HikeArizona.COM

Well, I guess I'll have to change my screen name soon. My wife and I are going to be moving to Casa Grande before the end of the year. Listing the house for sale up in Page. No job yet, kinda scary, but my wife needs to go back to school full time. Even commuting to and from UofA, with the house prices in CG we'll save money over moving to El Pueblo. Big change - this will be my first time living off The Plateau since '99. Eeek!

My GF lives and works in CG. [Big] houses there can be picked up for a song! Main issue is there are no interesting destinations nearby...

I think the Picacho Mtn Petroglyph Sites will keep your interest among a wide range of other options only an hour away. Now will the 303 go that far south?

Time to visit the Sierra Ancha, Rob!

Brutal commute ...

The traffic on 8 is why I go out of my way (through Florence) to get from Phoenix to Tucson ...

Oh, no! I will miss you up here on the Colorado Plateau, Rob! Let's see, what should your screen name be? GrandeRob? CasaRob? Nah. Hmmmm.... Robosaurus? RockartRob?

(This is why my husband usually named the kids and pets. I am no good at naming, except for the one good one I came up with for my daughter: Rose.)

Well, you said, end of the year? We really should get together and do Soap and maybe also one up nearer Page.

I was thinking of CG Rob. We're planning on sometime in Fall being in CG full time. I plan on doing lots of hiking up here before taking off - I'll try to post most of them as events so if people want to come along they know in advance.
Echo Peaks needs to happen.
Spencer-Dominguez Loop needs to happen.
The Steps Trail needs to happen.
Rainbow Bridge is still going to happen.
Several others that are still possibilities too, like Horseshoe Canyon.

paulhubbard wrote:houses there can be picked up for a song!

Yeah, but can you fill your vehicle with a song? Not even wailing the blues will keep gas prices reasonable... it will be more like moaning as gas creeps past $3.50/gallon. And with the unrest in some of the major oil-producing countries I don't doubt it we'll see it topping $4 by late this year.

@PageRob I wish you good luck and hope you find work before you have to move...

CannondaleKid wrote:

paulhubbard wrote:houses there can be picked up for a song!

Yeah, but can you fill your vehicle with a song?

Gas is cheaper there than here, on average.

Wishing you the very best on your families move! I'll wave as I pass by CG on way to Tucson (we go 2-3 times a year). You will be closer to me than when you were in Page so look forward to a future hike together....Brian

So will we have any members in northern Coconino County, Apache or Navajo County?

Toad-of-the-Rocks still lives in Page, if we can get him to post on here. SkyIslandHiker (Bill B.) of Green Valley has bought a cabin in Show Low and has joined TRACKS, so he does post about the White Mtns. now and then.

That's quite a change. I wish you the best of luck in finding a good job quickly.

I would ask if you will miss living at altitude, or if you think it will be weird living down low again, but Page isn't very high for the plateau. You'll get really nice temps except for what, June, July and August?

Jim_H wrote:I would ask if you will miss living at altitude, or if you think it will be weird living down low again, but Page isn't very high for the plateau. You'll get really nice temps except for what, June, July and August?

...May, September, and also April and October in most years.

You'll be a short drive from the Superstitions, Pinals, and Santa Catalinas. Cool!

It's over 100 by April and it still is in October?

@Jim - Oh yeah. It's uncommon but not unheard of in April, and in October it's pretty regular.

I've driven through too many massive duststorms in Casa Grande to ever consider moving there. But, I'm lucky enough to have gotten a house in Tucson before the real estate insanity of the early 2000s.

I'm excited to have you close by! All the adventures we can have!

W

Welcome to the neighborhood (kind of)

How does the move affect Rainbow Bridge plans?

Jim H wrote:So will we have any members in northern Coconino County, Apache or Navajo County?

That new Navajo guy from Cedar Ridge that has posting on the LCR photosets would count as northern Coconino County.

azbackpackr wrote:Toad-of-the-Rocks still lives in Page

In fact we plan on hiking next weekend - Spencer/Dominguez. I'll post it as an event.

Jim Lyding wrote:You'll be a short drive from the Superstitions, Pinals, and Santa Catalinas. Cool!

I am excited about this.

writelots wrote:I've driven through too many massive duststorms in Casa Grande to ever consider moving there. But, I'm lucky enough to have gotten a house in Tucson before the real estate insanity of the early 2000s.

I'm excited to have you close by! All the adventures we can have!"

I too have been in these dust storm - not looking forward to that! I am excited about being able to hike more often will all of my HAZ friends.

Randal Schulhauser wrote:Welcome to the neighborhood (kind of)

How does the move affect Rainbow Bridge plans?

No change to the RB plans - we won't be leaving Page until June at the earliest. One possibility on the job horizon is actually a charter school in Ahwatukee, interestingly enough...

So, I'm hearing about houses with pools selling for $85K in Avondale. How much is an ordinary house in Casa Grande? Has to be cheaper than $85K, right? But I'm told you now have to have pristine credit in order to get a loan, and they want big downpayments as well.

Guess I will have to keep my house in Eagar for awhile.