We left Wickenburg on September 11, 2010. When we looked back, our house looked like this. Our contractor tells us that he has finished the topout inspection and started installing the insulation. We’re hoping to be as pleasantly surprised by the progress when we return to town next week as we were when we arrived in early September. Click on the image to enlarge.

On our last trip to Arizona, we took some time out to go to the Pedestrian overpass across the Hassayampa River near Downtown Wickenburg. I posted a panorama of the view from the bridge a couple of days ago.

As you enter the walkway (which used to be part of US Highway 60), you pass this bronze sculpture of a horse rearing up on its hind legs. I paused to take a pair of images to merge into the 3D version seen here. Click on the image to enlarge.

Of course, if you don’t have your 3D glasses, you can see the 2D image here.

We can be at Lake Pleasant in less than an hour from our new house in Arizona. I took this photo in July of this year. It was a little too warm that day for a picnic, so we just did some sightseeing before we drove back to town. It is indeed a pleasant lake and state park. Click on the image to enlarge.

On our last excursion to Arizona, we took some time out from house-building to do a little sightseeing. I composed this panoramic image of the Hassayampa River which runs through Wickenburg. Although it is dry in this image, it flows in the springtime and sometimes during the August/September monsoons. The presence of water ensures that the riparian vegetation stays green and lush even in the desert climate. Click on the image to see the full panorama.

When this flower opened up this weekend, I was surprised to see that it had six petals. Most plumeria flowers only have five. Click on the image to enlarge.

When I tell people we’ve moved to Wickenburg, they often ask “why there?” I give them the usual answers that the climate is nice (we like the heat), property values are good for buyers, historic small town atmosphere, friendly neighbors, plenty of services for a small town and most importantly, one of the lowest crime rates in Arizona and the U.S. I studied crime rates within the state at four locations which seemed reasonable places to relocate; Tucson, Marana, Phoenix Metro and Wickenburg.

Tucson and Marana are located in Pima County in the southern part of the “Valley of the Sun” (basically along I-10 south of I-8). Phoenix and Wickenburg are in Maricopa County. Even though the vertical scales differ slightly on the graphs above, you can see that personal and property crime rates in Wickenburg are relatively small. The graphs came from a real estate appraisal website’s demographics section for each of the four areas. Click on the image to enlarge.

This is the second year this plant has been on the patio, but the first pink flowers started to open this week. Click on the image to enlarge.