Visiting a Ghost Town While Sneezing on Snatchbacks

Gasping for breath, I woke with a start in the morning. The moisture and CO2 from our breath was trapped in the car with no fresh air to relieve us, causing both Chad and I to breathe deeply from our mouths which eventually woke me abruptly. Cracking a window is a must from now on. I snuck out to use the bathroom and took the time to go on a small, brisk walk. I looped around the parking lot and wandered down an abandoned driveway to find nothing of interest. I returned to my seat in the car to find Chad sitting straight up and looking at me. I had forgotten to tell him I was going for a walk and he had noticed. Nothing like an early morning wake-up call? We hit the road around 8 a.m. and headed to Tucson, Arizona to meet up with Chad’s ski patrol friend and his wife from Minnesota. The Meier’s were escaping the winter cold for a few days to go hiking in the nearby Tucson mountain ranges and we had been invited to join. Why not? But this also meant sleeping in a hotel! Chads protest to civilization was, “we don’t need showers. People have been going without showers in history.”

Driving across Arizona was nothing like we expected. The northern half was wet, had trees, and even hosted snow. But, the southern half started to become a wasteland of random weed patches, sad looking trees and cacti. Why would anyone want to retire in Arizona? Apparently, this is not Chad’s retirement location with all of the other snow birds.

Copper Mine Ghost Town

We drove through Jerome, a current ghost town once populated by copper miners and their families, to check it out. Chad’s grandmother was born there and we wanted to see what it was like. Driving straight up the side of the mountain fingers, we drove switchbacks all the way to where Jerome rested. Chad decided this was a good time to sneeze and I clung for my life as we rounded a corner. Then soon followed with, “maybe we should stop in the middle of the switchback and brush our teeth.” Oh, so now he wants to focus on personal hygiene. Houses soon appeared and were built into the hills. A once busy place, now empty except for the few who stayed to lure in tourists.

Arriving in Tucson

After Chad drove 85 mph down a 7% mountain grade in a 65, we were spit out of the mountains on track for Tucson (flat land!!! Thank god!). Arriving in Tucson, Chad researched hotels and I hunted for dinner. After much needed showers and putting on summer clothes, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant. We were the only ones wearing short sleeves as everyone was wearing sweatshirts, hats and jackets. It was a beautiful 60 degrees and my freckles started to remembered what sun feels like. Hopefully by the end of this trip I will have some color! How bad is sugar? Pretty bad. We attacked the Italian meal and stalked down a dessert at another restaurant. We instantly regretted it. Craving sweets, we selected a small eggnog cake and a large piece of mint chocolate chip brownie to eat saddled up to the bar. “One tall glass of milk, please.” Chasing down the sugar, cinnamon sprinkled cappuccinos topped off our food spree. Retreating to the hotel, Chad and I rested off the food commas by watching Cops on TV. We both realized we haven’t watched TV in the longest time and we were instantly addicted. Cops never seemed so captivating and we reluctantly went to sleep. A long hiking adventure was planned for the next day and I sure needed to prepare for it.