Chateau Williams
Randy and James’ home is nestled among boulders and rocky outcroppings. The day after we arrive they take us for a drive through the nearby mountains along Highway 89A, which offers some beautiful views.
Highway 89A
Our destination is the old mining town of Jerome. I’m amazed when we first see it from the road, it looks like a mountain village in France or Italy.
Jerome
The mountainside on which it’s perched is a honeycomb of vertical and horizontal mine shafts which yielded millions of pounds per month of copper between the late 1800’s and 1953 when the last mine closed.
Wild West
It had a very colorful history, a true Wild West community, which has given way to a thriving artists’ colony. Randy and James have bought some beautiful wood furniture here, and we find a lovely woven table runner for our dining room table.
Broken Arrow Trail
Pink Jeep on the Devil's Staircase
The next morning Randy and James take us for a Pink Jeeps tour on the Broken Arrow Trail in Sedona, it offers spectacular mountains and rock formations, and some pretty exciting rides in one of the Jeeps which have been custom-designed for this brutal terrain.
This is steep! (No, I didn't tilt the camera.)
We share our Jeep with a newlywed couple from the East Coast…this is what it looks like from the inside, heading down the Devil’s Staircase.
Tlaquepaque
Papilio rutulus - Western Tiger Swallowtail
After our ride we have lunch in the Tlaquepaque Village and enjoy wandering through shops and galleries offering a wide variety of paintings, sculptures and crafts. This is another favorite spot of Randy and James’ where they’ve gotten a lot of the art work that decorates their home. The swallowtail is beautiful and entertaining but has no price tag.
Our last day here is more leisurely, Jan and Randy walk into town for some shopping and we prepare to move on to a different Prescott neighborhood tomorrow.