At this point, of course, the hills scraped bare for the Lowe's project are a done deal. Spilt milk. Very yesterday. But they remain visible sores on the land as seen from up the hill behind my house. Not only can I catch a glimpse of the Lowe's debacle, but also the hillside beyond, cut to make room for the super Wal-Mart, plus earlier work to flatten the earth for our first major mall, to the right. But when I moved my camera angle just a tad, the trees now framed a view that includes the new bare ground created to run trucks and supplies for the revamped SR89/SR69 over/underpasses (left, below). I find myself wondering if the folk who are enjoying "forever views" from the ridge tops occasionally see what's happening below. The barrenness will probably last close to forever!
But I think that saddest of all are the sites scraped bare just before the building boom crashed. I'm wondering, for example, about the proposed small shopping center at Willow Creek Road and Gail Gardner Way. At one point, the sign said that a major chain restaurant was to be erected there. No more. I walked through the land the other day, not realizing that there was a no trespassing sign. So arrest me.
Of course, with the economy in the tank, how long do you think it will be until ground is actually broken for a shop or two? Most likely, we'll be stuck for some months (or years?) with the raw earth and plenty of dust blowing about. At this point, I'd prefer seeing buildings, as much as I don't think we need any more retail in our small city.
There were more than a few wild plants on this parcel a couple of years ago. The apache plum at left is just across the property line. But this is dry country. It takes many, many years for such a beautiful bush to develop.
Yet for some strange reason, the developers left this lone pine tree standing in the middle of desolation.Linkage: If you're like me, you wonder about the safety of cyclists on those recumbent contraptions; carry that concern one notch higher -- The Artful RV blogger found a couple pedaling along in a tandem recumbent with an attached baby carriage. Friend k, down in Florida, has photographs of her amazing hearts of flame now in bloom. Talk about R.E.D.!
You might ring the phone number on the sign and inquire about the progress that can be anticipated re: the dusty development.
ReplyDeleteThere must be better uses for bull dozers.
Hermano
Progress or not.
ReplyDeleteJust wait till it rains... then those scraped bare patches will blossom into weed patches the likes of which you've never seen, and the winds will carry their seeds into neighboring gardens. I hope, not yours.
ReplyDeletethanks for the linkup grannyj.
mark.
bro -- tain't in my backyard! As for the dozers, I suspect that they rent cheap currently (tho that highway project is keeping quite a number busy) which means that a developer with money in his pockets could "prepare" the ground for less $$$.
ReplyDeletesteve -- that's what the city fathers call it.
mark -- probably not this year -- they really scraped down below where the seeds might be. But then, I don't have any problem with sunflowers and other DYCs. Besides, did you look carefully at the first two pix? those raw cuts are more than a year old...
I remember when there was supposed to be a movie theatre going in at willow creek and gail gardner. The sign was there for years before they finally took it down, admitting defeat.
ReplyDeletetombo -- you're telling me that that particular parcel had already been landscraped to some extent, awaiting a movie house? Didn't know that, tho I've walked through the property a number of times after a visit to my GP. It used to grow some very nice sunflowers. Doubt if it will this year.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot the nasty gouge in the hillside behind Woody's at the corner of White Spar and Copper Basin.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall there was a big public outcry about the proposed development of the spot, the builder decided to proceed anyway, and then he gave up shortly after permanently disfiguring the lot. [Grrr]
jessel -- thanks for bringing up that disfigurement. Of course, it is small, unlike those that can be seen for miles, so I think most people have forgotten about it....
ReplyDeleteUgly, ugly, ugly. Hey, what's going on with that pipeline that one sees driving up the I-17 through Dewey and Mayer. Do you know?
ReplyDeleteqd -- all I know about the pipeline is that it is coming down from somewhere above I40 & delivering to Phx & that it seems to be proceeding apace. I caught a couple of pix of it on my way to the airport, but decided that they didn't quite fit into my blog. The line is going through PV some place; I'm not quite sure where it hits in CV, but it probably runs parallel to the existing pipeline north of Chino.
ReplyDeleteNot quite the exact parcel (they were broken up differently then, and that was nothing but a hill at that point). The movie theatre was supposed to go on the willow-creek end of the plaza mall (where walmart eventually ended up), bordering Black Dr. (What used to be the main road into that mall area)
ReplyDeletetombo -- now that you mention it, what was the original plan for that dug out crevice next to the cemetery opposite the WalMart mall? It always looked as tho it had been scheduled for some use, but there was never even a "no trespassing" sign.
ReplyDeleteI guess the lot behind Woody's is still a sore spot for me since it's just around the corner from home.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people remember when hill at the east end of town was truncated to accommodate the Sheraton (now Prescott Resort)? I think it took at least five years for the grumbling from that eyesore to settle down.
I remember people working hard to find homes with nice views that didn't include that hill.
jessel -- as for the Prescott Resort on the hilltop, what I recall is that at the time it was built, there were rumors that it was being built complete with electric hook-ups for gambling machines. The rumors were, of course, pooh-poohed. Guess what now occupies a major portion of the hotel? You got it, a casino.
ReplyDelete