Posts Tagged ‘Arizona homes for sale’

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Arizona is Home to Cacti but also Camels

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

If you are thinking of moving to Arizona, looking at real estate or Arizona homes for sale, then chances are you are also interested in learning some of the history of this great state. Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, is a land filled with not just magnificent scenery and beautiful homes, but also dramatic legends – some based on fact, some based on fiction and some based on dreams. The story that many people have heard about camels making a home in Arizona and carousing across the desert is, in fact, based on facts.   

Let’s start out in Quartzsite, Arizona, about half-way between Phoenix and the California border along I-10. Quartzsite is located about 125 miles from Phoenix and almost 300 miles from Tucson. The town is now home to a wealth of winter residents, and it’s also where numerous well-attended gem and mineral shows take place every year. But over one hundred years ago, Quartzsite was where camels met cacti.  



According to Arizona Oddities, the thing most people notice right away when they enter the Quartzsite Pioneer Cemetery is a stone pyramid topped by a copper camel, and there’s quite a story behind its presence. The cairn marks the gravesite of a famed camel driver known as “Hi Jolly,” whose birth name was Philip Tedro, a Greek born in Syria. As an adult, Tedro had converted to Islam and changed his name to Hadji Ali.  

Hadji Ali came to the United States in the 1850s or 1860s (various reports have different dates) to act as a camel driver for the U.S. Army which was in the midst of an ill-fated attempt to use the animals as “beasts of burden” for military purposes in the deserts of the Southwest. Once here in Arizona, the locals had a ton of trouble pronouncing “Hadji Ali” so they shortened it to Hi Jolly.  

Hi Jolly served with the Army until the camel experiment was abandoned and the camels were either sold off to private enterprises or turned loose in the desert. One of camels became known as the Red Ghost, and legend has it that when Hi Jolly died, he was out in the desert hunting for the renegade animal. No one knows for sure if that’s true, but it does make for an interesting story.  

Hi Jolly died near Quartzsite in 1902, and in 1934, in recognition of his service to the U.S. Army, the Arizona Department of Transportation erected a monument over his grave. His memory is preserved every year when Quartzsite stages Hi Jolly Days and Camelmania in his honor.

Photo by Jeremy Butler

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Water Provided to Arizona Homes by Roosevelt Dam

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Central and southern Arizona is home to a plethora of vibrant cities and towns where luxury Arizona homes and real estate are part of the fabric of life, but without water, much of this area would still be arid desert. Centuries ago, Native Americans started the first irrigation and canal systems, and in more modern times, the capture, storage and distribution of water has continued to play a central role in the growth of Arizona.

The Roosevelt Dam is located about 76 miles northeast of the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. According to Arizona Oddities, at the time the dam was built, the area had more than 13,000 square miles of watershed from the mountains and the Mogollon Rim. No other large valley in the West came close to the magnitude of watershed available, and that’s why, following the National Reclamation Act of 1902, this particular location was chosen for Roosevelt Dam. Named for President Theodore Roosevelt, construction on the dam began in 1905 and was completed in 1911 at a cost of $10 million. The debt to the federal government was repaid in full in 1955.  

Roosevelt Dam was the first major reclamation project in the West and was probably the most significant event in the entire history of the Salt River Valley. Before the dam was built, settlers would often have to leave during times of drought, but the dam’s creation provided a reservoir of lifesaving water.  

Once the world’s highest masonry dam, Roosevelt Dam forms Roosevelt Lake which has a shoreline of 128 miles and a length of just over 22 miles. Its capacity is approximately 1.6 million acre-feet and its surface acreage, when full, is about 21.5 acres. The maximum depth of Roosevelt Lake is 188 feet.*  

The Salt River Project (SRP), a quasi-governmental agency, manages the dams and lakes. In 1996, SRP completed a $430 million modification project on Roosevelt Dam, expanding Roosevelt Lake’s storage capacity by 20 percent.  

(*Source: www.srp.net)  

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Want a Small Town Feel? Check Out Gilbert Arizona Real Estate

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Gilbert Arizona is a modern-day study in contrasts, with a few farmhouses that hearken back to the old days of an agricultural haven to marvelous master-planned Arizona real estate communities that pay tribute to days gone by – and those who lived there – through their names, such as Morrison Ranch and Finley Farms.  

According to the Gilbert Historical Museum, the most recent, rich history behind Gilbert began around the early 1890s, when the first homesteaders consisted of four women and six men. Some of the land in the area was given away free of charge to homesteaders willing to remain on the land for a minimum of five years, while other land was sold for as little as 50 cents an acre. Back then, farm work was done with a horse, roads weren’t paved, and everyone swam in irrigation ditches to stay cool.  

While the exact date of the town’s founding isn’t clear – according to the museum, the earliest homestead was purchased in 1893, but the town’s website says it was developed in the late 1890s – Gilbert was established around the turn of the century as a train station. The story, according to the town website, is that around 1902, area homesteader William “Bobby” Gilbert allowed the Arizona Eastern Railway to establish a rail siding on his land for a line between Phoenix and Florence. Gilbert grew from there, although the town wasn’t officially incorporated until 1920.  

In the meantime, the charming little farming community was flourishing, in fact, the museum website notes the first school opened in 1900. The first grocery store, Ayer’s, came along in 1910 and became the site of the local post office two years later. In 1913, Gilbert’s own railroad depot was constructed; everything from cattle to sheep to watermelons went through it. Also that year, an elementary school known as “the Alamo” was built at Gilbert and Elliot roads; today, that old schoolhouse – which only went out of service in 1977 – houses the Gilbert Historical Museum.  

Gilbert remained a small farming hub on the outskirts of Phoenix for decades. Then, in the 1970s, the Town Council annexed 53 square miles of county land and the town’s size and outlook changed. To wit: In 1970, Gilbert had a population of 1,970. But by 1980, that figure had risen to 5,717; by 2009, it was approximately 215,000. Yet, in spite of its rapid growth, the town has managed to honor its past, celebrating small-town goodness and a family-friendly focus.  

Interesting factoid: One of Gilbert’s most notable achievements was being dubbed the “alfalfa hay capital of the world”, a moniker that was given to the town in about 1918. Indeed, during World War I, Gilbert was a main hay supplier for the U.S. Army’s horses.

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Arizona Home to a Vast Medical System

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Arizona houses many state-of-the-art medical facilities, some of which attract people from all over the world who travel here to receive top-notch medical care.   Perhaps the best-known facility is the Mayo Clinic, which is world-renowned for its outstanding level of patient services. Thousands of people every year come to the Mayo Clinic to be treated for a variety of health care ailments ranging from cardiac care to cancer. Some patients are evaluated and treated all in one day and are then sent home, and others require a stay at the Mayo Clinic Hospital, which is on the Phoenix campus.  

Additional medical options in Arizona include those found throughout the Banner Healthcare system, in fact, Banner Health hospitals operate over 30 facilities ranging from large hospitals to smaller clinics, some of which are urgent- and same-day locations. Banner Desert in Mesa, Banner Thunderbird in Glendale, Banner Ironwood in Queen Creek (southeast of Phoenix) and Banner Estrella in west Phoenix are four hospitals that offer high quality medical treatments to their patients. Meanwhile, St. Joseph’s Hospital near downtown Phoenix is also extremely well-known for its outstanding healthcare, in fact, U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing of top hospitals routinely ranks St. Joseph’s in the top 10 for neurology and neurosurgery. The hospital is home to Barrow Neurological Center, several Centers of Excellence in various specialties, and a busy Trauma Center that handles everything from gunshot wounds to traffic accident victims to drownings/near drownings.  

From obstetricians and gynecologists to dermatologists, oncologists and endocrinologists, specialists abound in Arizona, and it is easy to locate a doctor who can help you with a specific health condition. For very focused needs, Cancer Treatment Centers of America recently opened a facility in Goodyear called Western Regional Medical Center. An easy freeway drive from Scottsdale and Phoenix, the facility is known for its leading-edge cancer care.  

Children who require intensive or specialized medical treatment will often go to Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Phoenix. The colorful building is staffed with kid-friendly doctors and nurses who do everything they can to make a child’s visit as stress-free and pleasant as possible. Along with its downtown location, the hospital also has two satellite offices that offer follow-up appointments, checkups and urgent care options.  

Throughout Arizona, you will also find numerous smaller medical clinics and Urgent Care facilities. In addition, some national chain drug stores like Walgreens and CVS offer walk-in medical clinics located right inside many of their stores.

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Arizona is Home to Dining Out Options Galore

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Whether you are visiting for the first time, spending the high season here, or have a full-time Arizona home, one thing is for certain: if you are hungry, you will have no trouble finding a fabulous place to eat. From Flagstaff to Bisbee, Phoenix to Tucson, restaurants serving up virtually every type of cuisine in every price range are in abundant supply.  

Of course, thanks to our proximity to the border, Mexican food is practically a fine art here, and if you step off the beaten path, you can find some of the most delicious Mexican food in some of the most unlikely places. For example, in Phoenix, Barrio Café on North 16th Street is renowned for its tasty dishes from central and southern Mexico. Veering away from the traditional tacos and enchiladas, Barrio Café features palette-pleasing dishes like chicken with Oaxacan black mole, or cochinita pibil, a to-die-for slow-cooked pork flavored with achiote.  



Locally famous Carolina’s Mexican Food on Mohave Street in Phoenix provides its guests with authentic food in generous proportions. The cavernous warehouse-style building isn’t much to look at, but you’ll be too busy savoring your burrito or enchilada on one of Carolina’s legendary paper-thin flour tortillas to notice. Take a pint of machaca and a dozen steaming-hot tortillas home; you’ll be glad you did.  

Sam Fox’s collection of boutique restaurants can be found throughout Scottsdale. These include Blanco, The Greene House, Olive & Ivy and much more, however, if you prefer seafood, be sure to check out Mastro’s Ocean Club Fish House, Tommy Bahama’s Restaurant & Bar and Wildfish Seafood Grille, also all located in Scottsdale.  

At The Phoenician Resort in Phoenix, guests can choose from about ten different dining options. Il Terrazzo is well-known for its progressive menu of Italian fare featuring many specialty dishes, while J&G Steakhouse offers – what else? – steakhouse favorites in a gorgeous setting.  

Up north in Page, near Lake Powell, Fiesta Mexicana Family restaurant boasts scrumptious food in a friendly atmosphere and with outstanding service. Page may be a small town, but even here you can find a good selection of restaurants including a locally-owned Italian place with enormous calzones. Meanwhile, in the southern Arizona city of Tucson, The Lodge at Ventana Canyon is a luxurious location for enjoying a delectable meal. If you prefer casual dining, visit the lodge’s Catalina dining room or the laidback ambience of the Ventana Bar and Grill. rl0z1

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Navajo Legend of Arizona’s Monument Valley

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Modern geologists like to say this vast land of dramatic salmon-hued sandstone spires was once buried 3,000 feet beneath ancient seas. Over millions of years, layer after layer of sediments were deposited then hardened, followed by an uplifting of the land. It’s difficult to imagine, but the tops of these mountains and spires were at one time even with ground level. As the land continued to rise and the sea abated, the forces of nature created, etched and sculpted the spectacular sandstone monoliths located in the magnificent expanse of Arizona real estate that we call Monument Valley.  

However, Navajo legends tell the story a little differently. According to a condensed version of these legends, First Man and First Woman were created in the mythological First World. Unfortunately, the Beings began quarreling and began casting evil spells upon one another, so First Man and First Woman left and moved up into the Second World.   Here they found other people and warring animals including badgers, wolves and cougars. To add to the chaos, Evil Beings from First World had also emerged into Second World. The cunning coyote persuaded the people to leave and move to Third World. First Woman was not happy with Third World and wanted the people to move on to Fourth World so she encouraged Coyote to steal Water Monster’s baby knowing it would anger Water Monster. Water Monster, as expected, caused a great flood. All the people and animals then descended into Fourth World.  

In Fourth World, deities taught the people how to live peacefully. One day, First Man and First Woman found a baby girl who grew into the beautiful Changing Woman representing nature and the seasons. Changing Woman mated with the Sun and gave birth to The Twins. Because Fourth World was infested with terrible monsters, Changing Woman feared The Twins would be harmed, so she hid them deep underground; it was here that The Twins found Spider Woman.  

Spider Woman protected The Twins from the Monsters by teaching them special prayers and chants, and the Twins returned to Changing Woman and told her of the great powers given them by Spider Woman. Having no reason now to fear the monsters, Changing Woman and The Twins cast a spell on the huge beasts, turning them to stone.   And that is how, according to Navajo legends, these massive monsters were frozen in time creating what we now know as Monument Valley.  rl0z1

Source: www.ArizonaOddities.com;  used with permission

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Arizona Homes Offer Many Movie Theater Choices

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010


Most folks living in Arizona prefer to watch a movie nestled in a plush reclining chair inside an air-conditioned theater, so thankfully, just about every city or town with Arizona homes for sale has a movie theater either within the city limits or a short distance away. In fact, in Arizona, movie theaters are actually quite plentiful, with a current total of nearly 100 theaters showing films on over 900 screens. Small-town Kayenta, near Monument Valley, has the Black Mesa Twin Cinema, and Page in northern Arizona has Westates Theatres Page Mesa Theatre. Even tiny Saint Johns is host to the single-screen Town Square Theatre.  

Some towns in Arizona still offer drive-in movies. Scottsdale has a six-screen drive-in called West Wind Scottsdale 6 and Tucson has one as well – the four-screen DeAnza Drive-In Theatre. If you are in Globe, about 80 miles east of Phoenix, take in a movie at the Apache Drive-In. Seeing a movie from the comfort of your car may make you feel as if you’ve stepped back, or technically, parked back in time to warm summer evenings spent watching movies with friends.  

As you might have guessed, as you get into larger metropolitan areas throughout Arizona you will find more theaters from which to choose, most of them with numerous amenities. Phoenix alone has a plethora of theater screens, including AMC Ahwatukee 24 with 24 screens showing popular first-run movies. Harkins Metrocenter 12 has a dozen screens and AMC Deer Valley boasts an impressive 30. Meanwhile, the Glendale/Peoria area is home to both a multi-screen Harkins theater and a multi-screen AMC theater. Discount movie theaters are sprinkled across Arizona as well; one such theater is Tempe Cinemas where six screens show a wide variety of movies at much less than ‘normal’ admission.   Finding a movie theater and a listing of what’s playing is easy; either just look in the local newspaper for showings and locations or visit www.boxofficemojo.com or www.moviefone.com and click on the theater you wish to visit.

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Arizona is Home to Many Great Annual Events

Monday, October 4th, 2010


Arizona real estate is the land of plenty – there is always plenty to see, plenty to do and plenty to enjoy all year-round. From rodeos to car shows, county fairs to Native American events, it is safe to say you will never be bored with all the things to do in Arizona.  

For example, every January, hundreds of collectible cars and thousands of visitors flock to Scottsdale for the Barrett-Jackson car auction. Early spring is also the setting for the PGA’s Waste Management Open golf tournament, which will forever be known by locals as “The Phoenix Open” – although it takes place in Scottsdale. In southern Arizona’s hub-city of Tucson, the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase is an annual event typically held in late January or early February. This popular event brings in people from all over the world to admire the impressive collections on display and maybe even purchase some new treasures for their own.  

In February, the medieval Renaissance Festival comes to Gold Canyon, east of Phoenix. Located on a 30-acre site, the Festival’s entertainment includes a plethora of wandering knights, damsels and court jesters, along with jousting competitions, trained falcon displays and theatrical performances on one of many stages.  

 

In March, Major League Baseball Spring Training hits town when the “boys of summer” take to baseball diamonds all across the Valley of the Sun; it’s a great way for families to watch their favorite baseball teams in comfortable yet intimate stadiums for much less than “big league” prices. Out Chandler way, on the eastern edge of the Phoenix metro area, March means it’s time for the annual Ostrich Festival. This large bird is an honored guest at this family-friendly event, host to ostrich races (yes, really!), a parade and a petting zoo for kids.   As the weather warms up, many residents head up to Arizona’s cooler northern climes around Sedona, Payson, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. From May to October, the Flagstaff Community Market features fresh produce and other locally made/grown items, while Sedona is a fabulous place to enjoy art festivals and craft shows pretty much any time of the year.  

Once fall rolls around, thousands attend the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix, home to traditional displays, animals and carnival rides. In late November and December, numerous communities across Arizona host holiday events, complete with tens of thousands of twinkling lights accented with intricate decorations. Ahwatukee, a suburb of Phoenix, is well-known for its Festival of Lights that involves millions of white lights adorning dozens of trees, saguaro and other native cacti. If you’re looking for something a little different, Downtown Chandler usually assembles a towering Christmas tree made of wild-west tumbleweeds…we kid you not.

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Get Out of Africa Right Here in Arizona

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Photo from Out of Africa Wildlife Park website

Whether you already own an Arizona home or perhaps you’ve purchased real estate you’re holding onto until you build your dream home there is plenty to do all across the great Grand Canyon State.

One of Arizona’s best kept secrets is definitely the Out of Africa Wildlife Park, located about 90 minutes north of the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Paradise Valley area in the quaint town of Camp Verde, Arizona. Home to more than 400 amazing animals, Out of Africa Wildlife Park is nestled on 104 wilderness acres at the base of the Mingus Mountain range at an elevation of about 3,400 feet above sea level.

There are many ways to see the park, including the Wildlife Preserve Tour and the Serengeti Safari Tour. On the Wildlife Preserve Tour, visitors enjoy a narrated tram or trolley tour of the Preserve where unobstructed photo platforms provide excellent opportunities to capture scenes of majestic lions, tigers, wolves, hyenas and other predators as they roam in their natural habitats. A little more personal, the Serengeti Safari Tour is a 45-minute narrated tour in a safari vehicle. Hosted by expert park guides, visitors can expect a personal encounter with animals such as zebras, ostriches, giraffes and more, while on nearby hills, prides of lions and other big cats overlook their domain. If you prefer, you can also walk among the Preserve’s habitats where you will frequently see caretakers interacting with the animals.

Additional attractions include the Tiger Splash Arena, a Giant Snake Show and the Community Aviary, home to two dozen exotic birds of exotic origin, including various types of cocktatoos and macaws.

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Skywalk over Arizonas Finest Real Estate – the Grand Canyon

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Living in Arizona is on the to-do list for many people and families because of  the diverse climates, seasons and amenities, it is a wonderful place to live, work and travel. From the gorgeous Grand Canyon in the north to the stunning saguaro forests of Tucson and southern Arizona, to the high Sonoran desert of central Arizona,it easy to see why Arizona is such a great state to live in.

Image from Wikipedia

One of the most famous places to visit in Arizona is, of course, the Grand Canyon. Vast, spectacular and undeniably majestic, the Grand Canyon is one of the ‘seven wonders of the world’ and simply must be seen to be believed…and even then, it’s hard to wrap your mind around the splendor, glory and enormity of what Mother Nature has carved over the eons.

For those who desire to see the magnificence of Mother Nature in a new and breathtaking way, it’s worth the extra drive to visit the Grand Canyon Skywalk. This unique horseshoe-shaped glass-bottomed cantilever bridge sits an amazing 4,000 feet high above the Colorado River and spans an astonishing 70 feet over the Grand Canyon’s rim. Not for the faint of heart, guests can stroll out over the canyon walls far below for an awe-inspiring view of the Grand Canyon’s soaring cliffs and deep crimson-hued gorges.

Completed in March of 2007, the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West is open 365 days a year. Located at Grand Canyon West, the Skywalk is approximately 250 miles from the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Paradise Valley area and about 375 miles from Tucson/Oro Valley/Marana.

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