chocolate brown, or harvest gold. Don't pretend you don't know the colors I'm talking about! I had eggs, toast, and black beans and Robert had a BLT with avocado. This time the coffee was good. I said we were looking for a snack, but what the hell--We've been hiking a LOT.
After brunch, we continued strolling and found a jewelry store where Robert bought a Lapis Lazuli ring I had got some junk jewelry, the only kind I'll wear because I lose anything I buy within a week, tops. Our next stop was a shop called,"The Dirty Hippie," run by a guy who was a dirty hippie. Well, he wasn't actually dirty, but he had the hippie part down in spades. Long hair, funky pants, tye-dyed shirt. The shop was delightfully cool and we both took a liking to the proprietor immediately. Extrovert Robert can talk to anyone and I was happy to eavesdrop a bit on their conversation while I browsed. The guy was so beautifully open about his life and experience of living in Arizona. He originally moved to Prescott, which apparently was not a place he found receptive to his hippiness and gayness. Cottonwood, on the other hand he said, was amazingly welcoming and laid back. I'm always glad when someone truly finds their niche. He also gave us some recommendations for sites to visit to see some ancient petrograms. More on that tomorrow!
After that we took a shortish hike, on something called "The Jail Trail," so named because the trailhead starts just behind a small stone building that had been the town's original jail. I think it's been converted to a henna tattoo parlor now, but that's neither here nor there. As a hike, it was...meh.
Back in the car, we headed toward our next town of Interest, a place called Jerome. Jerome is a mining town, perched in the mountains above the plane that Cottonwood occupies. The drive there took us up about 1500 vertical feet in a few short miles. Straight roads turned to corkscrew curvy roads and steep switchbacks. Just as we were entering the town limits, I saw a sign for the Jerome Historical Park and pointed the car in that direction. I mentioned that it's a mining town (former mining town), but reputed to be fun and funky today. The historical park enshrined some of the heavy duty equipment used when the town was still mining and included an outdoor exhibit built above one of the former mineshafts. Above ground, there was a huge wooden gantry and equipment shack that housed all the hoists and winches needed to lower men and tools down into the Earth and lift ore back up. The mine shaft was vertical and it dropped straight down into the earth to a depth of twice the height of the Empire State Building. Yes, it was covered with a grate, but you could look down it into the depths of the Earth. My gut twisted into knots just thinking about descending into that. Here I am standing in the little elevator cage the miners would have used to go down in the mine. Yikes!
Jerome as a town clings precariously on the side of a steep hill. We're talking a 2-3 story differences in heights from the fronts of buildings to their backs. Parking spaces were carved into the sides of the hill and some front doors required the homeowners to climb long flights of stairs to reach the levels where they actually lived. Main street had three steep switchbacks, so the town was kind of like four vertical levels of homes and businesses. Since mining is no longer their thing, Jerome now is more of a tourist town, but with a shadier feel than Cottonwood. The House of Joy, supposedly the former town brothel, has been repurposed to be a shop. I'm not sure what is being sold there now, although I can guess. The bar to shop ratio was much higher than in Cottonwood too. Apparently those miners needed ways to blow off steam. The Grand Hotel that sits atop of everything is said to be the most haunted place in Arizona. All of this makes me I wonder who Jerome actually was. Probably a VERY interesting character.
After these explorations, we headed back home, stopping at Safeway to buy some salmon for dinner. After a quick nap and a shower, we started meal preparations. We were trying to use up some of our provisions, since we leave here on Thursday for a hotel at the Grand Canyon with no kitchen. In addition to the delicious salmon, done to perfection on the grill (thank you Robert), we had more black beans, corn, rice, broccolini, and salad. Did I mention that we're hiking a lot?
Contently stuffed, we decided to take a post-prandial stroll in the neighborhood. It was almost dark when we came upon a neighbor walking her excitedly barking dog. I thought it was barking at us, but its owner apologized and said, "Sorry, just be careful of the Javelinas. Javelinas?
A few steps further and we were able to just make out the outlines of three, smallish pig-like things trotting in a line on the sidewalk. I'm used to many wild animals on the farm, but wild pigs are a new one for me. I did a little googling when we got home and these varmints are officially called Peccaries. "Peccaries are pig-like ungulates of the family Tayassuidae," according to Wikipedia. What the hell is an ungulate? I'm just going to call them wild pigs and give them a wiiiiiide berth if I run into them again.
(not my photo...one from the internet cuz it was too dark to get one last night)
Finally, here's a shot of the full moon rising being the place we're staying. Isn't it a shame this trip is so boring?
