Hi Everybody!

My home is in Green Valley, Arizona (85614) located about half way between Tucson & Nogales MX and within the Santa Cruz Valley. In 1 A.D. the Hohokam, Pima and Tohono O’dham Indian tribes were the first to call this area home and the latter still do. The flags of Mexico, Spain, the Confederacy, State of Arizona & the USA have all flown here. Spanish warriors, ranchers, missionaries, desperadoes & prospectors have lived here periodically (yes, and some still do!). In the early 50’s a new kind of settler appeared - a “snowbird”. We came to visit a friend (or in my case, my sister), see a tourist attraction, and mostly... get out of the cold and dark of our northern climes at certain times of the year. As we retired, many of us moved and started calling it Home.

Modern Green Valley history began in 1953 when a highway sign appeared near Interstate 19 that read  ........                                    “Live Now – Not Sometime – in an Established Community”. In 1964 a Chicago developer  purchased 2,900 acres near Canoa Ranch for a residential development. The developers studied and photographed the late 18th century Spanish Colonial styles which included: arched colonnades, wrought iron screens and red roofs, features that are still found in many of the homes and buildings being constructed today. A “town that is too good to die…populated by people who have learned to live,” Green Valley has been a retirement community since its inception in the 1960s. Our townhouse in Continental Vistas was built in 1978.

The population of Green Valley was 500 in 1964 and according the most recent census, has grown to 22,519 today. With the sun shining over 300 days per year, we are part of the region dubbed the “Astronomy Capital of the World.” With its clear skies and minimal light pollution, it boasts star-studded skies most nights of the year.

The Santa Rita Mountains (O'odham: wa Kuswo Doʼag) are right in our back yard. They extend 26 miles from north to south, merging into the Patagonia Mountains as we drive toward Nogales. The highest point in the range is Mt.Wrightson, with an elevation of 9,453’. The range harbors the beautiful Madera Canyon, one of the world's premier birding areas (I can attest to that!). The Smithsonian Institution's Whipple Observatory is located on Mt. Hopkins. The range is one of the Madrean Sky Islands. What is a sky island? The Madrean Sky Islands, or Madrean Archipelago, is a world biodiversity hot spot in northwestern Mexico and the southwest Arizona. This eco-region is named for the 55 pine- and oak-studded mountain “islands” encompassed within and separated by desert and grassland “seas.” To learn more, see link below for Arizona State Parks.

This is where the jaguar and black bear meet, where bromeliads grow in the arms of maple trees, and where spicy chiltepin pepper and sweet Arizona canyon grape grow side by side.

Green Valley is home to a large retirement community with a number of different communities linked together by their Homeowner’s Associations and the Green Valley Recreation which oversees all the gyms, pools, shuffleboard & bocce, tennis and pickleball courts as well as a woodworking, jewelry and pottery studios, plus an amazing selection of clubs, events and programs… all designed to keep us busy and out of trouble. We can never say… there’s nothing to do! People who live here are from all walks of life and bring with them many talents and wonderful conversations. This place and time have embraced us and we are content.

I've added a few new pieces to my portfolio Bollywood Birds!  ... check it out! (Available on Etsy). Thanks for reading my blog.  I learned new things about the place I live while doing research for this brief history.  Sending Hugs,  Judie