Tuesday, July 24, 2007

El Paso: Crazy Cat


El Paso: Crazy Cat
Originally uploaded by chacal la chaise.
A likely place where cougars might go to commit suicide by cop.

In other news, I just received this from Charlie Wakeem of the Frontera Land Alliance:

"...Frontera Land Alliance successfully won Common Open Space valuation for Resler Canyon from the Appraisal Review Board after battling the Central Appraisal District for the past year and four months. The valuation was originally appraised at over $900,000.00 by the CAD last year. Resler Canyon valuation is now on the tax rolls at $200.00 as Common Open Space. The new valuation will not be official until the CAD puts it in writing an mails it to Frontera, which takes a month or two."

While I don't have a photo of Resler Canyon, I do have this picture taken this afternoon. It is of Crazy Cat, home of terriblly-ugly late 20th century "I have more money than sense" houses.

Cheers to Resler Canyon, Charlie Wakeem, et al., for making the CAD understand what "open space" means.

3 comments:

Ben Nakagawa said...

Huge welcome from Nelson, New Zealand!

Chupacabra said...

What doesn't make sense about owning a house on crazy cat? Best views of the mountain and city?

carolyn rhea drapes aka chacal said...

many here say there are a lot of answers to that question.

one surrounds motives that incorporate aesthetics, communication, economics, engineering, environmental, geological, governmental, safety, societal, and visual. the effect of a string of boxy multistory houses attached to the mountain via stilts, yet detached from the wider community abroad, elicits bigger statements, which may say that the owner:
1) affords (or not) the immense cost of building simply because they can,
2) talks the city into providing special water and energy delivery systems just for them (and pays for it, too);
2) cares nothing about how their footprint effects animal and plant life around them;
3) feels they can live apart from even those next door; and finally,
4) enjoys perfect health. Because if they were to stumble and fall as a result of winds that top 70mph, they can survive for hours before they are found and the ambulance arrives.

scenic views from those houses? maybe. but you get great views from scenic drive, ranger peak tramway, and transmountain drive. in fact, a very good view looks back at the city from Loop 375. looking down is not always the best vantage point.

sometimes views from a distance or close to the ground can provide more information and enjoyment than a vantage point created soley for social capital or entertainment reasons.

am i jealous? no. do i have vertigo? no. i just don't think the y add that much to the view seen from UTEP and the surrounding area.

Sometimes you need to get away from it all.

And sometimes, it's time to return and be part of the larger world.  Between the first of 2023 and February 14, I painted many watercolo...