Category Archives: Arizona

Arizona, History, Odds & Ends

Happy 4th of July America!

Happy 4th of July to each and every one. Celebrate American Independence in spite of the overreaching government, warts, and the retards that want to destroy it. (Looking at you New York Times.)

To those who would erase history, GFY. Love America or get out! Real Americans don’t take the knee & never will.

If  When the civil war comes, I think the first target should be the NYT for their blatant criminality. Burn it down!

Meanwhile, we have managed to stay together for 244 years. Great going & let’s make it another 244. God Bless America! We are the shining light of the world. Never forget it.

Arizona, Real Estate

Home Sales Down in May

Sales of previously owned homes fell 9.7 percent in May compared April, the third monthly decline, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

Existing home sales are counted at the time of closings. So these would have been based on contacts signed in March and April, when most of the country was under instructions to stay at home and real estate showings were off-limits in many areas.

Compared with a year ago, home sales were down 26 percent. Home sales hit an a 13-year high in February but began plunging as the coronavirus discouraged shopping from home, public health officials told Americans to avoid unnecessarily venturing out of their homes, unemployment jumped higher amid mass layoffs, and many states and cities prohibited realtors from showing homes in person.

Previously-owned homes make up most of the housing market, although the sales have a smaller impact on gross domestic product because so much of the work on them has already been completed. Nonetheless, existing home sales can drive sales in appliances, furniture, and home improvement goods. And they remain an important barometer of household confidence and prosperity.

Each of the four major regions of the country witnessed dips in month-over-month and year-over-year sales, with the Northeast experiencing the greatest month-over-month drop, according to the NAR. The decline was worse than the 8.8 percent expected.

Many economists expect that low interest rates and the reopening of the economy will drive up sales in June and in the months to come. Real estate showings are once again permitted in most of the country. Home sales typically peak in mid-summer.

Source: Home Sales Plunged 9.7% in May as Coronavirus Lockdowns Kept Americans Indoors

Arizona, Real Estate

Will Working at Home Spark New Home Sales?

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The growing trend of working remotely could untether Americans from office spaces in pricey areas and prompt them to buy homes elsewhere.

Home sales in the suburbs as well as smaller, less expensive cities could see a boost that continues beyond pre-pandemic levels, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Some tech companies, including Facebook, Twitter, and Square, have already announced that they will allow select employees to work remotely full time. They expect half of their workforce to work remotely within five to 10 years.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that about 75% of his employees have already expressed an interest in moving to a different city if they could work remotely.

The insurance company Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, has announced a permanent transition to working from home for some of its employees as well as a hybrid work model for others. That hybrid model includes working from smaller brick-and-mortar offices that will remain open.

Source: Could the Rise of Remote Work Spark More Home Sales? | Realtor Magazine

We closed our office in Kingman in 2007, anticipating the real estate slowdown that came after 2008. Besides the convenience of having an office in town (with a bedroom if we wanted to stay overnight,) it really didn’t seem to affect our business at all. We were pretty much always meeting people in Yucca, or by the exits on I-40, so nothing really changed at all. The only downside to having a home office, is that you’re always “at work.”

Arizona

Yucca Weather Update – June 7 2020

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After some really hot days (106 F at the house once!) we’ve cooled down, and it’s been in the low 80s here at the ranch (we’re at 2,960 ft elevation.) A bit windy at times, but otherwise very pleasant.

Looks like we continue to get some more lovely June weather. It’s dry, and the mornings are cool,  bright and sunny. Anything halfway comfortable in June is a bonus. -Ben

Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park Increasing Access to South Rim

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Grand Canyon National Park is increasing recreational access to selected South Rim viewpoints.

The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis.

  • Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim South Entrance will reopen May 15-18 for incoming traffic from 6-10 a.m. with limited day use access to:
  • The viewpoints at Pipe Creek Vista, Twin Overlooks, Duck on a Rock, Thor’s Hammer, No Name Point and Navajo Point along East Desert View Drive. Vehicles will be directed to turn around at Navajo Point.
  • The picnic areas east of Yaki Road, Thor’s Hammer and Buggeln Picnic area.
  • The restroom facilities located by the South Entrance Grand Canyon National Park sign, picnic area east of Yaki Road, and Buggeln picnic area.

With public health in mind, the following facilities and areas remain closed to visitors at this time:

  • South Rim’s east entrance and Desert View area.
  • The Rim Trail, Greenway Trail system, inner canyon and all hiking trails.
  • Grand Canyon Village.
  • Center Road west from the South Entrance Road intersection; South Entrance Road north of Desert View Drive intersection; Yaki Point Road, Rowe Well Road and the USFS 310 Road.
  • The Colorado River, North Rim and Tuweep area.

Commercial services within the park remain closed. Visitors exploring the South Rim should plan to be self-sufficient, bringing enough food and water during their trip as well as hand sanitizer.

Park entrance fees are currently waived. The park also recommends arriving no later than 9-9:30 a.m. in case of traffic backups entering the park. Once visitors enter the park, they can stay throughout the day; however, there are not overnight accommodations available.

“This initial reopening phase will increase access to our public lands in a responsible way by offering the main feature of the park for the public, the view of the canyon, while reducing the potential exposure of COVID-19 to our nearly 2,500 residents,” said Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Ed Keable.

Source: Grand Canyon National Park is beginning to increase access to South Rim Viewpoints – Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Arizona, History

The Aztec Cattle Company & the Hashknife Outfit – Legends of America

In 1884, the Aztec Land and Cattle Company of Boston began operations in Arizona with its headquarters situated across the Little Colorado River from the site of Saint Joseph (now Joseph City.)

The third-largest cattle company in North America, the organization was better known as the Hashknife Outfit because their brand resembled the old hash knives used by chuckwagon cooks. The next year, the Aztec Company transferred its headquarters to Holbrook, Arizona and in 1886, they purchased one million acres of former railroad land from the Atlantic and Pacific for 50 cents an acre. The ranch claimed a range that stretched some  650 miles, from the New Mexico border to just south of Flagstaff.

The company then bought the Hashknife brand and some 33,000 head of cattle and 2,000 horses from the Continental Cattle Company in Texas, which was going broke because of drought. When the stock arrived by rail, they were let off the train at stops all across northern Arizona. Along with the cattle and the brand, also came a number of original Hashknife cowboys.

Source: The Aztec Cattle Company & the Hashknife Outfit – Legends of America

Click on the link to read more.

Arizona

Spring Colorado River Runoff Low Since April

A dry April caused the expected spring-summer runoff into Lake Powell to plunge dramatically, with the water-flow forecast down the Colorado River declining as much in one month as Tucson Water customers use in 10 years.

May’s monthly runoff prediction for the April-through-July period was 65% of average, or 4.6 million acre-feet. That’s 1 million acre-feet less than the April forecast predicted. Tucson Water customers typically use close to 100,000 acre-feet a year. While low runoff this year is highly unlikely to trigger the river’s first major shortage as soon as 2021, it raises the possibility of one in 2022.

A shortage would fall particularly hard on Central Arizona farmers. Flows of water into Powell that would be low enough to cause a shortage in 2022 are likely to occur about 10% of the time, said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s most recent study of its reservoir operations, published in mid-April.

Source: Expected spring runoff into Colorado River plunges after dry April | Arizona and Regional News | tucson.com