Started today to go look at prospective properties.  For those of you that might not be aware, Robin and I are planning on vacating California and moving to Arizona.  As for where in Arizona, we are focusing more on pine trees than cactus.  Prescott is on the short list and we have searched around on line and found a couple 4 acre parcels in this area just north of town.  I figured I’d check it out in person since you can only see so much with Google Earth.  This is the view to the west from the highest point on our favorite property.  This is a definite possibility if it hasn’t been snatched up by the time we’re ready to buy.

This little guy was soaking up the warmth of the asphalt as he slowly made his way across the road.  He turned to look at me when I stopped to take the picture, but it was just a casual glance – he was not concerned.  Snakes on the road remind me of a story from my childhood.  On a camping trip, we ended up running over a snake sunning itself on the road.  After we got to our destination, my father needed to get under the hood of the pickup for some reason and there was the snake – curled up on top of the air cleaner.

The roads yesterday were pretty straight, today they looked more like this snake which is what really makes it fun.  Being one of the only people on the road allows you to go as fast or slowly as you want.  Slow down and take in the scenery, or speed up and enjoy the challenge of controlling your machine through the turns and the adrenaline rush that provides.  I prefer the second option, but it’s also very nice to take a break from that and appreciate where you are.

While I was in the Verde Valley area, I decided to stop at one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America – Montezuma Castle.  I understand that all most of you know about Montezuma is that he is one vengeful dude.  The explorers that discovered and named this ruin didn’t know much more than that either.  They named it Montezuma because they thought it was Aztec when in fact, the Sinagua people that built and lived in this five story, nearly 4,000 square foot structure from 1100-1425 AD abandoned the dwelling more than 40 years before Montezuma was even born.  Also, it’s not a castle but more like an early high rise apartment building with more than 20 rooms.  Accessibility to the dwelling up the 90 foot face of the cliff was most likely via ladders that could be retracted for security when necessary.  As always click the links for more information.

When we were looking for possible places to build in Arizona, the Payson area was first on the list.  We moved it to number two below Prescott but certainly haven’t eliminated it.  Tomorrow I’ll spend some time looking around this area before I head east.  I actually like it better here than Prescott, but getting 4 or 5 acres is difficult & Expensive here because it’s surrounded by National Forest.  Decisions – Decisions…..