along Main Street, you’ll notice some surprises among the shops and the overgrown residential gardens. Look for a small inlet with one of the mine’s old blast furnaces; a sign explains that it was fueled by coke brought to Arizona from Wales, UK. Just to the left of that, a concrete stairway will take you to a hidden park right above it, shaded and with a picnic table and swing set for the kids.
The Jerome Grand Hotel, originally a hospital, crowns its steep hillside of switchback streets.
Once you get to the final switchback, Clark Street, you have two choices. The first is to drop into Wicked City Brew, 403 Clark St. ( 928/351-7940) for some locally brewed craft beers (all on tap with old horseshoes and such on the tap handles) and a selection of Arizona wines. The second is to press on up Clark Street, past the Haunted Hamburger restaurant (p. 189), to Hill Street, which veers up to the right. If you follow this road for about a quarter-mile over rather steep gravel, you’ll reach the wonderful Grand Hotel (p. 188), the most prominent building in the town, and its restaurant, the Asylum. Views here are as good as they get. It’s a great place to stop for a drink or a bite to eat before heading back down the mountain.
Sipping the Local Vintages: Jerome
Central Arizona is working hard to develop worthy wineries; right now, Jerome is ground zero for finding out whether they are on to something. Most of the new shops in town have deals for tastings; some offer small plates of food, too, and they’ll generally throw in the cost of the tasting if you end up buying a few bottles. Caduceus Cellars, 158 Main St. (www.caduceus.org; 928/639-9463) drew attention originally because it was started by a member of the rock band Tool; it is now the most respected winemaker in the state. Bitter Creek Winery, 240 Hull St. (www.bittercreekwinery.com; 928/634-7033), at the north end of Hull Street, has some nice views of the Verde Valley to contemplate while you sip. Another respected company markets two wines, Passion and Salvatore, in a swanky shop called Cabal, 417 Hull St. (www.passioncellars.com; 928/649-9800).
Jerome Shopping
Artists have made Jerome’s name in the 21st century. By all means, stop at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery, 502 Main St. (www.jeromeartistscoop.com; 928/639-4276), on the west side of the street where Hull Avenue and Main Street fork as you come uphill into town. It’s a bright and airy place with room after room of respectable art and craftwork. Don’t miss the eclectic offerings—everything from surplus Russian army and navy uniforms to feather boas—at the House of Joy, 416 N. Hull Ave. (www.jeromesfinest.com; 928/634-5339), which styles itself as a “brothel boutique” after the business that occupied the space in the bad old days. For more tastefully curated women’s wear, visit Threads on Main, 367 Main St. (www.threadsjerome.com; 928/649-9502). Arizona Discoveries, 317 Main St. ( 928/634-5716) is probably the best of the shops selling tchotchkes and such. Where else can you get vintage spittoons—for the man, or woman, who has everything? (Whatever you do, though, don’t ask the proprietor if you can take photos—I found that out the hard way.) Someone’s going to want to stop in at Copper Country Fudge, 337 Main St. ( 928/634-4040).
A little farther up the road, the Raku Gallery, 250 Hull Ave. (www.rakugallery.com; 928/639-0239) has gallery space on two floors and walls of glass across the back, with views of the red rocks of Sedona in the distance. Don’t miss Nellie Bly, 136 Main St. (www.nellieblyscopes.com; 928/634-0255), a shop full of handmade kaleidoscopes. A couple of doors away you’ll find Pura Vida Gallery, 501 School St. (www.puravidagalleryjerome.com; 928/634-0937), which has a fascinating and eclectic selection of fine art, jewelry, and unusual Southwest-inspired furniture and fashions.
Exploring the Verde Valley
In Clarkdale, 5 miles northeast of Jerome on Ariz. 260, the small Clarkdale Arizona Historical Society Museum, 900 First North St. (www.clarkdalemuseum.org; 928/649-1198; free admission), has a lot of interesting information on the grand copper smelters that once dominated the region’s economy. And right down the street is something special: the Arizona Copper Art Museum , 849 Main St. (www.copperartmuseum.com; 928/649-1858), an extraordinary collection of some 5,000 works of art made from copper. The glow alone is unforgettable. It’s open daily 10am–5pm; adult tickets are $9, with discounts for seniors and kids.
Cottonwood, 4 miles or so southeast of Clarkdale, isn’t nearly as atmospheric as Jerome, but in its Old Town district, where one side of Main Street has an old-fashioned covered sidewalk, you’ll find quite a few interesting shops, galleries, and cafes. I could point you, for example, to Adventures Unlimited Books, 1020 N. Main St. (www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com; 928/639-1664). Just a normal bookstore, right? But look around a bit and you’ll start to hear the theme from The X-Files. You’ll find everything you ever need to know on aliens, sightings, chemtrail, conspiracy theories, anti-gravity machines, mystical phenomena, and many other things. Farther down the street is an iconoclastic purveyor of sculpture, a shop that calls itself The Most Interesting Store in the World, 909 N. Main St. ( 928/821-0313), which is only somewhat hyperbolic.
Sipping the Local Vintages: Verde Valley
About halfway between Camp Verde and Cottonwood, Alcantara Vineyards, 3445 S. Grapevine Way, Verde Valley (www.alcantaravineyard.com; 888/569-0756 or 928/649-8463) is far and away the most beautiful winery in Arizona, with terraced vineyards overlooking limestone cliffs and a bend of the Verde River. There are tours on Friday and Saturday at 11:30am. The tasting room is open daily 11am to 5pm; there is an $10 per person tasting fee.
along Main Street, you’ll notice some surprises among the shops and the overgrown residential gardens. Look for a small inlet with one of the mine’s old blast furnaces; a sign explains that it was fueled by coke brought to Arizona from Wales, UK. Just to the left of that, a concrete stairway will take you to a hidden park right above it, shaded and with a picnic table and swing set for the kids.
