Although Arizona is not “home” and never will be, there is more to do here than I can even begin to share with you all! Considering that Kansas is a 15 hour trek via the mini van, short little day trips in the car are nothing for us!! And since we have friends in town (from Kansas) visiting for a few days, we thought we would take them out and about and share some of Arizona with them!! After all, watching TV and playing the Wii are only fun for so long!!
The destination?
Jerome – America’s most vertical city and the largest ghost town in America! We had an amazing time and I have so many photos and stories I want to share…so I am! I am forewarning you that there are tons of pictures (ummm…20 to be exact!) and that this will probably be a
very long post!
Let me start off by saying that they brought some crazy weather with them!! Earlier this week the high was 112…yesterday it was dreary and yucky and only got up to 71!! What in the world? We have had more rain in the last two days than we have had in months!! Bummer for them since we won’t be able to break in our pool for 2008 in these frigid temps, but I am LOVING it! I know it is all too short and by next week I’ll be back in my capris and tank tops!! But for today, I am going to wallow in the gloom in my fuzzy velour jogging suit and love every second of it!!
So…Jerome. First of all, we took the scenic route there. Beautiful drive, and I mean beautiful, but I have NEVER EVER EVER in my life been as car sick as I was yesterday. EVER. I didn’t realize we were taking the windy, mountain, off the beaten path route and I was not prepared. I did not have my handy dandy Dramamine pills to help me through and I was miserable. We stopped once and it was seriously the closest I have ever come to throwing up from motion sickness. So…should we ever decide to go back (which we totally plan to!!) I hope we take the straight shot to avoid all that business again!! Ughhh….
So, the weather, although cold (45 degrees – Jerome is in the “high country” and is MUCH cooler than the part of Arizona where we live), wet, windy and totally dreary, was absolutely PERFECT for a day exploring an old, abandoned mining town! It was so eerie…I just can’t describe it and the pictures will NOT do it justice I am sure!!
We were up so high that the clouds and fog just rolled right into us. As we were leaving the “abandoned” part, the fog was enveloping the whole area. Visibility was low and the entire time I kept thinking of how it would have been to live there back in the 1800′s. It was just so weird…eerie is the ONLY way to describe it!
I’ll spare you all the boring details, but if you live around here, it is SO more than worth your trip! Seriously!
Here is the view from just about a mile away from Jerome. This is where we made our pit stop for me to hang over the wall in case I was going to have to be sick! It is so gorgeous in other parts of the state…we just happen to live in the HOT, dirty, dusty, cactus growing part that leaves a lot to be desired!! If only we were up in the pine trees where it snowed all winter!!
This was right after we ate. This is in Jerome…the actual “ghost town” part is about a mile up a dirt road tucked away in the mountains. Jerome itself is a total tourist attraction. The store fronts are all really cute…lots of REALLY cool doors and benches which are perfect for picture taking! However, the rain and cold – and the fact that Huntler and Gentry are so over having their picture snapped every two minutes – kept me from getting as many good ones as I had hoped! LOVED this door though!! (Even though Huntler is slightly blurry!!)
Ok…is this not the CUTEST hat ever?! I mean, really now?!! There are better pictures of it below, but I LOVE this one of my sweet girl!! I bought the hat on Etsy. If you have been following along with me for awhile, you know my love of Etsy!! I actually came across the exact hat on
Lily Eden’s blog and followed the links to
Savannah Lane on Etsy. We seriously got stopped more times than I can count by people commenting on how cute our kids are and that ADORABLE hat!! The seller is great and there are all sorts of color combos…I just happen to love this bright one!! (And they are so affordably priced as well!! Check them out!!)
Three and a half…this must be the hardest age EVER to take a picture of a child. I mean, really now, just check out the following shots and I am sure you will see why I say this! Huntler will NOT look at me for anything these days and he has found that it is quite hilarious to make funny faces at the camera. Two words…LITTLE STINKER!!
There is a story with this shot…the rain had picked up and we stopped under an awning to wait for a few moments while it showered. It seems like rain showers just don’t last as long in Arizona as Kansas! Anyway, our friend Gareth had wandered on down the windy little street to check things out while the rest of us sought shelter. When Huntler realized he was gone, he said, “Where did Gareff go?” We told him a little fib…that Gareth had gone home…and he got upset. Not crying, fit throwing upset, just sad. He said, “Oooo (three syllables), but I’m going to miss Gareff” in the sweetest, most sincere little three year old voice. So, we rounded Gareth back up and all was well with the world!!
The old fire station!!
All of the rest of the shots were taken in the actual ghost town! We are SO going back when it is warmer to take more pictures! I could have spent hours there using all of these rusty old props with my kids posed around them!! Seriously, this place was SO cool!!
You can probably tell I have Photoshopped all of these pictures…this next one is called Old Skool…it is SUPER grainy…I am still deciding whether I like it or not!! I definitely like the rustic feel for these shots though! And by the way, Huntler is sitting in the doorway of the old dentist office…see the sign that says “Pain” behind him?!
Gentry and the fire hydrant! I know her denims don’t match and although that really bothers me, she HAD to have a jacket on! What you aren’t seeing though is the fact that the child must have grown 2 inches in the last few months (since she has worn her jeans) because they are SUPER short! As in, so short you can see her ankles!! If you know me, you know this bothers me! I am kind of, oh, what’s the word? PICKY? Yes, picky, about the way my kids are dressed when we go out!! Thank goodness I can crop!!
Chris hates how close I zoom in on things because I miss the “setting,” but the pictures of the kids in this rusty old truck that were zoomed out are horrible! All you can see is part of Gentry’s hat and Huntler doing his own thing – they just are not my style! But this, THIS is my style! Love that gappy toothed grin!! This one has orneriness flowing through every vein in her little body!!
What in the world is up with that face? I guess I am just going to have to accept the fact that our shots of Huntler are just going to look like this for a while. Don’t get me wrong, they do make me laugh out loud, but there is nothing natural about them!! Oh Huntler, how rough it is to be three and a half and have your mommy in your face with a camera all the time!! I LOVE you little man!
Daddy and Gentry girl tucked in the old mine!! Spooky!! Look how short it was! I felt claustrophobic walking back in there…we had to hunch down the entire way!
We have very, very few pictures of Gentry with her hair down. She looks like such a big girl in this one with her sweet little stacked bob that is tapered longer in the front!!
An old mining cart…sibling love!
It is no secret that our kids adore each other! Don’t get me wrong, they fight like cats and dogs at times, but they seriously love and care for each other more than I can express. I love how Gentry is leaning up against Huntler in this picture…I keep hearing the old song “Lean on Me” when I see this shot!! I hope they ALWAYS have each other to lean on! We all need friends like that!
I think I can, I think I can! He was trying so hard to push sissy in the cart!
Here is a shot on our wa
y out…see the gloom?!! Spooky, spooky, spooky!! There is a hotel in Jerome that is supposedly haunted and you can go on ghost chasing adventures…no thanks! I think I’ll just visit during the daylight hours and head home before it gets dark!!
