Jerome and Dead Horse Ranch State Park

I tagged along with Randy's photography class on their field trip to Jerome and a nearby state park. Jerome is "America's Most Vertical City" and the "Largest Ghost Town in America." It is located on top of Cleopatra Hill (5,200 ft.) between Prescott and Flagstaff. It's about 20 miles from Sedona. It was once known as the wickedest town in the west and was a copper mining camp. At its peak, the mine produced 3 million pounds of copper per month.

Today Jerome is a tourist and artist community with a population of about 450. In this photo a glass blower is explaining his technique.

We had a delicious burger at this place. I really wanted a piece of their famous chocolate cake (about 12 inches tall) but I resisted.

This is the Jerome Hotel. Most of the buildings are built against the 30-degree incline of the mountainside.

We then drove a short distance to Dead Horse Ranch State Park. The park covers 423 acres. The 3,300 ft. elevation accounts for mild temperatures that are great for camping, mountain biking in the Coconino National Forest hiking along the Verde River, canoeing, picnicking, fishing or just wading in the cool water.

Its unique ecosystem, the cottonwood and willow riparian gallery forest, is one of less than 20 such riparian zones in the world. Life along the river changes with the seasons, giving visitors a glimpse of the numerous species of raptors, resident songbirds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

Cooper just loved this place....raced around like a mad dog and ate a fish head. (He had to be on a leash in Jerome.) There are many horseback riding trails (you can rent horses) and he found some horse poop to roll in.....windows down in the car on the way home!