Journey To Jerome

We love our truck camper for it's ease of travel and today's drive is no exception.

                  We left the Prescott area and took Arizona highway 89A north toward Jerome.

The mobility of the camper allowed us to explore a few very scenic side roads that were both rugged and remote.

The main route itself is mostly very steep grades up and down with continuous switchbacks for 13 miles.

Our diesel truck with exhaust brake is well suited for this type of travel and took these grades as though they were babies.  This is what diesel trucks and exhaust brakes are all about.

Going up hill was a piece of cake and on descents we didn't need our service brakes at all.

The many sharp switchbacks and steep grades eliminate all but a few small RV's and we realized that we saw no other RV's on the entire trip today.  

                In 1876 mining claims and a mill were located near here.

                                 The town itself is located over rich ore deposits.

                   By the mid 1920s the population had grown to 15,000 people.

Although it survived numerous fires, many of today's buildings are the same ones that remain from it's heyday.

                  When the mines shut down in the 1950's, the population was below 100.
               

When we first visited in the early 1980's, it was almost a ghost town.

Today the population is close to 500 and it is a thriving destination tourist town and  national historic landmark.