A few miles and up the hillside – a very steep hillside/mountain – from Clarkdale and Cottonwood, Arizona is the historic town of Jerome, Arizona.  The fact that residents pride themselves on their probable insanity is based on the location of the former mental asylum and the fact that the town is perched precariously on hillsides.  Ironically, you drive through “Deception Gulch” to reach Jerome.

Sign in shop window - the mental state of Jerome

Is this insane?  Well, in any case, it’s fun to explore and find out!

On the day we visited, Jerome was a vision in the mist like the fictional Brigadoon of musical comedy fame.  We landed in the main section of town, elevation 5,246 feet, as the rain came gently down.  From one direction, we could see the red rocks of Sedona in the distance as the weather varied from sunny to rainy to hail with snow threatening, or all of the above at the same time!

Heading first to the Jerome Grand Hotel, a former mental hospital, with its The Asylum, an award-winning restaurant, we began our exploration of the town. Perched way up high with a great view of the valley, the Jerome Grand Hotel is up a one lane road that passes some B & B’s on its way and relies on driver courtesy to prevent accidents.

Jerome Grand Hotel - a former mental institution - thus The Asylum Restaurant

Jerome Grand Hotel lobby

It was mid-morning and no one was dining in The Asylum, but we’ve heard and read repeatedly that the restaurant is terrific, but a bit pricey, and worth every penny.

We looked around and talked with hotel guests who told us how much they loved the hotel and the view.  One guest was in town to hear a group performing in a pub in the town below. www.jeromegrandhotel.com

View from Jerome

Jerome bills itself – “From a roaring copper mining boom town of 15,000 people…To Arizona’s largest ghost town…And now, Arizona’s coolest art colony.”  The remnants of its past are everywhere with some very colorful reminders, like the bordello that is now a very artsy shop.

The buildings are mostly a century or more old with every building precariously perched on the hillsides.  (Yes, it is a trend.)  We really wonder how they have managed to keep from sliding into the valley!  And, of course, many of the houses and locations are reputed to have ghosts.  We didn’t stop to find out!

At the edge of town is the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town, a tourist location that we drove through and left quickly.  To reach this replica of the old town, you pass through a dump of old vehicles and other refuse that my husband said would have fascinated his dad, a fan of old machinery.

What we found of major interest were the many craft shops, especially the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative that seemed to have every imaginable craft represented.  You name it – fabric art, photography, pottery, wood, paintings, glass, jewelry, knitted items, glass, copper… All of the items were of superior craftsmanship and some were particularly clever. www.jeromeartistscoop.com

One of the great shops on Main Street in Jerome - Skyfire

We also spent some time wandering about other shops like Nellie Bly II where they had more kaleidoscopes than I have ever seen in one place, made from varying components like wood, glass and ceramic.  Madame Belgian Jennie Bauters was the original founder of the site, which went through two incarnation as a brothel, but finally became a hotel and then the shops it now houses.

Some of the fabulous work in the Jerome Artists' Coop - Glass by Fred Reinhardt, Wooden works by Blake O'Neil

The artists and craftspeople of Jerome do offer some of the best -crafted items in such a concentrated place I have seen.  We chatted with David Hall, a potter who has been in Jerome since 1972, who has a shop at the very edge of a row of stores.  His work is finely crafted and he also features other artists, as well. www.madeinjerome.com

David Hall, long-time resident Jerome potter

A day in Jerome exploring the shops goes by quickly.  Bring your plastic, because you’ll want to purchase keepsakes and gifts!

Note: parking is in demand and hard to find.  Jerome can be a bit challenging to navigate if you are physically challenged.

Come back later this week for the Jerome restaurant we chose for lunch.

The Copper Queen is a vintage hotel, dating from 1902, and was built to offer accommodations to mine management back in the Bisbee mining heydays.  Bisbee is terraced into the hills, and so is the Copper Queen.  After stepping up the stairs into the hotel, you immediately feel that you’ve entered the past.  The old lobby desk, with large old-fashioned keys leads to their old, plush sofa- decorated parlor off the lobby.  An impressive staircase, curving at the top, leads to a second floor with a comfortable sitting area and an old dining table with flowers everywhere.

Parlor and staircase

We took the elevator, a venerable old, wooden machine, to the third floor where our room was located.  Room 315.  We headed down the hall to the left, passed the Grace Dodge Room (named after the family member of the mining family) and continued down to the last room on the left.  The old-fashioned door opened to our key and we entered, not sure what we would find.  On the inside, there were three locks.

We were a little nervous and my husband wasn’t really excited about staying in a haunted room. With the DVD the front desk had given us of the TV show that supposedly recorded the haunting, we brought in our luggage and looked around.

The Julia Lowell Room

The vivid sateen bedspread in a magenta shade had elaborate gathers and covered the comfortable queen-sized bed.  Over the bed was a framed “License for Prostitution,” signed by Marshal Virgil Earp and a somewhat risqué photo of the lady in question. (We’ve cropped the photo – after all, we’re appealing to a family audience.)

License for prostitution - signed by Marshal Virgil Earp

The bedside lamp had one of the gaudiest fringe lamps we’ve ever seen and the entire look of the room did say “bordello.”  You see, the room was supposedly occupied by the ghost of Julia Lowell, a lady of the night, who had taken her life in the room.  According to the DVD, she liked to whisper in the ear of occupants and move the bedding.

More of the Julia Lowell Room

We watched the DVD of the ghost hunters. Their experience was unconvincing.

Finally, time for bed after dinner and sightseeing, we turned off the light and waited.  I was prepared to have a visit from Julia, but we were both nervous about our potential night visitor.

Tossing and turning, I finally slept.  I awoke several times, but never heard Julia whispering in my ear.  My blankets were not disturbed.  If the room was haunted, Julia chose not to visit us.

As far as accommodations, the hotel is an old-fashioned experience that meets the needs of most travelers.  There is even an outdoor solar-heated pool.  We didn’t try the pool, since the air was rather chilly, even if the pool was heated.

I must admit to being let down by not seeing Julia.  Perhaps my willingness to have her visit scared her away.  There were supposedly other haunted rooms at the hotel, but we didn’t investigate them since they were occupied.

So, although we didn’t have the haunting experience we expected, we will remember our stay at the Copper Queen Hotel.  The experience was welcoming, even if Julia chose not to greet us.  The staff was cheery and professional.

Technology alert:  Although they have wireless capability, we were told that the connection was not guaranteed.  And, it didn’t work.  But, you know, maybe sometimes it is better to enjoy where you are and forget about connecting elsewhere.

http://www.copperqueen.com/

Travel with us on Monday when we visit the Copper Queen Mine. Down below we go!