Jerome

Jerome, Arizona is a quirky old mining town up in the hills, not too far from Sedona.  Sissy took me there after our hike, so I could see it.  After miles of switchbacks, we made it up the hill to explore.

Jerome was a booming little mining town back in the day, with plenty of brothels apparently.  (One madam was the richest woman in the U.S. before her murder, or so I'm told.)  It was booming.  Then the mines closed in the 1950s, and everyone just left.  No one could sell their homes, they just packed up.

One of many historic plaques

Later, past residents and a bunch of, well, hippies decided to make Jerome a destination.  Now there are ghost tours, wineries, a candy shop, galleries, even the "world's largest" kaleidoscope store.  It has adorable restaurants and stores too, with historic plaques everywhere to tell its interesting history.

One of many former brothels...

I wish we'd had more time to spend in Jerome, but it was a nice day trip and walk to break up our day.  Definitely worth checking out, because it is just plain unique!