Area

It's impossible to be bored when you live in the "Valley of the Sun." This area offers scenic beauty, miles of natural parkland, picturesque lakes, and a wide variety of activities, events, and attractions for every interest. Surrounding towns, cities, and metropolitan areas offer a unique mix of culture, shopping, and attractions ranging from the Southwest to the Old West.

Worship

Area places of worship include a variety of denominations.

Shopping

Shopping is easy in this diverse setting. The Westgate City Center in nearby Glendale is the area's newest shopping and entertainment megaplex, featuring a wide variety of large retail stores, top-shelf restaurants, and popular night spots-from wine bars to martini bars. Glendale's Arrowhead Towne Center, one of the region's largest malls, offers upscale shopping and major anchor stores. Downtown Glendale, known as the antique capital of the Southwest, features a cozy historic district with a plethora of antique stores and exclusive boutiques.

Peoria's revitalized downtown area offers charming little shops and specialty stores. The Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix is a favorite day-in-the-city shopping destination. Phoenix, Tempe, and Tucson offer diverse shopping districts for the hip and trendy or active cowboys and cowgirls. The entire region features great villages and towns to explore, each with their own distinct ambience.

Recreation

Whether you want to stay close to home, or you are in the mood to roam, there's always something to do when you live in the Valley. In the family-focused city of Surprise, you and the kids will enjoy the 180-acre Surprise Recreation Campus with pools, tennis courts, and sports fields.

Sports fans rejoice! Take your pick between Glendale and Phoenix where you'll have access to every sporting event imaginable-from baseball, football, and basketball to hockey and lacrosse.

If golf is your passion, you are in fairway heaven here with dozens of courses located within an easy drive. In fact, this region is known as one of the best golf destinations in the world! For those who prefer more action, the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale is a great place to spend a sunny afternoon.

You could easily spend half a lifetime exploring Arizona's great outdoors by highway, back country road, or backpack. Hiking, biking, four-wheeling, and horseback riding are available at dozens of regional and state parks including White Tank Mountain Regional Park-with its own desert waterfall-and Thunderbird Mountain Regional Park. In Peoria, the Lake Pleasant Regional Park offers scenic overlooks of Waddell Dam and Lake Pleasant, a 10,000-acre preserve where you can camp, boat, fish, or swim for a day or a week!

At the nearby Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, you can go on an African safari by train, explore the Outback by boat, or ride the sky rail and get a bird's eye view of the grounds. The Phoenix Zoo is another fantastic venue for animal lovers.

Dude ranches are a great way to experience the Old West in Arizona. Most offer horseback rides through scenic desert backlands, fireside cookouts, and even cattle drives. If you prefer caving, you can go in search of famous stalactite formations in the Grand Canyon Caverns, Colossal Cave, or Kartchner Caverns Sate Park.

Medical

Exceptional medical facilities in the area include Arrowhead Community Hospital in Glendale, Boswell Memorial Hospital in Sun City, Del E. Webb Memorial Hospital in Sun City West, Maryvale Hospital Medical Center in Phoenix, Samaritan West Valley Health Center in Goodyear, the Surprise Senior Center, and USAF Luke Hospital.

Culture

Glendale is dedicated to preserving the valley's oldest and most magnificent ranches. You can tour the historic grounds and exhibits of the Sahuaro Ranch and the Manistee Ranch to learn about life during the early-settlement days. The Glendale Xeriscape Garden is a botanical heaven with hundreds of regional cacti and flowering plants on display.

Phoenix, just a short drive away, offers world-class cultural and historical attractions, including museums, art centers, archeological parks, and botanical gardens. Night life, music, and theatrical attractions abound at renowned venues like the Dodge Theatre, Herberger Theater Center, Orpheum Theatre, US Airways Center, and the Cricket Pavilion.

Native American heritage plays a major role in this region and is aptly preserved at Phoenix's Heard Museum and the Phoenix Museum of Art. American Indian reservations throughout the state offer educational and cultural programs on native customs, traditions, and artistic contributions.

In Tucson, a bit further south, you can get a flavor of the old western frontier. Be sure to take a tour of Old Tucson Studios, the setting for some of Hollywood's finest Western films, including "Tombstone" and "Rio Bravo".

Transportation

You are centrally located to numerous airports, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), Deer Valley Airport, and the Phoenix Goodyear Airport.

Schools

Dysart Unified School District offers excellent educational and extra-curricular programs. Area schools include Sonoran Heights Elementary School (623-523-8550); Dysart High School (623-876-7500); Willow Canyon High School (623-523-8000); and the private pre-school KinderCare Learning Center (623-975-1592).

Utilities

Utility companies serving this community include:

Cox Digital Services, including Cox Digital Cable, Cox Digital Telephone and Cox High Speed Internet (623-748-8957) or (800-957-7250)

APS for electric (602-371-7171)

Southwest Gas for gas (602-861-1999)

Arizona American Water Company for water    (623-876-4020)