Arizona has some pretty cool and varied geography. I haven’t seen it all, but I’ve spent a good forty years try’n to! Came down here from CO & WY a little after high school. Prospecting has brought me to some amazing places and sights to behold and that really has been worth more than any gold or silver I have found.
A man needs to live a whole lot longer than he does to see and experience all that this earth has to offer.
Amazing geography in AZ. Painted Desert, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, the desert floor, the White Mountains. I never saw an open pit mine as big as in Morenci. The Coronado Trail was scenic, the Grand Canyon was beyond words, Bisbee was fun, Tombstone was interesting, 4 Corners was not, petroglyphs were amazing. So much to see and do in AZ. I almost moved there years ago, my Aunt passed away and left her house near Springerville to me. She said she hoped I would someday retire there. I loved the area but my roots were too deep here - and the general lack of water + expensive but crappy tasting city water was unsettling - water is abundant and delicious here. I kept the house and rented it out for about 8 years before I sold it. I'd love to go back someday, see what I missed and revisit some that I remember.
Only been through Springerville once on the way to Silver City NM. Seems like a nice quite little town. Elevation is a little too high for me to live at. Been a desert rat too long, I get frostbite opening the fridge now. Ruined forever to the cold. The water in all of AZ does pretty much suck. An RO filter is a must. I’ve been relegated to The Valley of the Sun much of my time in AZ due to work and family constraints. Certainly not the best location, especially with the obscene growth since moving here, but it is pretty centrally located so that anywhere is less than a day drive. Prospecting sites mostly being less than that. Hate living in a big city, but I’ve managed to get out for weeks at a time through the years to play and explore enough that I think it has made me all the more appreciative of what AZ has to offer on the wild side. I did have plans of retiring out in the desert at the four thousand foot level where it’s not too hot or too cold, but was recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which has left me more dependent on others way more than I care for or like. Life has thrown me a whole new ballgame so I’m try’n to figure it all out yet.
As in life, in Arizona you never know what lays around the next corner! If Phoenix is all you ever saw of AZ you’d think the state sucks and Phoenix does suck indeed, but I don’t know anyone who has ventured out to the places you spoke of who wasn’t amazed at the beauty. Tons of great places to boondock the winter away so you ought take advantage of that before it’s too late in life!
I used to visit my aunt for a week about once a year. I got out of it cheap, I'd set up the vacation after traveling to San Jose on a business trip, drop out at Sky Harbor on the way back, rent a car and drive the 5 hours to Round Valley. One trip I put about 5500 miles on that rental car in a week! Lol! I've probably driven 40k miles in AZ in my lifetime. My aunt was a real character, we had a lot of fun roaming AZ. She pretty much drank me under the table in Tombstone! Think of driving around AZ seeing the sights with Phyllis Diller in the passenger seat ... We always had a great time. I miss her humor. I saw the desert floor in bloom one February or early March. Beautiful, and amazing given how it looks the rest of the year.
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