target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_ad473383-4ce5-538f-b728-b91cff2ee45b.jpg" alt=""/> 928/649-9502). Arizona Discoveries, 317 Main St. (
928/634-5716) is probably the best of the shops selling tchotchkes and such. Where else can you get vintage spittoons—for the man, or woman, who has everything? (Whatever you do, though, don’t ask the proprietor if you can take photos—I found that out the hard way.) Someone’s going to want to stop in at Copper Country Fudge, 337 Main St. (
928/634-4040).
A little farther up the road, the Raku Gallery, 250 Hull Ave. (www.rakugallery.com; 928/639-0239) has gallery space on two floors and walls of glass across the back, with views of the red rocks of Sedona in the distance. Don’t miss Nellie Bly, 136 Main St. (www.nellieblyscopes.com; 928/634-0255), a shop full of handmade kaleidoscopes. A couple of doors away you’ll find Pura Vida Gallery, 501 School St. (www.puravidagalleryjerome.com; 928/634-0937), which has a fascinating and eclectic selection of fine art, jewelry, and unusual Southwest-inspired furniture and fashions.
Exploring the Verde Valley
In Clarkdale, 5 miles northeast of Jerome on Ariz. 260, the small Clarkdale Arizona Historical Society Museum, 900 First North St. (www.clarkdalemuseum.org; 928/649-1198; free admission), has a lot of interesting information on the grand copper smelters that once dominated the region’s economy. And right down the street is something special: the Arizona Copper Art Museum , 849 Main St. (www.copperartmuseum.com; 928/649-1858), an extraordinary collection of some 5,000 works of art made from copper. The glow alone is unforgettable. It’s open daily 10am–5pm; adult tickets are $9, with discounts for seniors and kids.
Cottonwood, 4 miles or so southeast of Clarkdale, isn’t nearly as atmospheric as Jerome, but in its Old Town district, where one side of Main Street has an old-fashioned covered sidewalk, you’ll find quite a few interesting shops, galleries, and cafes. I could point you, for example, to Adventures Unlimited Books, 1020 N. Main St. (www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com; 928/639-1664). Just a normal bookstore, right? But look around a bit and you’ll start to hear the theme from The X-Files. You’ll find everything you ever need to know on aliens, sightings, chemtrail, conspiracy theories, anti-gravity machines, mystical phenomena, and many other things. Farther down the street is an iconoclastic purveyor of sculpture, a shop that calls itself The Most Interesting Store in the World, 909 N. Main St. ( 928/821-0313), which is only somewhat hyperbolic.
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Sipping the Local Vintages: Verde Valley
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About halfway between Camp Verde and Cottonwood, Alcantara Vineyards, 3445 S. Grapevine Way, Verde Valley (www.alcantaravineyard.com; 888/569-0756 or 928/649-8463) is far and away the most beautiful winery in Arizona, with terraced vineyards overlooking limestone cliffs and a bend of the Verde River. There are tours on Friday and Saturday at 11:30am. The tasting room is open daily 11am to 5pm; there is an $10 per person tasting fee.
