Sunsites Land Rush: January 2009 Archives

Many people think of Arizona as a state with a strong retirement population.  While it's true that Arizona is ideal as a retirement haven, statistics prove that the state's population is slightly younger than the national average!

Young professionals, couples, and families in all stages appreciate the natural beauty, sun-kissed climate, and healthy economy of this Southwestern paradise.  That's why Arizona has been a national leader in employment and population growth for the past decade.

Arizona's median age is 34.2, while the U.S. Average is 35.4 years.  The proportion of residents younger than 25, as well as those over 64, is approximately the same.

Stretching over 600 square miles, metropolitan Tucson is a study in contrasts.  You'll find historic adobes and high rises silhouetted against a modern skyline, or high Sonoran desert landscape at the base of snow-capped mountain splendor.  Are you familiar with the world-class resources just an hour's drive from Sunsites?

     -More artists per capita are living in Tucson than in any other U.S. city, and The Wall
      Street Journal has designated Tucson as a "mini mecca" for the arts.

     -Tucson is one of only 14 U.S. cities to maintain professional opera, a symphony
      orchestra, ballet, and theatre companies.  Nightlife ranges from rock concerts and lively
      comedy to the performing arts!

     -Families can escape to Tucson for a weekend getaway.  The area offers a major water
      park, Reid Park Zoo, Tucson Children's Museum, fascinating science centers, elaborate
      playgrounds and sports centers, wonderful parks and wildlife preserves.

     -Tucson is one of the nation's leading centers of astronomy, the location of the Challenger
      Learning Center of the Southwest, and the home of Columbia University's Biosphere 2-- a
      living laboratory where scientists use the latest technology to experiment with "earth
      systems" on a grand scale.

     -The University of Arizona in Tucson is one of the nation's foremost research universities,
      home to a College of Pharmacy, College if Medicine, and a School of Nursing ranked 6th
      in the nation.

     -Arizona's most advanced healthcare and research institutions are located in Tucson, the
      home of the state's only medical school.  The University Medical Center's transplant
      program is one of only nine in the nation!

     -Collegiate competition in the prestigious PAC 10 Conference with the University of
      Arizona combines with professional hockey and spring training exhibitions for the Chicago
      White Sox, the Colorado Rockies, and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

     -Major golf tournaments like the Tucson Chrysler Classic PGA Tournament and the PING/
      Welch's Championship LPGA event draw enthusiastic crowds.

     -From December through April, downhill skiing is available just 30 miles north of Tucson at
      Mount Lemon Ski Valley--the southern most ski area in all of North America.

     -Nearby lakes like Parker Canyon, Pena Blanca, Arivaca, Rose Canyon Lake, and Lake
      Pantagonia offer swimming, boating, fishing, and other water sports.
 

The following is an excerpt from "Cochise Stronghold:  Land of the Free, Home of the Brave", an article recounting one author's experience visiting Stronghold Canyon:

     "I wonder how long water has flowed in this short strip of canyon.  And I find the answer carved in stone:  more grinding holes in boulders in midstream and at streamside, including some that are not round but sluice or trough-shaped, perhaps for washing clothes. 
     Like the others I've found, these mortars are in the 'best' places.  Places where black and yellow butterflies dance through dappled light above a small waterfall; places where the fragrance of mint leaf floats up the canyon on a light breeze; places where brown towhees scratch around in dead leaves on the bank; places where water striders dart across the surface of a still pool in which a single white feather floats among fallen leaves.
     Constantly in this spot, I'm reminded of the human quest for beauty.  Philosophers speak of the "collective unconscious" or of "archetypal patterns" in human experience to explain this need to discover beauty in the natural world and, having found it, to celebrate both the beauty and one's response to it, to leave something behind-- a red-ocher swirl on a rock , perhaps--that says, 'I was here; I saw this'."
                                                                                                       -Tom Dollar

You too can experience the beauty and wonder of Stronghold Canyon-
     Getting there: In wet weather, travel  into the west side of the stronghold should be attempted only in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.  In fair weather, access is possible in a light truck or auto with high-ground clearance.  Take interstate 10 to Benson and turn south on State Route 80 to Middlemarch Road, approximately 1 mile north of Tombstone (milepost 315).  Travel east on Middlemarch 10 miles to Forest service road 687.  Drive north approximately 6.6 miles to FS 687K; turn east to Counsil Rocks.  The trailhead into West stronghold Canyon is approximately 4.0 milea northeast of Council Rocks via FS 687.
     The east side of Cochise Stronghold is the easiest to get to by auto.  Take I-10 east from Tucson to state Route 666 (milepost 331).  Turn south approximately 12 miles to the sign marking entrance to the stronghold.  Turn wesr approximately 10 miles to the Forst Service campground.
     Other area attractions:  The American Foundation museum and archeological research facility near dragoon (exit I-10 at milepost 318); Tombstone:  the town "too tough to die;" scenic Willcox Playa; the Cochise Visitor Center at Willcox; the ghost towns of Courtland and Gleeson.
     Where to stay:  Motel accomodations and restaurants are available in Benson, Tombstone, and Willcox.  Twenty-three campsites are available at the Forest Service campground on the east side of Cochise Stronghold.   

Visit the winter home of more than 30,000 sandhill cranes in Willcox, Arizona, just 30 miles away from Sunsites, and witness their epic dawn flight.

• The Event. Each year, the Wings Over Willcox Birding & Nature Festival (WOW) takes place during January's Martin Luther King weekend. While the cranes are the stars of the show, the festival offers tours and educational programs that also explore photography, geology, archeology, history, botany, agriculture and ranching. Visit the Web site to review the seminars and tours that interest you and your family. Reserve early.
• Just for kids. Children can explore a nature expo in the community center, which features educational booths, live animal displays, and a wide variety of vendors with nature-related crafts and activities. Free seminars on various topics are offered throughout the day.
• Be prepared. Mornings are cold with temperatures dipping well below freezing. (Think 15 degrees Fahrenheit.) Wear gloves, hats and layers. Rain is unlikely, but possible. Bring your camera.
• Where to stay. The WOW Web site lists most available , lodging options including chain motels, local B&Bs and guest ranches. Top pick:  Muleshoe Ranch. Run by the Nature Conservancy, its simple casitas in a birding sanctuary are ideal for nature-loving families.

For more information, visit www.wingsoverwillcox.com.

                                                                              - by Lynn O' Rourke Hayes