Elizabeth Newlin - Arizona Real Estate Agent

Last weekend we went out on my parents’ pontoon boat for a trip around the little subdivision lake they live on. We’ve made the trip all the way down and back lots of times and looked at all of the homes, but this time I took my camera and looked specifically for the most beautiful backyard I could find. There were lots of pretty ones, and plenty of homes much bigger than my parents’, but honestly (and yes, I’m probably a bit biased), the nicest one I saw, was my parents’ backyard.

They just completed a total renovation of the backyard. They tore down the original gazebo and had that beautiful new one put up. The dock/patio is brand new and the path down from the house was redone as well. You don’t often see a backyard as beautiful or functional as theirs.

Jason and I saw this house as we were driving around this weekend. I have always been entranced by homes built into the sides of the mountains that encompass Phoenix. When I was a kid and we would drive by Camelback Mountain, I would gaze at the mansions dotted among the boulders and saguaros and wonder about how they were built and where the road was to get up to their driveways. I used to dream about someday living up there and looking down on the valley.

This house had a gorgeous view of wildflowers and desertscape. It looked huge and well maintained. We especially loved the long wraparound porch in front and the part toward the back left with the wall and roof of windows. The pretty mocha color of the exterior didn’t hurt either.