Day Trip with Dad

Dad and I today packed cameras, film, water, sunscreen and hats and mosied up to Jerome, the same place Double BB and I visited on our last anniversary. Dad, however, had a specific destination in mind. I can't show you that yet, as those pictures are on film and I haven't developed it yet. But the photos below were taken on my trusty MuthaCam after we got back into town. Always irresistible vistas, such as this! Stunning cloudworks today. And we noticed new activity taking place in one of the old mine locations. All of that area is roped off, no trespassing signs everywhere, so we couldn't even think of trying to get near it. There are old walls from the original mine buildings, and 2 remaining concrete buildings from the original site. We both ITCH to get in there and shoot! One of my favorite buildings in Jerome to photograph, although none of the shots ever quite capture it, the patina on the wire around the balconies, the pitch of the building, the peeling paint. I keep trying, though, every time I go up there.
Because of the steep slopes upon which the houses were erected, many over the years have shifted, foundations cracked, roofs caved in. Those which go unwanted and unloved and unrescued end up forlornly, beautifully photogenic, like this one. Dad had to explain to me that this was an old gas pump. At that time, the numbers on the little tags were enclosed in glass. The patron told the pump attendant how many gallons were wanted. The attendant then flipped a lever at the bottom and the gas rose UP, into the glass-enclosed cylinder, to the quantity requested. The old high school in Jerome is now home to several artists' studios. This painted poster greeted us at one door -- the image is of the triangular corner housing the restaurant where Dad treated me to breakfast, The Flat Iron, named one of the 25 best in Arizona -- yes, definitely!