I received this email from a reader today.  Anyone from the tennis or golf or hiking or biking programs care to write to the Reiter's and tell them about life here in Palm Creek?

Lynn/Dave Reiter

May 25th 2013
12:10:16 PM

Where are you from?

St. Louis, MO

Please enter your comments.

This is probably not the correct format for my PC questions, but thought maybe this blog could help. After 10 years, 6 month PM seasonals at the Voyager Resort, Tucson, we are thinking of moving to PC.
I would love to hear from someone who flies to and from PC regarding shuttles, also, from someone in the tennis program, the golf program, the hiking and cycling programs. We do know all about the wonderful Pickleball program.

Please feel free to email me at lynnreiter20@gmail.com as I'm sure this blog was not set up for this type of correspondence. Thanks a million! Love the PC Blog site!  Would love to help with the Blog when we move to beautiful Palm Creek.

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What do we do in the afternoons when the temperature reaches 100+ degrees?

Mahjong 

Hand and Foot 

or Pegs & Jokers

Outside the front desk doors, this magnolia tree is blooming just for us.

 Life is Good!!!

Palm Park News!

Here is the design for our new Palm Park.  So many of us thoroughly enjoyed the outings on the nice grassy park area this past season so plans are to expand this area and make it much more accessible for set up and more outdoor events.

 

The perimeter palms will remain but all those in the center of the park will be removed.  Some of the trees will be moved to the new construction area and others will be used as replacements for a few palms that have died.

 
Bricks have arrived to be used for building a stage on the north end of the park.

 
The band stand or stage will be 60 ft long and about 20 ft deep.  It can be accessed by a ramp on either side of the stage so it is easy to move equipment up and down rather than stairs.

 

 
We were lucky to spot Jim Dawson there this morning so he explained the layout to us.

 

 

Testing different paver colors.

 
The whole perimeter of the grassy area will be outlined with stone like this so it is easy to keep trimmed.  Then a special kind of gravel will be put on the pathways to make it level with the stone.

 

 
There will be plenty of electrical connections so alleviate all those pesky extension cords running across the parking lot.  This area at the south end of the park will be all covered with pavers making a nice area for the food stands and concessions.

 
It will be fascinating to watch how all those trees get moved and the pavers put in place.  I think I'll bring a lawn chair, umbrella, and a cold drink so I can just sit and watch all the action!

The model home has been moved from the street of dreams over to it's new resting spot.

 

The house we've seen out in the storage area will soon be in its new home at Site 1111.
(NO.....this is not the house that was damaged a couple years back.  That was removed long ago.)

 
Pickle players were on the courts again this morning.

 
Progress continues on the dog park.

 
Thought you would like to see a close up of this map displayed in the sales office.  Red dots mark the sites that are already sold in the new section.  I like the street names in this area.

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Dust Devil Attack!  It was a typical lovely afternoon.  Not even a heavy wind.....but out of nowhere the mysterious Arizona dust devils suddenly spring up.  One came across the field by the pickleball courts and went across Site 30 over there in the corner.  As it passed by them, it pushed up their awning and made a big bulge in it.  Skip and Connie Emerson were home at the time and heard the big whoosh as the devil went through.  No rain.  No clouds in the sky.  No warning of any kind.  Just good old Arizona desert mystery.

 

 

Wednesday

Remember the "sheep's foot" I mentioned in yesterday's post?  Well, here it is busy at work filling in that bottom trench of the sewer line.  Couldn't get a closer picture from so far away, but will get a better shot later.

 

They're pulling out the model from the street of dreams and making room for the new one.

 

 
The golf course is getting ready for aeration so is peppered with flags to mark the sprinkler heads.

 
It would be a little tough to golf here right now.

 

Look at the nice quilted piece I found in a home this morning.  Awesome!

 

The Pottery Room is open several days a week.  Peg Tomaso and Suzette Taylor.

Leo Semone 

Artwork in progress. 

Natalie Aaron and Jeanette Girard. 

Sue Neuman 

I noticed the Stained Glass Room is open several days a week also.Gym Flader is monitoring and Nancy was there cutting up some small bits of glass to make circles???  At least that's what she told me!

Gym's newest mosaic work.

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Not much else to report today so I'll leave you with this entertaining site.  Click on the link below to see some digital magic.  Put your mouse pointer just over the guy's head when he stops running.

Click Here

Construction Update

There are so many projects at Palm Creek that we don't give much thought.  There is a perimeter wall all around this huge resort.  This summer it is getting patched and painted on both sides all the way around.  First it gets power washed, then patched with caulk, then painted.  I'm guessing we'll see this crew here for quite a while until the job is done.

We've been curious about all the huge mounds of dirt we see out in the construction area so Monday's tour with Jim Dawson was quite enlightening.  This blue water trench and piping will eventually go all aound the new construction area.  

It must be quite something for an engineer to draw out a plan like this and then see it come to fruition.

We must not forget special lines for fire hydrants!

This trench digging is a lot different than the first couple blocks that were laid out.  This time a wide trench is dug at varying depths.  First the deep green sewer line gets installed and covered.  You can't just throw dirt back in there to cover it up either.  The soil has to be of a certain moisture so that a machine called a sheeps foot can tramp down the dirt properly and securely.  Then the next level up and to the left will be the water lines.  Then comes electric, phone, cable, etc....each at a different depth and distance apart.  

See the thin wire that stretches along the top of the sewer line??  That's so they can use an electronic sensor to locate the pipe and know exactly where it runs and where the connections are located once the pipes are covered.  If you have to make repairs or connections in the future, that will certainly come in handy.

That gray pipe to the left is the water line that was laid in previously.  Someday it will allow a new home owner to do run a dishwasher or take a shower.

It was fascinating to watch this crew at work.  They're measuring and cutting the sewer pipes to needed specifications.  That big round saw blade goes through pipes like a hot knife through butter.  Then they hold the end of the pipe against the side of the blade to bevel the edge perimeter so the pieces slide together easily.

The end then gets dipped in a bucket of glue and they can slide the fittings on the end of the pipe.

This crew must have been well trained and working together for quite some time as very little conversation was held.  Each person had a job to do and it made great efficient team work.

Each of those upright green posts is a sewer line to a new house some day.

The fence around the new dog park is underway.  Concrete footings and rebar are in place.

Up by the big pool area work continues on the sprinkler systems.  Now that the acorn trees have been removed, they're going to work on the sprinkler lines.  Digging down to long buried lines is not an easy chore!  Years of tree roots surround all the pipes.

I took this photo down the water way between sites 29 and 30.  By the time you picklers come back this fall, there will be a nice full sun screen up there to provide much needed shade.

Check out this creative stained glass yard ornament we spotted at site 492.  I'm guessing it is one of our avid water volleyball players.  Nice work!