Friday, March 09, 2012

A LONG DAY IN PRESCOTT ARIZONA…AND WE SIGNED SOME PAPERS……..

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OK MR. REAL ESTATE GUY…….WE’RE READY FOR YA
We had ourselves on the road shortly after 8 this morning heading north for Prescott, Arizona.  What a beautiful drive as we headed up the south side of the Weaver Mountains.  I was reminded of taking off in a small airplane as we watched the Hassayampa Valley slowly drop away to our right.  What a great double lane one way road this is.  People coming down the mountain have their own separate lanes.
We had never been past the ‘Ranch House’ in Yarnell before, so again, what a treat to see some new scenery.  And, what scenery it was too.  Within 20 minutes we transferred from desert to upper grasslands with a total different look & total different vegetation.  Looked more like Kentucky with large rambling horse farm fences, sycamore trees & distant mountains.  The desert we had just left seemed like light years away.
I’ve said many times, morning is my favorite time for travel & this morning was no exception.  We took the longer Skull Valley route slowly gaining altitude all the way to Prescott.  Vegetation became steadily taller & greener.  On approaching Prescott we were soon into tall Pine forests.  Just beautiful & so reminiscent of our own Northern Ontario with all it’s greenery, hills & gentle curves.
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GOTTA JUST LOVE ALL THE PINE TREES AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS
We Northerner’s do love our forests & green trees & we could tell right away Prescott was a forested City.  Prescott is also a much larger City than what I had envisioned it.  For me that was a little disappointing because I’ve never met a City I liked.  But don’t get me wrong, I do think I could get to like Prescott:))  Kelly fell in love with the city right away after she saw all the tiny shops in the downtown area.  Oh yes, & Trader Joes.
We were plenty early for our 10:30 Real Estate appointment.  Drove right to the Realtor’s address to orient ourselves & then headed for the East side of the city where all the big box shopping malls were located.  Needed to get some dog food at Pet Smart.  Well, let me tell ya, this place is a Shoppers dream.  Prescott has everything including a Trader Joe’s which just had it’s grand opening today.  The parking lot was totally jammed well beyond being totally jammed.  Sure glad Kelly didn’t insist we go in there or there could have been warfare!!
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OUR REALTOR’S BUILDING IN PRESCOTT
We were back at the Realtor’s in good time & before long negotiations had begun on the Ghost Town Road property.  Let me just cut through all the jargon & paperwork & tell you that we have made them an offer for substantially less than the asking price.  All contingent on us getting that severed piece of property back in place with the original lot size.  Our realtor guy feels confident Freddie Mac will accept the offer & we should know for sure on Monday.
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CHECKING THROUGH THE PAPER WORK
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TALKING THINGS OVER WITH REAL ESTATE AGENT RANDY H. 
I’m like a fish out of water when it comes to this kind of thing & don’t have a lot of patience for playing that offer, counter offer game.  Same old stuff as buying a car.  Blather, blather, blather!!  And then there’s the reams of paperwork.  Yes, I know it’s all necessary but that don’t mean I gotta like it.  If it wasn’t for Kelly I would probably be living in a simple card board box under a flowering Yum Yum tree somewhere.  That girl just has the most patience of anyone I have ever known.  And, talk about being organized & on top of things….Whewwww.
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KELLY PHONES OUR BANK IN CANADA TO SEE IF WE STILL HAVE OUR $5 IN THERE….:))
From the Real Estate office we had to go find ourselves a bank & ended up for another hour opening up a new Bank of America account.  Kelly handled & understood all that while a wrestled with remaining upright in an overstuffed red bank chair a few feet away. From there it was back to the Real Estate for an exchange of more paper.  And, then we headed out & got lost!!
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KELLY AT THE BANK OF AMERICA COUNTER
There is a second route from Prescott south towards Congress but we heard it was very twisting & winding and was to be avoided.  Of course that is the way I wanted to go & see some new stuff on the way home.  For some reason we thought that road began somewhere out around Prescott’s east end near the malls.  Well needless to say we got ourselves totally lost & as a last resort (which should have been our first resort) we hauled out Garmin Gertie our GPS device & got her squawking.  In no time at all she had us straightened out & hauled our tired butts right through downtown Prescott again & headed us south on the correct highway to Congress Arizona.
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Again, we were motoring though forests of Pine trees & I could have sworn we were in Northern Ontario.  The twisting road was as twisty as people said it was & snaked it’s way through the mountains like a Slinky on steroids.  Great road & I loved it.  But, it’s not for everybody.
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We didn’t spare the horses on the way back to our rig because we knew we had two little doggy guys who had now been alone inside the rig for 8 hours.  We just put the pedal to the metal, pulled our visors down & made a beeline for home.  How great it was to see the Hassayampa River Valley below as we rocketed off the Weaver Mountains & landed out in the desert beside our rig.  And no messes in the rig either.  Good Guys:))
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OUR DUSTY LITTLE JEEPERS IN DOWNTOWN PRESCOTT THIS AFTERNOON
Wow, talk about a couple happy little doggy guys.  Two little tails going faster than a couple of turbo injected helicopter blades.  How great for me to be out of the City & back to the quiet desert where I belong……..10-4:))
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KELLY GETS RANDY STRAIGHTENED OUT ON A FEW LAST MINUTE DETAILS….IN THE PARKING LOT
GROANER’S CORNER:((  Why do bagpipers walk when they play?
To get away from the noise!!
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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

27 comments:

  1. That is great news! You will be ARizonans before you know it!

    Emjay

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  2. Welcome to our neck of the woods! The roads you traveled into and out of Prescott are two of my favorite motorcycle riding roads. We live in Prescott Valley, next to the Mingus Mountain range, you cross Mingus to visit Jerome or head into Cottonwood. Seems like I remember you posting something about driving the motor home through Jerome, brave man!
    It would be awesome to have the Bayfield Bunch living in AZ....I know you like to ride solo, but if you happened to bring the bike down from Canada, I would love to show you some great roads to travel on the bike. Take care!

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  3. Congratulations! I hope Monday will bring good news to you. Will you still have your home in Canada and this will just be your winter home?

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  4. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Hope you can keep your sanity until you get the word on your offer.

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  5. Oh happy day for you both! What
    an adventure your having. Hoping
    to hear you get your place.
    We love the Prescott area. Also
    Cottonwood, Jerome and surrounding
    areas...so much history there.
    Great posts as always!

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  6. WOW, that's a big step. Hope everything turns out well for you and Kelly.

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  7. what a great new adventure for you, love that area of Arizona, here's hoping that Monday gives you the news that you wish to hear

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  8. talk about jumping in with both feet!..hope the plans all come together for you all!!..I am sure you can hardly wait till Monday!!

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  9. Who would have ever thought,,,,,,,,We sure hope the deal goes through.... I'm surprised you ever even came to our part of the woods,,,,let alone buying a place....
    i got my fingers crossed....

    Hope to see you at the Ranch today....

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  10. Good luck with the Ghost Town Road Property, that sure is a beautiful area of Arizona, desert and forest all close together.

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  11. That is just the best news. We hope it works out for you and will keep our fingers crossed for you guys on Monday. Aren't good dogs just the best dogs!!!!

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  12. Good Luck you guys...I hope your dream becomes a reality.

    Paul
    wheresweaver.blogspot.com

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  13. Well! Good luck! That's awesome.
    Never hurts to "make an offer substantially lower than the asking price" either. It's not like you're desperate to move.
    Here my wife just told me this morning that one of her associates is retiring and has bought property in Arizona. English fellow who works here in Vienna.
    Small world it seems.

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  14. Maybe too early to congratulate, but what you did was a major step into success. Thumbs up! Are you still heading this way on monday morning? Shall I get a bottle of champagne? (Just in case) Just to let you know I was in in the house renovation business!!

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  15. Great news! A lot of jeeping to get done ;-) Fingers crossed that all works in your favor!

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  16. Either way, you guys will make it work out fine, but I hope you get it.

    I can sure understand the not being able to sleep part - I'm losing sleep over whether or not to buy a little teardrop trailer for 3k, yet alone a house!

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  17. You both have to be mentally exhausted! That place is perfect..In the desert, but close enough to the mountains to really "change it up" for the Bayfield Bunch..ideal! Sending good Karma to you for this purchase, and your health issues..May it all be resolved and you can get on with a new adventure!

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  18. Best wishes for a positive outcome, Cactus Al! :)

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  19. All right, hope the house works out. Would be great to have you as almost neighbors.

    And you got to experience both drives. I love that spar road you took back, but wouldn't want to tow on it.

    Prescott certainly does have a lot to offer.

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  20. Wow!! That is really great Al and Kelly. The anticipation of having your own mini-ranch must be killing you. Wishing you both good luck.

    Hope when you where in Prescott Al, that you went into the Palace, on whiskey row, for a sarsaparilla and hamburger. Fabulous old western bar from 1903, full of memorabilia and photos from the old west. They even claim Virgil Earp played cards there, and maybe Doc too.

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  21. Congrats you two. Such exciting news. Hope all works out well and you get the house and property back together the way you want it.

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  22. Thank you for sharing this exciting news. I'm hoping things work out well for you guys and am eager to read your Monday post already.

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  23. Well that's cool news, we have our good luck hats turned backwards into rally caps hoping they accept your deal....

    That area up there north of Wickenburg is about one of the neatest parts of Arizona, so we like your choice.

    I can't wait to read the good news..

    Rod & Loyce

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  24. Great news...looks like a terrific property with much possibility. Hope everything works out well for the two of you.

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  25. Exciting! The important thing is to be able to walk away if you must. Hopefully, you don't must!

    Roxanne
    The Good Luck Duck

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  26. That is so great, we have our fingers crossed that it works out for you. It sounds like a great area.

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  27. I hope it is good bye to black and gray tank living and hello to a normal toilet and shower. A RV is fun to camp and travel in, but long stays get old for me.
    That house and property will keep you busy and young a long time.
    Wish you the best.

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