Tuzigoot, Clarkdale & Jerome AZ

So, today's adventure was to the Tuzigoot National Monutment, another set of Pueblo ruins.  The site is only about 17 miles north of where we're staying, so we were there in no time.  Unfortunately, a tour bus arrived just as we did, and we didn't get out of the car in time to get in front of them.  Oh well, we have all the time in the world, right?  Plus, it really worked out, 'cuz the bus driver had the group collected in front of the Visitors' Center and was giving a little speech about some of the native plants they had planted around the front of the building.  Once we entered, we were pleasantly surprised by the volunteer telling us that today is one of the Fee Free Entrance days for all National Parks.  Today's reason was National Public Lands Day.  The next one will be November 11, Veterans Day.

Here's our favorite Driver, telling me he's gonna have to go on a diet to fit into his new Ranger uniform.  Hate to break the news, honey, but it's gonna take more than a new diet!

This Pueblo has about 100 rooms, most of which contained a hearth, indicating their use as living quarters.  Very few of the rooms appeared to be used as storage. 

Believe it or not, with the assistance of our trusty pup and Driver, I was able to climb up to the highest room and look out over the ruins.  Yeah, I was glad to get down right after I took the shot!

There really wasn't much else to see at this spot, so we got back in the car and continued on our journey, up to Jerome, via Old Town Clarkdale.  As it turns out, one of the top 10 things to do in Clarkdale is taking a ride on the Verde Valley Railroad.  We hadn't planned on riding the rails, but since it was in the station, and we heard the whistle, we thought maybe we'd stick around to video it leaving the depot.  So we drove up that side road, and we waited.  And waited.  After about 10 minutes, I thought, well, maybe 5 more, then it will be 11:30, and the train will leave.  It didn't.  Waited till 11:45 and it STILL didn't leave.  Waited till noon, and it STILL hadn't left, nor did it show any signs of intending to leave.  So, we grabbed a pretty red rock and WE left!  Turns out, it wasn't planning to leave until 1 pm, so I'm really glad we didn't keep waiting!

Even the flowers have to be pretty hardy to eke out a living in this rough country.

Clarkdale was the creation of Senator William Andres Clark, a billionaire investor.  He designed and built the town for his mine employees and, much like the town of Madrid, NM, it was ahead of its time, with underground utilities, sewers, paved streets and a community center.  He, too, built homes for his employees and provided them stores and supplies.  There were several sections of town, most notably, Patio Town, established in 1913, which was where the Mexican employees were housed.  We drove through it, and it's still very much inhabited today, but it's very much a place that does not show very well.  The homes are pretty run down, lots of 'em are in the condition you would expect after a hundred years - missing siding and roofs you can see through, no windows, you get the picture.  I didn't think the residents would appreciate my pictures of their homes; I didn't want to be disrespectful, so we just rode through and then went on to Jerome.  

We could see it up on the hill, off in the distance.  See that white J on the hillside?  The town is just to the left, nestled right into the hillside.  We weren't sure what exactly was up there, but we had been told it was the richest town in Arizona in its heyday due to the copper mine, and had even been considered for Capitol status prior to Phoenix.  We did NOT know that it had also been known as the wickedest town in Arizona, full of miners, gamblers, bootleggers and prostitutes.  But, as usual, when demand for copper slowed after the war, the mine shut down, and the people deserted the town, leaving it a true Ghost Town.  

We also did NOT know what kind of road lead to this here Ghost Town.

As we got closer, the road got higher.  And higher.  And windier.  And, did I mention, higher?

See that large building off to the right?  That's the Grand Hotel, which once served the residents of Jerome as the United Verde Hospital.  You know how we enjoy visiting old hotels, and exploring their artifacts on display?  And they usually have gardens and grounds to walk....well, it was right about here I mentioned that I didn't need to go all the way up there after all.  It's ok, I could just Google it and view everything from the comfort of our camper.  Well, HA.  There was only the one road.  And it was narrow.  And we had a loooooooong line of cars traveling behind us.  And there was NOwhere to pull over or turn around.  So, up we went!  And up, and up and up.

Once we actually got UP to the town, the road leveled out, but, geeze Louise, I thought Sedona traffic was bad...oh, my, this was MUCH worse.  See how all the cars are parked?  Yeah.  And the houses opened RIGHT onto the street.  As in, you step down off the porch, and you'd better watch out for the cars driving by only inches from your foot.

 This is where we had to go to the right, and the road became one-way.  The road circled around behind this angular building, and came back down on the left.  There was no parking up there either.

The Mile High Grill & Inn.  Yup, we're back up in the clouds!

We had seen this little garage on the way up, but we were past it before I could whip out the camera.  Got it, this time, on the way back down, but it wasn't till we were directly in front of it that I could see there was a SKELETON in the driver's seat!  That sort of answered the question, when did it come out last?  There was a sheer dropoff on my side of the car, so it wasn't like I was gonna ask Driver to pull over....there was NO pulling over!  It was also right about now when the motorcyclist that was following us decided it was time to pass us.  In a no-passing zone.  Just in front of a curve.  A blind curve.  And, heck yeah, in fact, there WAS a car coming.  And our friendly motorcyclist was NOT wearing a helmet.  Geesh.

Still working on getting down off that hill.  Intact would be nice, so we were going the speed limit, which, granted, was only about 25 mph, thank Goodness.

Those are the red rocks of Sedona, WAAAAY off in the distance.

When we got down to the Valley floor, I could breathe again, and we passed Arizona Botanical Gardens.  Well, we didn't really PASS it, we turned in to it.  What a pleasant diversion from the recent adventure up and down the hill and through the town of Jerome.

There were at least 4 bird's nests that were easily visible in this one, which was WELL over our heads.

Can you just imagine how beautiful this baby must have been when it was all in bloom?

Now, THESE pears are about ready for picking, plucking, mashing and jamming!

And finally, we were done.  Francis, the owner, let us know he'd been at it for right at 25 years, and the gardens were very well done & immaculate and showed just how hard he had worked over the years.  Most all the plants in the greenhouses were for sale, and I really did feel we should buy something, but, when Driver asked me which one did I want to kill, I re-thought that purchase.  And we really don't need any dust-collectors, so we went away empty handed.  Except for the little burr thing that SOMEone picked up in her tail.  You know it's pretty swishy, and sometimes it gathers things that don't exactly belong in our house.  

After touring the gardens, we stopped in at Home Depot, down in Cottonwood and picked up some clear coat for a project that I'll tell you about later.  When we got home, we put together a set of ramps for our ramps. You'll see!  But not tonight.  Next up, Montezuma Castle and Well.  Till then, y'all stay well and travel safe!