Movin' On Up

I haven't been posting very much lately because we're preparing to move. Unfortunately, we're moving from Tucson to Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix. People in the Valley of Sun often deride Tucson for being dirty, stinky, ill-kept, but we prefer the character of Tucson to the industrial/ residential complex of the Phoenix area. We found another cool house near historic downtown Glendale, which is a very pretty and homey part of town (even if it's 3 parts CA to 1 part AZ...) and we'll be ex-Worcesterite, ex-Tucsons soon. We're trying to have a good attitude about the move. Still, even though we're moving to someplace that's actually hotter, it feels like we're leaving the desert for a very, very hot Anywhere, USA. The Phoenix area has lots of imports - green grass, more palms than cactus, lots of citrus trees. Nearly all residential areas are part of pre-designed housing developments or subdivisions. Not a lot of desert left. And we're leaving our beautiful view of the Santa Catalina Mountains, along with a lot of friends (though, unlike mountains, friends can visit and use the phone...).

On the positive side, this move brings us closer to all points north. Flagstaff, Sedona, the Mogollon Rim, the White Mountains and more. And, if you've followed the blog at all, you'll know I'm a pretty big fan of the Superstition Mountains, which we'll be much closer too. The Mazatal Wilderness is huge and close, too, as is a nice hike up to the Phoenix-area sky island, Four Peaks. I can't see any of these mountains my new house in Glendale, but I know they're there, and that's pretty good.

So I'm signing off until next week sometime. Off to work.