Rhodes provides fairway residence for couple

When buyers drive into Rhodes Ranch, a master-planned community in the southwestern Las Vegas Valley, they do not feel like they are in the desert, according to Greg Stone, Rhodes Homes sales agent. At first sight they see the fairways of the Rhodes Ranch Golf Club, and hundreds of palm trees.

Like most prospective buyers driving into Rhodes Ranch, Sandra and Neil McElroy, recent residents of the Pacific Mist community, saw the lagoon below a cascade waterfall on the third fairway of the championship golf course.

"It is almost like you are in an exotic tropical community," Stone said.

For Sandra and Neil McElroy, it is also family that drove them to their oasis in the desert.

"We had watched Rhodes Ranch being built from the start and loved the idea of some day living in Rhodes Ranch. It became very easy to make the decision once my sister, brother, niece and her family, plus my sister's sister-in-law and son, and my sister's cousin all live here. It just a family thing," Sandra McElroy, a Realtor for Coldwell Banker Premier, said.

Sandra McElroy's family lives in Travina, Links and Lakes, neighboring communities in Rhodes Ranch.

"That puts all of my extended family within walking distance," she said. "We like that."

Neil McElroy, a Silverado High School English teacher, said, "I moved here because Sandy moved here, and I love Sandy."

After living 26 years in Cathedral City, Calif., which is near Palm Springs, the couple wanted "to downsize the lot and upsize the house," according to Sandra McElroy.

The McElroys purchased the 2255 model, named for its square footage, with a bedroom and bath downstairs and two bedrooms, a large loft and the master suite upstairs. They chose flooring and window treatment upgrades. Since the McElroys have two dogs, their flooring contains mostly tiles throughout the house. There is a carpet inset in the living room, carpet on the stairs and in the bedrooms.

"Then, I had the interior walls painted a pale yellow and installed a new front door. We added a large patio, wall and gate as we have two large, rescued dogs. One is a male chocolate lab, Chester, we rescued from Pahrump and a female brindled color Shepard/pit mix, Jane Doe, from the trash company where I worked at in California," Sandra McElroy said.

The McElroys are still unpacking. They just received their fourth and last truckload a few weeks ago.

Yet they have discovered the many amenities and activities at Rhodes Ranch and in the Las Vegas Valley.

"I love the Fun Zone. I also love the R Club, the food and the clothing," Sandra McElroy said.

In January, former cancer patient Sandra McElroy will celebrate eight years with no recurrence. Her sister is just a year out of treatment for breast cancer.

Sandra said, "I moved here to help her get through the hard time that it is. It takes a year almost for all the treatment, but it takes years to heal from the treatment. I still have problems with this or that, but as my sister and I say, 'But we don't have a cancer.' "

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Jim and Glynda Rhodes, principals of Rhodes Homes, are serving as Nevada Cancer Institute's 2007 chairpersons for its sixth annual fundraising event.

The event, Rock For The Cure, will be held at Mandalay Bay Nov. 15.

Rhodes Homes created the Rhodes Homes Charitable Giving Committee, which supports existing Southern Nevada charities with donations and hands-on support.

Sales offices are open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 439-6300; or visit RhodesHomes.com.