House

As surprising at it may sound, we bought a house!!! Some background information…when we started this adventure we had planned to explore areas of the country and maybe find a place for a winter home. We started staying at Verde River RV Park in November and kept extending our time because we liked the area so much. Being surrounded by mountains is so peaceful and beautiful. In January, we decided to look around at houses in the area. We thought trying to find a 55+ community was the best option because we would have a lot of activities and amenities. We did look at a couple of places in Prescott, Mesa and in the Cottonwood area. The place we ended up buying, Pine Shadows, we actually saw the one we ended up purchasing back in January. I think we went back 5 times to look at it. These are some pictures from one of our visits.

One of the best things about the house is the view in the back. To the left you can see the red rocks of Sedona and to the right is Mingus Mountain — both very amazing! The deck is high up and overlooks a golf course which is fun to watch from the deck.

The sellers did agree to leave some of the furniture since we really don’t have any since we sold everything in Louisiana. And they have some great thrift stores here in Cottonwood and we have been picking up stuff there to help fill in. We found a desk for the office (although it was a challenge getting in to the house) and a reading chair for the bedroom.

We both got up the first morning so we could watch the sun rise over the Sedona red rocks. It was really amazing — the colors were great and it was so peaceful!

We are settling in to the house and meeting some of the neighbors. Everyone is very friendly and there are lots of dogs around. I probably know more names of the dogs than I do the owners…LOL.

We plan to make this Cottonwood house our 7 month winter home and be in Big Lake for 5 months. With the way the weather has been in Minnesota, the Big Lake place will not open on April 15th, but will be at least a week late, if not more. So staying here until the end of April works out well.

We did list the camper and truck on CraigsList and also on a Facebook page – Grand Design Owners – Items for Sale. That Facebook page is where we got the best lead on selling. There is a couple in Texas that have been looking at this model, and with the extras that we were providing, it was exactly what they wanted. The sale went very well with them completing a wire transfer within a couple of days of their initial inquiry. It is with mixed emotions that we will see the camper leave on Wednesday when the driver comes to pick it up. The new owners are very excited to be moving over to a 5th wheel.

TIFN