Water-rupt

(abandoned homes in the desert)

Water-rupt is the story about a failed housing development in the desert of Arizona where the developers dreamed of success, but ended up bankrupt and without money to fund the water supply. As we visited in Waterless, the second article I ever wrote, it turns out, water is needed in desert environments to have success.

The plan's project was called the Silverado Homes. The plan was for 12,000 homes with 113 luxury styles available for building on about a 5,000 acre site. This also included schools, fire stations, shops, a sewage plant, and an 18 hole golf course. All of the houses would be on 2.5 acre plots. A few things went wrong here. Firstly, these houses were starting to be constructed prior to the 2008 housing market crash. Secondly, thanks to that crash, the county that these sit in abandoned their development. The owners also applied to build a solar energy plant on the acreage but thanks to the crash and the loss of the project funds, the solar energy plant was never constructed. The application was a success, but they never applied to the state commission. The development firm went bankrupt in 2009 leading to the homes never being completed.

So what remains: six mansion shells remain in 2023 when I visited the property as part of my Route 66 tour. Because the project was never completed, the houses were never completed either. The mansions left are all shells. There is hardly differences between each of the properties in the interior. They are all two-car garages, single story homes with what I would image was large kitchen spaces, fire places, multiple bedrooms, and a few baths. The road isn't paved around them either, it's basically just a random area in the desert far away from civilization where abandoned unfinished mansions sit.

Going to this location was almost a must for me, as I was already out there for my western drive on Route 66/I-40, I was able to stop in this area as it was not terribly far away from where I was. These homes are just south of Kingman, Arizona in Mojave County. I discovered them on a video on Youtube by Urbex Vibes and did some research of my own to locate them. I pulled up and parked my car on a pull-off, grabbed my camera bag and I was just about to head into the neighborhood area when a car came past me. The woman driving definitely knew what I was doing, but she kept on going. I would imagine others go out to this area often to explore. The scenery is desolate. The houses are definitely home to some desert creatures and there were a lot of insects in the houses (desert crickets). There is one home that is littered with trash and lots of tires, and I have no clue who is dumping them out there. The property is mostly all posted with no trespassing signs, but when you explore, you tend to forget that they exist. The exploring community's code is "take only photos, leave only footprints" that way we aren't destroying everything we see. I really didn't spend a ton of time here. There wasn't a lot to look at. The homes are cool and I wonder what could have been, but there is not much to see since all the homes are basically the same.

(I would imagine this was a bedroom with an imagined sliding glass door outside)

Personal Reflection:

In my last post, I didn't have a reflection. I did sum up my dad's absent-mindedness which came as a shock to those who thought they really knew him. I thought that was enough. This one will have something personal to it. During the drive out west, I think my mom was traveling overseas or something, but dad was at home. I remember calling him on the phone almost every day of my drive and talking to him about his day, my drive, and just random things in between. Two things I miss more than anything is hearing his voice and hearing his laughter. I have voicemails of him talking and there are videos where I can listen and hear his voice, but that isn't the same as talking to him. I was reading some memories that friends shared with us, and one of the memories was talking about how they would do anything to make my dad laugh just because they loved his laugh so much. Even little things that shocked or surprised him, or him finding his lost cellphone in his shoe at the golf course, all those sounds are things I miss deeply about him. Facebook is either good or bad for memories: when we were in Florida, my mom shared with me a memory that popped up on her timeline; where my dad was chasing Augusta around the dining room, and just that happiness for both him and her.

I wanted to share a little deeper here. I mention this point in my memoir about pets grieving loss, and wanted to share a sneak peak of what that will entail here. Something I have struggled with since the day my dad left us, was greeting the dog. She knew something was wrong. She knew from the moment he didn't come home after work that day he collapsed that something was going to be different. There was a night where my mom and I were at home together talking to each other while my dad was in the hospital and Augusta came into the bedroom and was either happy or sad, but was on the bed getting into our faces and "speaking" to us. We kept telling her it was okay, but was it. How could it be okay? We all were on the verge of losing someone close to us. My mom was losing her best friend and life partner, I was losing my best friend and dad, and Augusta was losing her best friend and favorite hooman.

It sounds weird to say, but pets grieve too. We had the ability to take Augusta to the funeral home the day of my dad's viewing, but when she came into the area where he was, she didn't even look at him. There was a moment where she stopped and faced us sitting at the base of his casket, but she wasn't phased by the whole thing. It hit us later that was because she didn't feel him there and didn't smell his scent. The moments for me where I know Augusta is grieving are the times that she will lay on the driveway of the house and look out into the distance and not be bothered by anyone walking down the street. It is almost like she is waiting for him. It pained me so deeply having to come home the night I had to say my goodbyes to him, because I had to greet Augusta. I just sat on the floor while she laid in my lap and allowed me to pet her. There were so many times as a family we would lay on the floor and give her belly rubs when we all got home, and although it still happens, she hasn't had a belly rub from my dad in five months.

I really wonder what she has thought about all this while time drags on without him. Dogs are always said to have short term memory. If my dad walked into the house to see her during all of this past time, she would instantly remember him. She would be happy again. I would be happy. My mom would be happy. All of us would be happy to see him again.

We will see him again. Right now he is with us, but we will see him again. We just have to continue to live our lives the way he would want us to live them. I was taught the acronym WWJD in Sunday School, because it was a quick "what would Jesus do", and I have reframed that to "What would Jim do". He would live his life without regrets and he would be with us.

(In his signature position, one hand scrolling his phone, and one hand petting Augusta because she would demand pets, either by batting him with her nose or her paw for his attention)

Below is a link to my video on the abandoned housing development, I apologize for the wind noise.