Hello beautiful people, and welcome back to the route! 🙂
Today we will bring you straight in the Southern Heart of the US, into the iconic Arizona, a place that I know, almost any vanlifer and camper lover dreams to visit once in life! 😀
I say iconic, because when hearing the name “Arizona”, most people recall a clear imagine in mind coming from old movies scenes: a few towering cacti, dusty roads, cowboys on horseback, and endless heat shimmering in the distance...we grew up with those movies (or at least, until my ’90s generation, we pretty much did! eheh).
Still, there’s so much more than normally meets the eye and today we will talk about it!
FUN FACT: Did you know that Arizona is the 6th largest U.S. state and it’s area is larger than the entire UK and roughly the same of Italy? (295,000 vs 304.000 km²).
In this article, we will highlight 7 curiosities about Arizona that will help you to understand the scale, the beauty and the culture of this spectacular corner of the world, and that will hopefully enrich your next visit by giving you new lenses to read it!
And talking about reading, if you’re traveling with children – or simply enjoy stories inspired by real world places – we would like to recommend you the book Rusty the Ringtail!
This is a curious children-story set around Jerome, Sedona and the Grand Canyon (all places we will see in this article!) written by a local creator, Thomas Lopez, where an adventurous RIngtail (more on this cute animal soon!) restores a 1914 miner’s house in Jerome, Arizona – a very cute and educational journey 🙂
Said that, let’s dive right in and let’s start unveiling our list of fun facts about Arizona! :)
Let’s start learning! 🙂
1. Jerome Is a Real Ghost Town
Built on the Side of a Mountain
Many ghost towns in the American West are nowadays little more than broken wood, dust, and a lonely sign by the road.
Jerome in Arizona, however, is gloriously alive!
Perched dramatically on Cleopatra Hill at around 1,500 meters (5,000 ft) elevation, Jerome was once one of the richest copper mining towns in America!
In the early 1900s, the “United Verde Mine“ made fortunes here, and the town’s population climbed above 10,000 residents – a huge number given such a steep and difficult location!
Jerome – in the beginning of the last century – developed a wild reputation.
It had saloons, gambling, fires, landslides and the kind of rough frontier energy that made newspapers love writing about it.
Some called it “the wickedest town in the West,” (which is usually a good sign for future tourism) and surely all of the previous sounded pretty badass! 😉
In 1953 though, the mine closed as copper prices were falling and operations were not anymore lucrative enough to justify the investments…in the blink of an eye, the whole town became a ghost town!
When everything appeared bleak and the town was nearly completely abandoned, something curious happened: artists, retirees, and free spirits started to move in, transforming the former ghost town into a thriving community focused on tourism, art, and history.
As of today, in town live roughly 300-400 residents which run the historic hotels, art galleries, cafés and museums – located within old mining buildings- which make Jerome one of the few remaining “Western towns” alive in the area 🙂
2. Arizona’s State Mammal Looks Like a Cat… but Isn’t One
Do you remember the Rusty book I told you about earlier?
The protagonist is a cute Ringtail, the cute little animal that Arizona officially named its state mammal in 1986, and honestly speaking, one of the coolest state symbols in America! 😀
At first glance, the Ringtail looks like a cross between a fox, a raccoon and a cat.
In reality, it belongs just to the raccoon family! 😀
It has huge eyes (which help him to see better during dark nights!), a striped tail almost as long as its body, and an elite climbing ability comparable to squirrels!
DID YOU KNOW?: One of its most impressive tricks is ankle flexibility.
Ringtails can rotate their hind feet enough to descend cliffs and trees headfirst, something few mammals do well!
During the mining era, ringtails often lived near camps and tunnels because food was plentiful there, and as they hunted rats and mice, miners started to nickname them “miner’s cats.”
Most tourists unfortunately never have the chance to spot one, as they are very nocturnal and pretty shy.
If you’ll ever spot one in Jerome, Sedona outskirts, or canyon country after dark though, consider it a lucky charm! 😉
3) Arizona Is Home
to the Largest Cactus in the United States
4) Sedona’s Red Rocks Really Change Color Throughout the Day!
Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of Arizona, famous for its famous cliffs and buttes!
What is extremely peculiar about those natural sculptures though, is their red color which comes from iron oxide – the same chemical process that creates rust!
Depending on light angle, weather and season, the rocks can appear pale pink at dawn, bright orange by midday, and deep crimson during golden hour and purple at twilight (if you don’t believe me, just Google “Sedona” on google and see the differences!).
The red formations belong largely to the “Schnebly Hill Formation”, sandstone laid down roughly 280 million years ago during the Permian period (way way before humans every existed!).
QUICK CAMPERVAN TIP: to get the best out of Sedona, drive the Red Rock Scenic Byway (State Route 179) in late afternoon, then stay for sunset. You can get some of the best view by simply pulling-off!
5) The Grand Canyon Is Not the Deepest Canyon on Earth…yet holds plenty of records!
The Grand Canyon National park in Arizona is one of the most visited natural sites on the planet – a place that can make you cry just by looking at it for how gorgeous it is!
It is so massive, so abnormous, so immeasurable and so neverending, that it undoubtedly deserve all of its fame!
Yet, did you know that the Grand Canyon is not the highest canyon in the world?
The Grand Canyon reaches a maximum depth of roughly 1,857 meters (6,093 ft).
Deeper canyons exist elsewhere such as the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in Tibet (often cited above 5,000 meters in relief), the Kali Gandaki Gorge in Nepal (also over 5,000m tall) and Peru’s Cotahuasi Canyon, which exceeds 3,500 meters too! 🙂
But then, how come you probably never heard of those you might wonder?
That is because depth, is only ONE metric—and not the one that made Arizona’s landscape so absolutely legendary!
What makes the Grand Canyon extraordinary is the combination of scale, accessibility and visual marvel!
The whole canyon stretches around 277 miles (446 km) in length (about half the lenght of Italy!), it reaches up to 18 miles (29 km) wide, and cuts through northern Arizona like a geological continent of its own (well-visible from space!).
Last but not least, the grand Canyon is an immense maze of temples, buttes, ridges and side canyons fading into colored haze which looks like an entire landscape folded open: way more iconic than any other canyon around the world! 🙂
6. Arizona Keeps Route 66 Alive
Better Than Most Places!
Our website name is “Lost on the Route” because when we founded this blog, we were dreaming about the day we would have drove the historic Route 66, one of the most famous roads on Earth!
And here we are! Officially opened in 1926, Route 66 linked Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, crossing eight states and becoming the symbolic road of migration, freedom and post-war road trips.
As of today, large sections disappeared after the Interstate era, but Arizona managed to keep many memorable fragments of the route alive! 🙂
The state’s Route 66 corridor includes towns such as Kingman, Seligman, Williams, Winslow, Holbrook, Flagstaff and Oatman, each with its own iconic and peculiar personality!
Kingman on one side, offers museums and a classic gateway feel.
Oatman on the other, built in old mining country, became famous for its wild “burros” roaming the streets 🙂
Holbrook still has retro motels and roadside Americana energy.
Winslow transformed a lyric from the Eagles song Take It Easy into one of America’s most photographed corners 😉
Then there’s Selligman too!
When Interstate 40 diverted traffic away, many Route 66 communities declined sharply. In the 1980s, local barber and businessman Angel Delgadillo became one of the leading voices pushing to preserve the route’s heritage in town. His activism helped spark Route 66 tourism rebirth. Today, visitors from Germany, Japan, France, Italy and beyond regularly detour here specifically to experience the old road!
All in all, Arizona’s stretch of Route 66 is not just about old signs and diners, but a romantic road that tells the story of how America moved west, how cars reshaped culture, and how small towns reinvented themselves after being nearly forgotten! Just magic!!!
7) Arizona Has Snowy Mountains and Some of America’s Darkest Skies in the world!
People who think Arizona is only desert usually change their mind the moment they reach Flagstaff xD
Sitting at around 2,106 meters (6,909 ft) elevation, Flagstaff is a pictoresque town that lies in the world’s largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest and experiences true four-season weather (a rarity in most of the US!).
Winters bring here regular snow, and in strong years the city has ranked among the snowiest urban areas in the United States.
Think that some seasons have produced more than 100 inches (254 cm) of snowfall!!
Just outside town rises Humphreys Peak, Arizona’s highest point at 12,633 ft (3,851 m) and nearby sits Arizona Snowbowl, a ski area on the slopes of the ancient San Francisco Peaks!
Few travelers expect to ski in Arizona in the morning and later drive toward desert red rock country. Yet that contrast is one of the state’s secret strengths 😉
Last but not least, one more fun fact!
Arizona also becomes extraordinary after dark due to its low light pollution!
Flagstaff in particular, was named the world’s first International Dark Sky City in 2001, thanks to decades of local efforts to reduce light pollution 🙂
Protective lighting ordinances in the area date back to 1958, partly because astronomers needed clear skies for research! Nearby Lowell Observatory, founded in 1894, is historically significant because it was where Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh!
Conclusions 🙂
And here we are at the end of this article 🙂
Let us know in the comments below! 😀
Hereafter, I will leave you a few articles that you might also be interested in checking out:
Thank you for reading, and see you in the next article! 🙂
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