Tucson By Choice!

...what's on the other side?

When I noticed the FOR SALE sign go up on a remarkable home in our little community of Tucson Estates II, my interest was piqued.   (Finally, I'm going to get to see what's behind that gate!)

I'll tell you what's behind the gate...  next time. 

Tucson Mountain Park

Sunday evening, I climbed to a perch 800 feet above the home to get a sense of perspective on its location. 

See that little red arrow?  It's hovering over this particular home.  Come right about 200' and the road you see is the park boundry.  The entrance to the John Krein trail is right there.  That's the trail that brought us to our perch a mile away.

Our community is surrounded on three sides by Tucson Mountain Park.  The park consists of 44,000 acres of gently sloped to mountainous terrain.  It's home to one of the most beautiful Giant Saguaro forests in the world.

You might think that with more than a million people, greater Tucson would be "built out." 

That's not the case on our side of the Tucson Mountains, because the town and county leaders had the foresight to create this preserve.  Tucson is on the other side, behind us to the east.

John Krein Trail

The John Krein trail is a favorite of mine, especially when I'm introducing out-of-towners to our chosen spot on the planet.

It's an easy hike to a point with a spectacular view, both to the east (Tucson) and the west (Tucson Estates II with a 75 mile horizon.)

I stayed until sunset, and walked out as dusk crept over the desert and the moon came out.  Two mountain bikers passed me, heading through the mountains back to Tucson.

I thought a little more about that gate, and what lay beyond.  I'll tell you tomorrow.  Be sure to come back and visit.

________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

Think of me as your Tucson mortgage expert.

Call me if I can help you with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

photos copyright Mike in Tucson (all rights reserved)

Spring's coming in the desert.  You can smell it at dawn.  Birds are starting to nest, and the males are calling up a racket.  It's a wonderful time to live here.

Tucson Estates II is a gated community of 600 or so homes nestled on the west flank of the Tucson Mountains.  The noise and bustle of the city are on the other side of the Tucson Mountains.

At sunset, we look down over the Avra Valley toward that mountain range you see in the photo above.  The distinctive "shark tooth" in the left third of the photo is Baboquivari, on the Tohono O'odham reservation.  From my camera's vantage point, it's 75 miles west.

That's a ways off, but the optics (Leica) are pretty good on this inexpensive Panasonic Lumix camera.  The lower the sun, the deeper the colors of this evening sky.  I backed the 10X telephoto lens down to capture the saguaro silhouetted against the sun's last rays. 

By this time, the street was filling with neighbors, drawn out of their homes by the spectacular sunset.  The mood was quiet.  Hushed.  Our little community was a cathedral, and our sky its stained glass window.

Colors intensified, then faded to purple just before the stars made their appearance. 

I think it's the purple that discombobulates folks from the more northerly climes. It doesn't seem possible that nature has such a pallette, does it?  It does here!

That's the desert floor in the foreground.  Minutes after this photo was taken, the mountain range was an inky black sillouhette against a less black sky, and one by one, the stars came out.  If I ever wanted an expensive camera, it would be to take photos of the night sky.

There are more than half a dozen lovely homes for sale in our community, from the low $200s to $500,000.  Don't you want to come join us?  Look up a REALTOR here on Active Rain.  Tell 'em Mike in Tucson sent you.

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

Think of me as your Tucson mortgage expert.

Call me if I can help you with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

photo copyright Mike in Tucson (all rights reserved)

You can't see the mountains in the distance, but they're there!  A cold front blew in this afternoon, and the strong winds that came along with it whipped up a rolling dust storm across the desert.  I live in the little community of Tucson Estates II, on the west flank of the Tucson Mountains.  Our little community is just three or four miles from the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum--one of the ten best Zoos in the world.  That's where I was at 4:15 p.m. when I took this picture.

Dust in the air makes for some fantastic sunsets, so we drove to the pass that connects Tucson with the west flank of the Tucson Mountains.  It's called Gates Pass, and it's a terrific place to watch the sun set.  I took this picture at 5:45 p.m. from the road just below Gates Pass.

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

Think of me as your Tucson mortgage expert.
Call me if I can help you with a mortgage to buy your next house:  (520) 349-9090

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