AZ

[Retired Spook]

Thanks Spook. I'm OK, looking forward to full shoulder replacement surgery a month from today. Rehab should be a bitch, but at least I got the pool to help with that.

Damn Ray - that's gonna leave a mark! Nevertheless, I know you have grit and will come out the better for it, plus I used to 3d model replacement joints and spinal stabilization systems for a biomedical engineer in my spare time and the parts they make today truly are amazing!

I will keep you in my prayers my Arizona brother!

Keep us posted.

 

[Chickenwings]

Wow that is big news. Best of everything to you Ray.

 

[sawhorseray]

What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. What does kill you won't really matter, you'll be just as dead. Have a drink, nobody gets out alive. RAY

 

[pit 4 brains]

I am an Az native. 48 years in Mesa. The dove hunting is gone, the farms and dairies are gone, the Californians moved out of their failed state and the Canadians bought up all the real estate that seniors used to buy and live in. Hunting and camping went to the toilet. Saguaro and Canyon lakes are litter dumps. You can walk from Anthem in north Phoenix to Anthem in Florence just jumping from rooftop to rooftop. We bounced out and left a lot of stubborn family members behind.

On the other hand, you can get some good pecan wood for smoking.

 

[Retired Spook]

I am an Az native. 48 years in Mesa. The dove hunting is gone, the farms and dairies are gone, the Californians moved out of their failed state and the Canadians bought up all the real estate that seniors used to buy and live in. Hunting and camping went to the toilet. Saguaro and Canyon lakes are litter dumps. You can walk from Anthem in north Phoenix to Anthem in Florence just jumping from rooftop to rooftop. We bounced out and left a lot of stubborn family members behind.

On the other hand, you can get some good pecan wood for smoking.

Aint that the truth I remember Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd in Scottsdale when there wasn't a single building on either side of it - just a road in the desert...

 

[sawhorseray]

I am an Az native. 48 years in Mesa. The dove hunting is gone, the farms and dairies are gone, the Californians moved out of their failed state and the Canadians bought up all the real estate that seniors used to buy and live in. Hunting and camping went to the toilet. Saguaro and Canyon lakes are litter dumps. You can walk from Anthem in north Phoenix to Anthem in Florence just jumping from rooftop to rooftop. We bounced out and left a lot of stubborn family members behind.

I've been here four years in July. I've gone into Phoenix once to sell my boat, I'll drive to Scottsdale next week for the first time, doctor appointment. I fished my own boat in the mighty Pacific for 40 years and hunted the mountains of the west, that doesn't last forever. I have five large markets and a Costco and Sams within two miles of my driveway, I've put 6K miles on my truck since we got here. I have artificial lawn front and back, a nice pool and misters around the patio. Aside from the rare trip to the Indian casino I have everything I want and need right here. I BBQ and cook on the patio flattop 12 months a year, THERE'S NO SNOW! Gilbert is one of the ten safest cities to live in in America, when gang bangers from Phoenix show up they are hounded back home by the local PD. No hurricanes, tornados, or earthquakes, if you are prepared for the heat, which we are, this is heaven. RAY

 

[Retired Spook]

I've been here four years in July. I've gone into Phoenix once to sell my boat, I'll drive to Scottsdale next week for the first time, doctor appointment. I fished my own boat in the mighty Pacific for 40 years and hunted the mountains of the west, that doesn't last forever. I have five large markets and a Costco and Sams within two miles of my driveway, I've put 6K miles on my truck since we got here. I have artificial lawn front and back, a nice pool and misters around the patio. Aside from the rare trip to the Indian casino I have everything I want and need right here. I BBQ and cook on the patio flattop 12 months a year, THERE'S NO SNOW! Gilbert is one of the ten safest cities to live in in America, when gang bangers from Phoenix show up they are hounded back home by the local PD. No hurricanes, tornados, or earthquakes, if you are prepared for the heat, which we are, this is heaven. RAY

I definitely screwed up moving to Texas, for sure - worst blunder of my life. Right after I got here the doctor gave me bad news and its been a downhill rollercoaster ever since. Just got some more depressing news today but whattaya gonna do ya have to make the best of the hand you are dealt.

I hunted up in Payson / Flagstaff (don't have to pay anyone any absurd fees to shoot deer they don't own), shot my rifles at the best gun ranges in The United States (Ben Avery and Rio Salado), and would drive to San Diego once or twice a year to fish the long range tuna boats. Man do I miss those days...

I caught YUGE carp in the ASU Research Park on Elliot Road in Tempe - on a fly rod! And a few noteworthy large mouth bass in Roosevelt lake back when it had water in it!

I miss the Arizona weather so much - the idea of getting taken out in a tornado is a terrible thought, and the humidity here is depraved. The summers here are horrible compared to AZ the humidity just hammers you. I guess you have to be born and raised here to acclimate to it.

Gilbert is a very nice area. great looking pool and dog!

I really wanted to make it to Montana. Shouldda listened to my heart when I was 15 and just went.

 

[pit 4 brains]

if you are prepared for the heat, which we are, this is heaven.

Ray, you should have seen it before the 60 came through. Gilbert used to be a trip from Mesa and a very small farming town.
I swear is wasn't as hot back then before the concrete jungle erased the farms.

(Ben Avery and Rio Salado)

By far the best ranges.. I do miss those.
What I don't miss is the new found traffic and the pizza oven heat. My house here in SC is bordered by a woody creek to my south which is filled with pine and oak trees that provide nice shade, wildlife and those distance sounds like you would here camping up on the Mogollon Rim. I don't find the humidity here any worse than the valley from July to August. I love being 45 minutes away from beach fishing. Freshwater lakes are big here and there's really no ramp or parking issues.

Oh and Ray, as a former pool service company owner, I can tell you that dogs are just about the worst things to have in a swimming pool besides pine needles. Their hair comes off easily and jams up filters and pumps and they can knock your pH out of balance faster than a hand full of kids loaded with soda.

 

[Retired Spook]

By far the best ranges.. I do miss those.
What I don't miss is the new found traffic and the pizza oven heat. My house here in SC is bordered by a woody creek to my south which is filled with pine and oak trees that provide nice shade, wildlife and those distance sounds like you would hear camping up on the Mogollon Rim.

Actually lived in Payson (rim Country) for 5-years. I even worked for a while for the Apache Tribe on the White Mountain Apache reservation. That was an incredible experience - I met some awesome people.

Things have changed a lot in AZ and sadly, it is NOT what it used to be, but the years I lived in Payson were the best years anyone could possibly have asked to live in Payson. The ponderosa forests were unbelievably beautiful.

People reach the end of their lives and say they have no regrets - I have a million regrets and I'm not afraid or too proud to admit it.

My advise to anyone that ever asks - do what your heart tells you, not what you "think" is best. In the end, we all wind up in the same place...

 

[sawhorseray]

I spent a week in Friendswood, TX in the middle of July and it was the worst week of my life. We couldn't go anywhere and not be pouring sweat by eight in the morning, hated it!

I can tell you that dogs are just about the worst things to have in a swimming pool besides pine needles. Their hair comes off easily and jams up filters and pumps and they can knock your pH out of balance faster than a hand full of kids loaded with soda.

Poolboy comes here every Wednesday and takes care of everything, scooping, testing, and chemicals. Bob goes in for a shave right before pool season opens up, which should be any day now, getting close. Bob's an athlete, solid muscle and loves to run. I walk a couple miles every day while he runs about 20 miles. It's too hot during summer months to work a dog, we're in the pool 5-6 times a day, it's one of the greatest joys in life for all of us. If something breaks I'll just pay to have it fixed or replaced, no sweat. RAY

 

[pit 4 brains]

If something breaks I'll just pay to have it fixed or replaced, no sweat. RAY

I wish I had more customers like you. A large majority of my of my clients didn't want to pay for anything but weekly visits and chemicals. I had to let a few of them go because their pools were in such bad repair that it was impossible to keep the water clear.
-Pete