Party at the Santan

The storm that blew through Gilbert late yesterday afternoon cooled down the temperatures just in time for the big party. The AZ Republic says there were 12,000 to 15,000 folks there, and I believe it. The Mister and I went early, and cars were already parked for miles. Here is where the ribbon cutting ceremony would take place:



With the winds dying down, the balloons could enter the scene:




I was amazed at the variety of the booths, from restaurants to real estate agents, from radio stations to rodeo queens, and every type of business. There were climbing walls and bouncy toys; this blow-up slide was visually quite impressive:


The sound walls feel pretty high as you drive along, which is nice for the neighbors, though it does block the view of our grain tanks from the freeway, as well as the Dog Park. I can't say enough about Tami Ryall and her staff that worked tirelessly to make this freeway truly usable and aesthetically pleasing. In the first place, it is opening quite a bit earlier than originally planned; when does that ever happen? Secondly, using the retention and runoff spaces for residents is truly brilliant. The Dog Park might have been large concrete slabs; and the drainage for the rainfall from the freeway? Walking/jogging trails:

They won't be as usable when there is really is rainfall, but with our yearly averages hovering around 7 inches, that won't be too often.

I think the party was a great success; my oldest daughter in Tucson thought it sounded funny to have a party on a freeway before its opening (though she was VERY excited about using it to come home next week before we go camping), but the Republic article points out that everybody is doing it:

"Sunset on the Santan" followed in a growing list of freeway-opening parties that have evolved in the Valley over the past six years. There have been more than a dozen similar parties in Chandler, Glendale, Mesa and Scottsdale.

We Gilbert folks love good excuses for a big family-type party; this was a great one.