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The Haunted Porsche Tour by Jim LaMonica |
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On a cool October morning, 20 Riversiders in 10 Porsches and 1 Ferrari met in the high desert town of Yucca Valley for the 310 mile back roads drive to their destiny with the “undead” of Jerome. For the first 110 miles we passed 3 cars and cruise controls were said to be set at 4000 RPM in 6th gear (you do the math). A brief road side stop for a picnic lunch took place in Hope, AZ, in the shade of a few old trees, and then it was on through Prescott, AZ. and up and over the side of Cleopatra Mountain to the site of Jerome at 5240 ft msl.
As the sun started to set over the Verde Valley we all gathered in the hotel's bar, and then followed with a truly outstanding dinner in the Asylum Restaurant. When we were finished dining, we finally faced our fears and gathered in two groups for a tour of the hotel's inner sanctum. We were each issued infra-red thermometers, EMF meters and digital cameras for our journey. The son of the owner of the hotel then began to expound to us tails of strange deaths, sightings, unexplained noises and phantom phone calls from unoccupied rooms as he lead us through the hotel for 1 ½ hours. The EMF meters buzzed and the cameras flashed as we tried to capture some sort of apparition in the halls and rooms. I'm not sure we saw anything, but we had a heck of a lot of fun! Some of us slept well, and some didn't that night.
Day three found us all up early and ready for more fun. Part of the group traveled to Sedona for breakfast while the rest of us gathered our belongings and headed out for the drive home or other destinations unknown. |
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Just about a week before Halloween the Riverside Region hosted a tour to Jerome, AZ, the largest ghost town in the country. The town of Jerome once
had a population of between 15,000 to 25,000 people and was the third largest and the “wickedest” town in the Arizona territory. After the
copper mine that supported the town closed in the 50's the town's population shrank to around 50 people.
The Jerome Grand Hotel served as our base for the next two days. The hotel was built as a hospital for the miners in 1927 and was constructed on
the side of the mountain at a 50 degree slope out of solid reinforced concrete to withstand the blasting from the mining operations nearby. After
the mine closed and the town was deserted, the building sat abandoned for 44 years until it was purchased and converted into a 24 room hotel in 1996. The
Hotel is now listed by The Arizona Paranormal Society at the “most haunted building in Arizona.”
In the morning, the head count revealed that we had all survived and we were off for a day of exploring our surroundings. Some visited the ghost town
bone yard and saw an 11,000 cubic inch 3 cylinder engine called “Big Bertha” run. Others took a 4 hour train ride on the Verde Canyon Rail
Road to view bald eagles and the fall colors, while some shopped the art galleries in Jerome or nearby Sedona. Later in the evening we all met again for
another great dinner at the famous Haunted Hamburger restaurant where the chocolate cake that was supposed to be passed and shared between each of the 5
tables only made it to two. Ghosts?