Of the various tales of how Arizona's towns and cities came to be, Jerome, Arizona is the only one that can say it is truly, "on the move." Laterally, perhaps - but Jerome, Arizona is definitely in motion.

Jerome, Arizona began as a mining camp in 1883. Its name comes from Eugene Murray Jerome, who owned the mineral rights for the area, but never visited the town that shares his name.

At any rate, Jerome, Arizona prospered, becoming the picture of an old west mining town. The schools, hotels and churches you would expect in a town were all there - intermixed with brothels, gambling parlors, opium dens and saloons. By 1903, just 20 years since the mining camp was established, Jerome, Arizona had come to be known as the wickedest town in the state.

It was also the fourth largest settlement in Arizona, as a result of the successful mining operations. William Andrews Clark had bought the camp in 1888 and extracted vast amounts of treasure. By the 1950s, when operations were finally halted, the little mining town of Jerome, Arizona had produced $50 million in gold, $60 million in silver, and a staggering $2 billion in copper.

All of this took place in the mines snaking about beneath the actual town of Jerome. Eventually, cave-ins and fires forced the company to change to an open pit approach. The damage, however, was already done. A honeycomb of tunnels beneath Jerome, created from years of dynamiting, made the land unstable. Arizona hiking trails throughout the area show the rifts that are still expanding to this day. To this day, the town continues to imperceptibly slide down Cleopatra Hill, on which it sits. Because of this gradual glide downhill, the Chamber of Commerce facetiously bragged the town was indeed, "on the move."

Today Jerome, Arizona is a laid-back collection of shops and restaurants, and a favorite destination for travel in Arizona You can enjoy a sumptuous meal, window shop the collections of local art and jewelry, or continue out of town to explore the Verde River.

Richard Starkey is a blogger and writer from Tempe, Arizona. He is also a fan of desert photography

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