MOUNTAIN OF LOVE
They keep going up in Arizona. Up that mountain. Houses are cutting into pristine country and obscuring views, all in the name of progress and re-sale.
Of course, this picture wasn't snapped around the Phoenix area, but it could have been taken in Northern AZ. Our mountains offer spectacular views, but they're mainly rocky with scrub brush. We can also offer javalinas, bobcats, coyotes, and snakes.
Camelback, our most famous mountain, used to house Phil Nike, Jacklyn Smith, Johnny Carson and others, but I think builders have gone higher in the mountains than the once topped out homes. And people are buying houses there on the mountainside, knocking them down (oh, there's some law about retaining one wall of the original dwelling for tax purposes) and building even bigger ones.
We drove up to some houses on the east side one afternoon after golf at Camelback Golf Course and saw that at 3:00 PM, the houses were obscured because of the mountain. In the morning hours, they were in bright sunshine, but by mid- or maybe even early afternoon, they're shaded big time. Of course, the same for the west siders in the morning hours.
As much as I love the views, I don't think I'd care for that. I remember too many cloud-filled days in the Midwest.
While mountain views are beautiful, I guess I'll stay in the valley. Sunglasses and sunscreen are a small price to pay for that beautiful sunshine.