Photos of my Prescott Valley home

Address: 4906 N. Spring Drive, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
Escrow closes on December 22 - a perfect Christmas present.

NEWS BULLETIN!

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008

Whew! It’s been anything but a quiet week in my life.

Yes, I know that’s how I started the last blog entry – but it is ever so appropriate for this one.

How’s this for news – I bought a house in Prescott Valley! Actually it is in the paperwork and finance stage. Escrow closing date will be Dec. 22.

I’ve known for quite some time that I would be moving back to Arizona, and one project on my days off from the park would be spent looking for a house in either Prescott or Prescott Valley (the two towns are about 14 miles apart). The son of my grammar school girlfriend is a Realtor in the area and I chose him to work for me.

First we looked in Prescott – there were very few in my price range, and because of the mountainous terrain, very few were just one-story. And the ones I did look at would all take a lot of renovation and therefore additional money. Kevin then searched the Multiple and emailed me info about homes in Prescott Valley that met my criteria. I narrowed the listings to about 10.

Last Monday (two days ago) I met Kevin in Prescott Valley (PV) and found the one I liked. It is a happy house, immaculately clean and not needing any renovations or cleanup. The bonus is that the house is completely furnished – including pots, pans, dishes, linens, furniture, wall décor, and even the tools in the garage! The seller, a widow who will be going to live near her daughter in Southern California, was eager to get moved before winter. Basically all she is taking is her toothbrush and clothes.

On Tuesday afternoon, I signed a contract to purchase at a price $16,000 lower than the asking price. The seller’s Realtor presented the offer and it was accepted this morning (Wednesday). I had expected a counter-offer.

Three busy days! I’ll be driving up on the day the house inspector is there, and I’ll take some photos to put in my next blog entry. The address is 4906 Spring Drive, Prescott Valley, Arizona. It was built in 1979 by one of the area’s best builders.

The house is light and airy. It has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a large gorgeous kitchen with three bay-windows to the backyard, 2-car garage, covered patio, all appliances, and a place to keep Jeremiah when we are not on the road. And it is on about 1/3 acre.

My New Mexico townhouse (3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, on a gated "island" surrounded with a lagoon and the Chamisa Country Club; great view of the Sandia's) will go on the market sometime late summer or early fall. If you know anyone interested, let me know.

Compared to that, my other activities seem kind of tame. I did finish the bird watching area, including a rock-lined walkway leading from the Clay Mine trail to the picnic table that will hold binoculars and a bird identification book.

My RV friend, Carol Rayburn, arrived and has her motorhome parked on the next road over. She’s the one that leads the Winnebago caravan to Alaska – the one I’ll go on if the caravan gets a few more sign-ups. That will be this summer. Carol brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Jeremiah.

That’s the news for this time. I leave you with this quote from Pastor Chuck Swindoll:

“Let’s do our best to make the time we have count. Rather than live with reluctance, let’s live with exuberance. Instead of fearing what’s ahead, let’s face it head-on with enthusiasm. And because life is so terribly short, let’s do everything we can to make it sweet.”

Whew! It’s been anything but a quiet week in my life.

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008

It’s been a busy week – a trip to Tahoe, a kayak trip, a visit to Usery County Park, and a bird watching station in progress.

The Tahoe trip. My brother Ed and I left sunshine and 90-degree Phoenix, flew Southwest Airlines to cold and snowy Tahoe. We were family representatives and participants at the memorial service for my nephew David’s wife.

The day after my return I back working in the park contact station (entrance). I do enjoy the folks coming into the park. Often they take a few minutes to chat. Now that I’ve been on some of the trails, I like asking the hikers which trail they will be hiking; which is their favorite. And with the construction that is going on at the new Visitor Center, construction traffic is interesting. A couple days ago every few minutes an asphalt truck came through – all stopping to get directions to the site. Today it was landscapers and a huge Pella windows truck.

Here’s a photo of the contact station – I’ve been doing the 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. shift this week.

The park rangers treated all the volunteers to a kayak trip on the Salt River. We were in two-person kayaks, and basically floated downriver for nearly two hours. I had hoped to take my camera, but we were cautioned not to take anything we weren’t willing to lose or get really wet.

This past Saturday, I spent most of the day with my sister Alice. First we went to Usery Park, another park in the county system. The occasion was to attend a bird-watchers gathering. I met Sandy, a volunteer who set up the bird watching area. About 20 folks came and Sandy talked about how to identify birds – and we could practice as birds kept arriving at the feeder stations. I took pictures to show our park rangers. As a result, tomorrow the maintenance guys start on our own bird watch station. It will be set up near site #8 – and I’ll be moving to that site next week in order to keep the feeders stocked and the water feature clean. I’ll take photos when it is ready.

On Sunday, I picked the Clay Mine and the Overton Trail to hike. According to the map, it would be nearly three miles. I got an early start hoping to finish by 9. Well, I read the mileage wrong. There were quite a few folks hiking also, and the trail is well marked. I hiked, and I hiked, and I hiked. The trail would end at the day-use parking area, and every time I got to a rise, I expected to see the parking area. But, no – just more trail, and a lot of it rocky. Finally I could see the end, and I sure was glad. When I arrived at the parking lot and asked the time, it was 11 a.m.!!!!

Along the way, I took a photo of an interesting saguaro cactus – it looks like four cacti all grew in the same spot.

I’m certainly enjoying the birds that come to my feeders and water container. My favorite feeder is the one that attaches to the motorhome window by suction cups. I can sit just inches inside and get good photos. I took a picture of a female house finch that appears to have a growth on her head.

And a pair of Gila woodpeckers have figured out how to get sunflower seeds. They come individually – running off smaller birds. With their feet on the front of the feeder and their body and tail underneath the feeder, the bird sorts through the seeds, apparently picking one of the plump ones, and then flies off.

That’s it for now. No quotes, no wise words.

Remember, click on the photos to enlarge them.