Mingus Mountain
— the mountain that watches the Verde Valley.
Not only on a wall.
“The high point of the Black Hills above Jerome, rising to 7,815 feet at the western edge of the Verde Valley. Pines on top, juniper and copper-coloured rock below. The road up, Arizona 89A, climbs in switchbacks past the old mining town, then loops along the rim. A favoured launch site for hang gliders catching the valley thermals.
Mingus Mountain, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Mingus Mountain rises to 7,815 feet (2,382 m) in the Black Hills of central Arizona, the high point of a small range west of the Verde Valley. The summit lies within the Prescott National Forest, reached by Arizona State Route 89A as it climbs from the old copper-mining town of Jerome at about 5,200 feet. The mountain takes its name from the Mingus family, early settlers in the valley below. Cottonwood, Sedona, and the San Francisco Peaks are visible from the eastern overlook.
The eastern face of Mingus catches the afternoon thermals that rise off the Verde Valley, and the mountain has been one of Arizona's principal hang-gliding launch sites for more than forty years. The Mingus Mountain launch ramp sits at roughly 7,500 feet, about 3,200 feet above the valley floor. Spring and fall carry the cleanest air. Winter days can fall below freezing at the top while the valley below holds the sixties. The mountain runs its own weather.
The drive up Arizona 89A from Cottonwood through Jerome and over Mingus is one of the more scenic state-route crossings in the Southwest. The road climbs about 2,600 feet in switchbacks from the Verde Valley, passes the historic mining town clinging to the hillside, then loops along the rim past the Mingus Mountain Campground (Forest Service, first-come basis) before descending toward Prescott. The drive takes about an hour without stops; most travellers stop in Jerome and lose half a day.