It is a place of darkness, deliberate darkness, a town that has chosen that there are few lights.

The community of Fountain Hills wants people to be able to see the stars. It has chosen that it wants to be different from the blinding lights of most modern cities. It wants to be unique so that people can enjoy the darkness of the desert.

My earliest years of living on our Southern Minnesota farm had the same kind of darkness. We lived with darkness, as there was nothing better. Such darkness came before the time of rural electrification (REA). Our nighttime light came from kerosene lamps and lanterns.

Such darkness was fearsome to a young boy, for the lanterns that were used to find our way at night offered only a circle of light. There were imaginary things just outside that circle.

It was a common sight to see the people of the plane carrying lanterns as they made their way through the darkness to the barn to check on the farm animals at that time.

True darkness is hard to find anymore. A visitor to Fountain Hills quickly notes the difference. They can sense the difference as they drive the streets, walk the sidewalks or look out into the dark distance. The city is proud of their effort to maintain darkness in the desert.