Visiting the "Wickedest Town in the West" - Jerome

Jerome went from being hailed the “wickedest town in the west” to a modern-day charming, mystical and mysterious tourist destination.  

Jerome became incorporated in 1898 and during the last 118 years, the town has fallen victim to prosperity, greed, explosions, fire, the Great Depression and has still managed to become the number one recommendation of things to do in Arizona by Phoenix Magazine.

Not many old mining towns survived after the Great Depression, but Jerome has managed to rise, fall and rise again. During its mining days, the population in Jerome peaked at 15,000 people and it was once known as the richest privately owned copper mine in the world (bringing in 29 million dollars in one year alone)!

We experienced two very different sides of Jerome on our visit. We saw the town socked in with fog, snow and sleet. There was no impressive view of Sedona in the backdrop and no sense of being in a town that sat precariously on the edge of a blasted out mountain. And yet, the fog added to the mystery and intrigue of the city. Running from store to store to avoid the harsh weather conditions, we met friendly shop owners, saw unique jewelry and heard a lot of great “wild west ghost stories” from the locals.

The second day was picture perfect and allowed us to gaze upon the gorgeous colors and rock formations of Sedona and experience the windy and steep road into town. We were able to visit the museums and mine shafts, see the buildings that slid down the hill due to considerable dynamite explosions and learn more about the history behind this “wicked” town.

Whether you are a geologist, history buff, artist or ghost hunter, this town is sure to delight any visitor with its rich history and mysterious vibe. As a visitor, it is easy to get submersed in the Douglas Mansion (aka Jerome State Historic Park), the Mine Museum and the Gold King Mine Museum.

History envelopes you and you can imagine the rowdy streets, the numerous open mine pits and the characters that must have mined this area. You can almost detect the scent of dirt, sweat, cigars and the determination to strike it rich. The photos and memorabilia in the various museums really help paint that picture of what life was like in Jerome. From the cave-ins to the earthquakes (Jerome sits on multiple fault lines), to the dynamite explosions where the mining companies would use over 250,000 pounds of TNT in one blast, to the large number of brothels, saloons and opium dens….it’s easy to see how Jerome earned the title of “Wickedest town in the West”.

Today, at 5,200 feet above sea level, Cleopatra Hill proudly overlooks the Verde Valley and the color soaked Sedona skyline. Now a tourist town with unique storefronts, quirky restaurants and plenty of local art and galleries, the area has become a popular travel destination. However, the town of Jerome still holds many haunted secrets that shroud this area and keep people intrigued and coming back for more.

The Totally Trailer Trio does not recommend taking large RV's and trailers up to Jerome due to the narrow and winding streets. There is great camping and RV parks throughout the Verde Valley and Jerome sits between Flagstaff and Prescott, Arizona. We parked our trailer in Cottonwood and made day trips to Jerome.

http://azstateparks.com/Parks/JERO/ 

http://www.azjerome.com/jerome/attractions/

Thankfully "people are tolerated" in Jerome!

Dodging the winter weather at the Jerome Historical Society Mine Museum

Inside the cave system under Jerome, Arizon

Never ending view of Sedona from Jerome

Mining cart tracks deep inside the Jerome mining town

Little one enjoying the view up towards Cleopatra Hill

The ghost town built on the side of a mountain...Jerome, Arizona

Peering down a mine shaft that's 1,900 feet deep! See the pic below to get an idea of just how deep that is...

The Audrey Shaft as seen above is 1900 feet deep as compared to these other notable landmarks

Little one ready to go down the mine shaft

Hubby and little one exploring the Little Daisy Mine in Jerome

The eerie, blustery day in the historic town of Jerome

Rainbows and Road Trips

"Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud" ~ Maya Angelou

Every day on the road is a new experience that reminds us that life is an amazing adventure. We never know what's around the corner and even in the midst of a storm there is beauty and light!

If we didn't go outside our comfort zone, if we never stepped outside the box, we'd miss rare opportunities to see complete rainbows, meet new people and find that the journey is way more fun than the actual destination.

The Totally Trailer gang invites you to take a road trip, take a drive, take a hike and take a break....because you never know what you might find.

A rare sight to see- A complete double rainbow! 

After rain, there is a rainbow and a chance to get back on the road!

From Desert Sand Dunes to the Sandy Island Beaches of Kauai

Life is truly a beach along the glorious Kauai coastline. 

From Tunnels Beach to Poipu Beach there is something for everyone. The beaches are perfect for kite surfers, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving and just relaxing on the beach. 

We didn’t do much “relaxing” on the beach and dove (pardon the pun) right into snorkeling off Tunnels Beach and Anini Beach. We looked like Snorkel Bob’s walking billboards, but we were warm and ready for action. Along Anini Beach we befriended a very large and hungry sea turtle. We snorkeled with him for about 45 minutes before bidding our new friend farewell. He didn’t seem to care that we were there taking endless photos and video of him, he was more concerned about eating (we all can relate to that feeling sometimes)!

Hubby and little one saw a gigantic eel and I found a tiny fish that looked like he was impersonating baby Shamu or a killer whale.

The beaches were full of crabs, giant sea cucumbers, shells, rocks, moss, crashing waves, protected monk seals and so many other treasures.

Although Poipu Beach was named “America’s best Beach” by the Travel Channel, it was always quite crowded and we found it was quite popular with the humans and monk seals alike. 

We enjoyed walking along Ke’e Beach in a rainstorm, snorkeling at Anini Beach, visiting Haena Beach and exploring the tide pools off the Kukuiula small boat harbor.

The Totally Trailer gang can never go too far without sand and water and as luck would have it, the beautiful island of Kauai had plenty of both!

There's nothing quite like the feeling of sand between your toes and waves lapping at your feet

"Dar she blows" Admiring the Spouting Horn blow hole on the south shore of Kauai

washed up tree, coconut and coral make for a great photo opportunity

Sebastian, is that you? Our crab friend hanging on the volcanic jetty along the south shore near the small boat harbor of Kukuiula Bay 

Magnificent sunset after a day of snorkeling at Anini Beach, Kauai

A walking advertisement for Snorkel Bob's we enjoyed our snorkel adventure and sea turtle sighting

Little one taking in the Maui sunset at Poipu Beach, Kauai

Sun sets over the famous Na'Pali Coastline at Ke'e Beach

Hubby and little one gazing at the Spouting Horn blow holes

Our perfect snorkel spot destination on Anini Beach, Kauai

We left our heart in the rainforests of Kauai

The totally trailer gang ditched our trailer and left the continental United States for some island time!

We exchanged our desert hiking gear for swimsuits and rainforest hiking gear as we ventured deep into jungles looking for secret waterfalls.

From the Na Pali Coast to Waimea Canyon, we explored just about every inch of the island and took in the normal tourist attractions too.

Hiking to the Ho’opi’ Falls was one of our highlights along with tubing down the irrigation ditch. Being surrounded by so much green was intoxicating. We loved the huge elephant ear leaves, the invasive vines that grew hundreds of feet in the air, the endless rainbows and never-ending WARMTH!!

Our home base was near Kapa’a and it was a great location to access everything we wanted to see and explore. We spent the first day just exploring the “rainy side” of the island and venturing down to Ke’e Beach for an awesome sunset down the Na Pali coastline. What made the journey were the little stops along the way to see rustic churches, jagged coastlines, sea caves, ancient sites, numerous rainbows and fun shops. 

The second day we toured the “sunny side” of the island by cruising through Lihue, Poipu and up to Waimea Canyon overlook. From tree-lined roads to protected Hawaiian monk seals, spouting blow holes, Grand Canyon-esque views and more rainbows….we were in heaven!

After the normal “touristy” things, we jumped right into some exploration on our own determined to find the Ho’opi’i Falls, the Secret Falls, rustic swinging bridges and old Hawaiian villages.

We kayaked the Wailua River from the Kamokila Hawaiian Village (which was an absolutely perfect day) of seeing the sacred falls, Fern Grotto and the Hawaiian village. We also thoroughly enjoyed our “white water” tubing down an old irrigation ditch with Kauai Back Country Adventures. Our guide “Pooh” was humorous, informative and a lot of fun. We had so much fun, we wanted to do it again immediately after the tour was complete! The road to the arboretum made us feel like we were lost in some jungle and the rain forest put on a magical display for us.

Between spending quality time with family and enjoying all that this lush island had to offer, it was difficult to get me on a plane to leave.

We still managed to get muddy, get wet, get a little lost, find caves and have a ton of fun doing it. Which just proves that you can take the family out of the trailer, but you can’t take the trailer out of the family! 

http://kauaibackcountry.com/tubing/

http://villagekauai.com/

Beautiful old church in Kilauea 

Little one and Wailua Falls in the background

Wailua Falls close up with the Totally Trailer gang

Kauai Tree Tunnel on Maluhia Road which dates back almost 150 years          

The impressive Waimea Canyon overlook complete with rainbows!

The road to the arboretum

Giant taro leaves are almost bigger than we are!

Safe from a rainy day under a taro leaf umbrella

Tropical jungle complete with swinging vines and everything!

Over the river and through the jungle.....

                  

Lost in the jungle looking for Ho'opi'i Falls

SUCCESS!!! The magical Ho'opi'i Falls, Kauai

Hiking our way out of the rain forest 

Crazy walkway thought the rainforest

Kayaking on the Wailua River

All smiles from this jungle adventurer

Wailua River Secret Falls

After swimming behind and underneath we posed for a digital memory (p.s. it was cold)!

Kauai dry cave near Haena Beach 

The Swinging Bridge in Hanapepe Kauai. I loved it, little one...not so much

Tanks for the memories General Patton

The Desert Training Center is sure to be a hit with military and history buffs and anyone fascinated by big old, lean-mean-fighting-tank machines!

General Patton may be well known for his leadership in France and Germany following the invasion of Normandy, but his preparation and training started back at the world’s largest Army post (Camp Young).

Camp Young served as a World War II training facility that extended from Southern California to Phoenix, AZ and down to Yuma, AZ. This training zone was 350 miles wide and 250 miles long and General George Patton was the first commanding officer for the maneuver site.

The sole purpose of this camp was to train and prepare soldiers for fighting in extreme desert conditions. It also served well for testing vehicles and equipment and developing wartime tactical techniques. Between 800,000 and 1,000,000 soldiers were prepped for war, while the focus remained heavily on tank warfare.

We explored the General Patton Memorial Museum to find many interesting artifacts from the training center as well as other local camps. The museum provided quite a bit of history of the infamous general (including family and personal information on the Patton family).  There are books, maps, dioramas, tanks, cannons, remembrance walls and memorabilia and did I mention there were tanks…lots of them!

Being that this facility focused on tank training, it is no wonder that this museum looks like a tank graveyard. Tanks range in every size from beginner tanks to super-sized tanks on steroids.

These artifacts and images allow history to come alive in a very real and tangible way at the General Patton Memorial Museum in Indio, CA.

http://generalpattonmuseum.com/

The museum is next to a very busy travel stop and gas station. There is plenty of room to park your RV or trailer and even a restaurant and gift shop to pass the time.

General George Patton and his beloved terrier Willie, guard the memorial museum in Indio, CA 

A plethora of information, dioramas and old photographs provide history on this old training center 

Little one actually looks "little" next to this 1963 M60a3 tank. Used in the Cold War and Desert Storm

Oh no...who let her drive?

The "Catholic Chapel" or altar where General Patton and many soldiers must have prayed before going off to battle

Definition of Middle of Nowhere: (n) - Swansea Ghost Town, Parker AZ

Over the aqueduct and through the desert to the Swansea Townsite we go! 

On a long dirt road, just 30 miles outside of Parker, Arizona (in literally the middle of nowhere) sits an old copper mining town.  Archaeological and historical sites litter this once bustling boomtown and the Bureau of Land Management has done an excellent job restoring and protecting this massive and extinct townsite.

It’s no surprise that we were once again lured to an abandoned mining area full of mine shafts, artifacts and the residual smell of history and danger.

Swansea Townsite was a copper mining town that was settled around 1909. It’s one of the largest ghost towns we have visited so far. At the town’s peak (of about 750 residents), it boasted everything from a car dealership, a moving picture theater, lumber yard and an electric light company (in addition to the normal saloons, barbershops, cemeteries and restaurants). What a cutting edge town, to have their very own electric light company! As you walk the dusty “streets” of Swansea, it’s difficult to imagine a car dealership out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by open mine shafts.

What a journey this copper went on after being mined from the earth. It took a train ride along the Colorado River and ended up on a boat down the Gulf Coast, around Cape Horn to Swansea, Wales (hence the namesake)! That’s over 4,900 miles…….

The townsite sits surrounded by large mountain ranges in every direction. It’s even a steep, curvy and hairy drive into the townsite (so we don’t recommend going when it’s been raining, or with a trailer or large RV). Once nestled into the town, you can’t help but feel safe and thousands of miles away from anyone and anything.

At the entrance to the town, BLM has a kiosk with flyers, maps, historical photos and information as well as pit toilets. We could have spent days wandering and exploring the historical gems hidden within Swansea, and particularly appreciated the massive mine shafts, finding portions of the old railroad and the ramshackled brick buildings from long ago. The old copper mining town still has evidence of the massive copper smelter and dust chamber, which was a rather large and impressive brick building. Due to recent toppling walls and bricks, the building has been fenced off, but you can’t miss the undeniable presence this building had in the town.

The mine shafts are all covered for safety purposes. These heavy duty safety measures allow you to walk over and around the shafts safely, while eerily peering down these deep black holes.

There is an interpretive trail, hiking trails, picnic spots and ATV trails in the area. The interpretive trail takes you through the worker’s cottages, general office, company store, company residences, railroad depot, manager’s house, copper smelter and dust chamber, the hospital and school site along with rusted old cars and magnificent views.

Just like all the ghost towns we have visited, Swansea fell victim to the Great Depression and the last milling was reported in 1944. Today, Swansea gives us glimpse back to our past as well as a reminder at how wild the west really was. 

Although there are a handful of small campsites in Swansea, Totally Trailer does not recommend any large RV's or trailers due to the hairy roads getting into the townsite. The campgrounds at Swansea are perfect for small vans or tent camping only. It's a fun day trip and beautiful drive in from Parker, AZ. We recommend parking your RV or camper in nearby Parker.

Here is our short video on the Swansea Ghost Town

Welcome Kiosk and pit toilets

The remains of the copper smelter and dust chamber

Sunset in Swansea was eerie and exciting at the same time! Standing on a mine shaft looking back at the worker's cottages and enjoying the sunset

Interpretive plaque for the Worker's Cottages from 1917

This old rusted guy had so much personality, he looked like he belonged in the Disney movie Cars!

Standing on a giant mine pit and enjoying the expansive view of nothing-ness

Inside one of the worker's cottages. It was said that there were 6-8 people in each cottage- hard to imagine in that tiny space.

Interpretive trail guide and railroad tie steps make for an easy hike around the townsite

Hubby admiring the view and imagining a once bustling copper town

Look back at the previous picture and you can get an idea of how big this town was

Massive brick building and dust chamber dwarfs us

A wall recently collapsed and left this pile of bricks and rubble

Over time, walls are collapsing and succumbing to the harsh climate

Once a busy railroad line carrying copper ore. The first train arrived here on the Swansea Railroad in 1910