"Hey, hon," says the Phoenician to his wife, "it's too hot down here. Let's go up to the mountains to cool off." "Good idea," says the wife. "We can get away from Sprawlsville. It's a lot prettier up in Prescott."
So they make the big mistake of heading up I-17. To be greeted with Ranch this, Antelope that, Quail the other. Everywhere, new houses. Bulldozers. Denuded hillsides. Prescott's own contribution to this scene of destruction: one more ridge (above) getting the treatment.
The warning sign comes when the water tank is first installed. Keeps the dust down. EPA, you know.
Actually, the shock of one more hill being gouged out in the name of big box retailing is worse when you head east from Prescott.
Home improvement, yes. Hometown improvement, questionable. And how many $mil is Lowe's getting in subsidies from the same city fathers who couldn't bring themselves to buy the Dalke property to save it as open space?
Son-in-law noted that the contractor's name can be read, "A mes(s)."
Here is the hole in all its glory. There isn't even a basalt layer or two to hold the ugly cut together -- it looks like the dirt is sliding down as fast as those machines scoop it out.
And to think that one might have bought a small retirement home over on that hillside. My husband had the right idea; he almost always drove up SR89 -- the White Spar Road -- into Prescott. The mountain curves scare many flatlanders, but you arrive in Prescott through the national forest, without a single reminder that there are serious people out there trying to turn our town into one more extension of the California that other people are running away from.
So they make the big mistake of heading up I-17. To be greeted with Ranch this, Antelope that, Quail the other. Everywhere, new houses. Bulldozers. Denuded hillsides. Prescott's own contribution to this scene of destruction: one more ridge (above) getting the treatment.
The warning sign comes when the water tank is first installed. Keeps the dust down. EPA, you know.
Actually, the shock of one more hill being gouged out in the name of big box retailing is worse when you head east from Prescott.
Home improvement, yes. Hometown improvement, questionable. And how many $mil is Lowe's getting in subsidies from the same city fathers who couldn't bring themselves to buy the Dalke property to save it as open space?
Son-in-law noted that the contractor's name can be read, "A mes(s)."
Here is the hole in all its glory. There isn't even a basalt layer or two to hold the ugly cut together -- it looks like the dirt is sliding down as fast as those machines scoop it out.
And to think that one might have bought a small retirement home over on that hillside. My husband had the right idea; he almost always drove up SR89 -- the White Spar Road -- into Prescott. The mountain curves scare many flatlanders, but you arrive in Prescott through the national forest, without a single reminder that there are serious people out there trying to turn our town into one more extension of the California that other people are running away from.
Amazing how much construction is going on. Is there enough water to take care of all of the new residents you'll be getting?
ReplyDeleteSteve-- it's not only amazing, it's scary. As for water, you gotta be kidding. Here's the latest in a series on the water situation. And I apologize to all for ranting. It's just that this particular hole in the hillside is such an open wound staring us in the face.
ReplyDeleteThat was a long read and very confusing. Seems as if you can hope one of them has the answer, but I guess they really won't know until an unbiased or better study is done, or they run out of water. Bad situation.
ReplyDeleteSteve -- this is the West. Our city fathers and county supervisors all engage in one brand of frontier-think, take advantage of it while you've got it. After all, there's bound to be another frontier tomorrow. To think that sane people are actually considering a pipeline from the Colorado River (at Page) to pump water that is already overpromised to 7 states up one mile to rescue Flagstaff and Prescott overbuilding is ludicrous. California and Phoenix over-building is first in line.
ReplyDelete