June 1, Wednesday: Kaleidoscopes, ghosts a Rolls Royce

Today's dispatch isn't about hiking statistics or even hiking. It's about what you can do between hiking days in Sedona AZ. We start with the photo above.

Those two headlights that are glaring out at you belong to a vehicle almost as old as the hotel where their owner is housed -- in the garage of the Grand Jerome Hotel, in nearby Jerome, AZ. Perhaps you have not heard of Jerome, but according to a plaque on one of the few major streets in this all-but-a-ghost town, Jerome miners dug up enough copper ore by 1952 "to put 13 pounds in the hands of every citizen of the world." Well, if you say so. Since it's heyday, Jerome's population has shrunk so precipitously that the best way to know that you have arrived there is by the great big letter "J" on the scrubby hillside above the former mining town.

Jerome's population doesn't thrive on mining nowadays but on tourists with an interest in its history, including the rumors of the haunting of the former hospital building that has become a restaurant. At least one shop has a reputation with a long reach--Nellie Bly, which purports to be the largest dealer of kaleidoscopes in the world, representing more than 90 artists, most of them living in the United States. The child pictured below is peering into one of those kaleidoscopes while generating enchanting patterns for her viewing fascination.

If the appearance of that first contraption didn't impress you, try looking at the one below.

 How many kaleidoscopes can you count on the table in the photo below?

These kaleidoscopes below are encased in turned wood tubes.

What was once a hospital where many died has become a "haunted" hotel. The staff and guests tell stories of hauntings.

The hotel sports a restaurant called "The Asylum."

 

 There's nothing special in the Asylum's decore, but a view from the dining room shows the austere setting of Jerome..

There's a claim that, from Jerome's high perch, you can see for 100 miles.

In the men's room of the Asylum, naked sprites and spirits dance in the wash basin.(Women diners have to use a boring white nondescript basin.)

Behind these garage doors lies a surprise...

...a late 1920's Rolls Royce, which the owner reportedly drives a couple times a month to maintain its condition.

This so-called "Century Plant" (Agave Americana) can be found in Jerome. It actually lives only 20-30 years, then flowers and dies.

The "century," "sentry," "maguey" or American aloe, depending on your preference

A common name for the plant in the photo above is "Century Plant," but it doesn't really live that long. It is monocarpic, meaning that it blooms once, and dies. The bloom make take up to 20 or more years to appear. The official name for this is agave americana, a.k.a. sentry plant, maguey or American aloe. It is native to Mexico and the American southwest.