My brother came back to town a couple weeks ago – so taken by our amazing scenery – or maybe because his sister is super fun to hang out with (#both). Whatever the reason, it was a great excuse to give Sunny some long-distance exercise versus short city sprints. Onward and upward to the north!
Our first stop was Prescott. When I moved to Arizona and saw this name on a map, my mind read it as Pr-eh-sc-ahhh-t. But, I was quickly informed that the locals call it (phonetically) Pr-eh-skit (sort of like the ending in “biscuit”). I gave my brother (Craig) a language lesson on the way, to make sure we assimilated.
In exchange for the pronunciation tutorial, he played a little trick on me – but quite a fun one. As I’ve shared in a couple prior blogs, Jeep ducking is a thing, and until recently, I’d only received one ‘duck in the wild’ (i.e. a stranger left a duck on Sunny). A couple weeks ago, I obtained my second – just as thrilling as the first! In the interim, Craig has gotten into this tradition and both supplied me with toys to hand out, as well as gifting some for Sunny.
If you’re into this craze – and belong to any related social-media forums – you likely know that Outback Steakhouse has a rubber koala duck that can be procured by purchasing their Koala Punch. I aspired to acquire one and earlier this year, my brother surprised me with it. Since March, the blue-grey beauty sat proudly on my dashboard. Early en route, I’d stopped for gas. On the drive, when glancing at my little collection, I thought my eyes were mis-seeing (or that the sun was hitting the feathered flock funnily) because the koala appeared to be a different color. Apparently Outback is expanding their offerings and came out with a yellow version which Craig swapped out (and set in the exact same spot as the prior marsupial-waterfowl) whilst I was at the pump.
With a new banana-colored friend in tow, we arrived in Prescott, incorporated in 1881. With an elevation above 5,000’, my ears were popping. The town has some ‘wild west’ ties with famous (prior) residents including Doc Holiday (a dentist, gambler and gunfighter…one of these is not like the others) and Virgil Earp (brother to Wyatt) of O.K. Corral gunfight fame.
After dropping the luggage at the Grand Highland Hotel, smack in Whiskey Row – an area home to lots of history and lots of whiskey – we explored the square around the Yavapai County Courthouse. In addition to the judicial structure, the area was filled with saloons, galleries, and more ye olde fudge and candy shoppes than my sweet tooth could take. Next on the agenda was The Palace, the oldest bar in Arizona, first opened in the 1870s (even before the town was incorporated), complete with old bullet holes in the ceiling.
Dinner was at Limoncello, a restaurant that boasted homemade pasta, sauces and dough and provided exceptional service. After resisting the fudge stores earlier, my will-power was zapped so I made a quick post-dinner stop at a ye olde cookie shoppe (or a regular dessert store that sold amazing cookies). No pictures included because it didn’t have much time to pose…
The next day, I rose early to take a walk in the refreshing (aka brisk) 56 degree weather to find that the landscape outside the hotel had changed. Barely 7 a.m. and the square was filled with people constructing booths and tents. Apparently we’d arrived the day before the “Whiskey Off-Road Mountain Bike Event”, where I was informed that about 50 – 60K non-residents were about to descend on the town (which itself only has about 48,000 people). Time to go!
Off to Jerome, known by some as “the wickedest town in the west” and by others as a ghost town.
Getting there was a scenic adventure, with the twisty-turny 2-lane section of 89A offering steep drop offs an awe-inspiring panorama. As the vehicle operator, I couldn’t spend much time gawking, but we did find a place to pull off and grab some pictures.
Jerome is built on Cleopatra Hill above copper deposits. It enticed a variety of sorts to move there years ago including miners, smelter workers, bootleggers, prostitutes, preachers and gamblers (who knew not to count their money at the table). Jerome closed its mines in 1953 and the population dwindled from about 15,000 to around 50 (not including Casper and his apparitional friends). Random pop culture note: In 2010, the Barenaked Ladies released a song about this town, giving a nod to ghosts, drifters, gun-fighters and ladies of the evening. Check it out!
Happily, through the years, fresh residents gravitated towards the beautiful locale including writers, artists and historians.
Our stomachs were grumbling so we started our sightseeing at The Haunted Hamburger. Get on the wait list as soon as possible, because it’s very popular. My brother’s burger looked amazing. I wasn’t as thrilled with my salmon sandwich – a little dry – and yes, I realize I should go with what the restaurant is known for, but the smell of onion rings permeated the air as we entered, so I was trying to balance my anticipated calories. (those lightly battered veggies were well worth it). The thriving spot has two floors and sitting upstairs afforded us great views of the lower part of town.
After lunch, we wandered the different areas of Jerome, walking around the winding streets and taking the “heart-attack stairs” for a more direct route between levels. The steps were fairly steep and although I like to think I’m in good shape (amazing cookies and onion rings aside), I had to stop at a landing due to a dizzy spell. I’ll blame the elevation and/or dehydration… Shops in Jerome ranged from art, to clothing, to (of course) fudge to handcrafted kaleidoscopes.
With a nice amount of time spent staring at the landscape, perusing the stores and searching high and low for ghosts (none, and still no snakes to report), we headed back on the curvy roads towards the main highway and eventually to Phoenix. A fun 24+ hours that felt a planet away from my toasty, cacti-filled home town. Happy to say, I’m a fan of both worlds!
Note: For those who read these blogs specifically to follow Boomerang Bear, he did make the trek but was surprisingly camera-shy. Feel free to friend him on Facebook!