No Watch, No Trousers, No Worries – Dove Mountain

LO Profile | February 14, 2011

Ronald and Donna Rak had long enjoyed boating on the Illinois River and Lake Michigan, when Ron’s secretary told them they should try the Lake of the Ozarks. They did, and they fell in love. Ron was Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Heights, Illinois. When he retired in 2003 he told Donna that he would “Never again wear a watch or long pants.” They knew that with retirement they would enjoy their many friends at the Lake and boating in their 33-foot Baja. The couple had already purchased a lovely lakeside condo in Sunrise Beach, so spending April through September or so wearing nothing but shorts was already taken care of.

As they began to plan for the other six months they were drawn to the Tucson, Arizona, area because one of their twin daughters had settled there with her family. Their only initial hesitation was the impression that Tucson is more of a desert area than Phoenix. They soon learned that with the sun shining an average of 330 days per year and an average high temperature of 64 degrees in January, the coldest month, the Tucson area was the place for them.

As residents of the Midwest, the Raks yearned for grass. They solved this problem by settling in the active adult community of Heritage Highlands in Marana, just outside of Tucson. Although the community association maintains the grounds of their home with desert landscaping, it is adjacent to the community’s golf course with perfectly maintained green, green grass.

Heritage Highlands is a 6,200-acre community, one of several developments on Dove Mountain, which is part of the Tortolita Mountains to the northwest of Tucson. With only 1,297 homes, Heritage Highlands is smaller than most adult communities. It caters to residents 55 and older, but definitely welcomes visiting children and grandchildren.

Dove Mountain itself encompasses about nine square miles, approximately one-third of which remain open space. It has an elevation that soars to 4,300 feet, and much of the perimeter of its base is protected by 2,400-acre Tortolita Preserve, which offers natural wilderness hiking and biking trails.

Dove Mountain’s first known human inhabitants were the Hohokam Indians, who resided in the high Sonoran Desert from about 300 B.C. to 1450 A.D. and irrigated their crops with a complex canal system fed by underground aquifers. Jesuit Missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino founded Mission San Xavier del Bac in the area in 1692, and in 1775 the Spanish established the Presidio of Tucson to protect settlers from attacks by the Apaches. When Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821, more settlers arrived to ranch and mine for copper. In 1853 the U.S. acquired the land, then known as part of Arizona Territory, through the Gadsden Purchase.

In 1926, Missourian Eugene “Cush” Cayton sought to improve his health by relocating to Arizona. He purchased land in the Tortolita Mountains and ranched there with his family until 1984. David Mehl, founder of Cottonwood Properties, acquired the land and renamed it “Dove Mountain” in 1985. It was his plan to create one of the Southwest’s premier master-planned golf communities in the high Sonoran Desert.

Mehl topped his mountain with the Ritz-Carlton Resort, which includes a hotel and spa, as well as Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses. The Accenture Match Play World Championship is held there every February, with 64 of the world’s top golfers competing.

Luxury homes surround the resort. The Heritage Highlands community is approximately two miles down the mountain with its own Arthur Hills golf course, a 5,500-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness center, saltwater pool, spa, tennis courts and clubhouse.

Donna formerly was an assistant state attorney and assistant public defender in Will County, Illinois, and a full-time homemaker. She thoroughly enjoys the community’s activities, which she likens to “being on a cruise ship.” She is involved in Bible study, ceramics and Tai Chi, and also takes classes through the University of Arizona.

Ron rides his Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle with the Heritage Highlands Riders. The couple also owns a 1993 red Corvette convertible that they both love to drive through the mountains and on road trips with other members of the Tucson Corvette Club.

Heritage Highlands and Dove Mountain are only thirty minutes from downtown Tucson, where the Raks can take advantage of internationally respected theaters, museums, the symphony, ballet and opera. Tucson is home to the University of Arizona medical school’s teaching hospital, the Arizona Cancer Center and ten other hospitals.

Other interesting destinations just a short drive from Dove Mountain include the Sonoran Desert Museum, the Kartchner Caverns and the Kitt Peak Natural Observatory. Phoenix is just 90 minutes away by car.

Donna’s favorite side trips include Tombstone, with its re-enactment of the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Tucson Studio, where movies of the Old West are filmed. One of her most enjoyable experiences was a day trip to Williams, Arizona, with their children and grandchildren to ride on the Polar Express. She also reports that driving to the top of Mount Lemmon, north of Tucson, in the winter for snow skiing is an absolutely beautiful excursion.

While golfers at the Lake often must share the courses with our native groundhogs, at Dove Mountain, Javelina pigs—a somewhat larger, yet harmless rodent—wander the courses. Rattlesnakes also are indigenous to the area.

But, as Donna says, “I would never kill one. They were here first.” The views from the mountain are delightful: the twinkling lights of Tucson, the towering saguaro cacti, other mountain peaks and the vegetation. According to Donna, “Something is always blooming.”

When they first bought their home in Heritage Highlands, the Raks like to drive through their neighborhood. They noted signs placed on each piece of property indicating the names and the hometowns of the various owners. Almost every state in the union was represented. The community sponsors dinners at the clubhouse for residents, and the Raks enjoy meeting fellow Illinoisans.

One of the best things about life in Heritage Highlands is that everyone is similarly situated. Although about a quarter of the residents work full- or part-time, most couples are active retired folks enjoying life. Everyone is kind and helpful, and this reminds the Raks of their friends at the Lake.

Donna and Ron agree that they are truly blessed to have two homes in two beautiful parts of our wonderful country.

“I love to sit on my Lake balcony in the summer and watch the sun rise,” Donna says. “Then, in the winter, I love to sit on my desert balcony and watch the sun set.”