Arizona, is it ALL a Desert? No....

The photo above was taken at sunset on top of the Mogollom Rim in Payson, Arizona.

Many people have the idea that Arizona is a desert, dry, sandy, with sand dunes. I have to admit, before I ever moved here, that's what I thought. Well, if that's what you think too, you would be dead wrong!

Arizona does have a desert, the Sonoran Desert that lies mostly in the mid to lower half of the state. Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Tucson, cities you have probably heard of are all in the Sonoran Desert.

Arizona actually has all climates in the state, from desert to almost alpine. One can go to Flagstaff or the White Mountains and snow ski in the winter or just stay in the Phoenix area and be by the pool if you don't mind the 70's for temperatures.

I really enjoy going to Payson, only a 90 minute or so drive from the desert to a much cooler, higher elevation and Ponderosa pines. The largest Ponderosa Pine Forest in the USA is in Payson in the Tonto National forest. The Mogollom Rim is also in Payson, it is about 4,000 feet high, about the height that the Grand Canyon is deep. We enjoy staying at the Kohl's a Ranch Timeshare which sits on a Tonto Creek. The drive from Kohl's to the top of the rim is about 30 minutes. There are a few beautiful lakes up that way as well with very beautiful, blue water, surrounded by the Ponderosa pines.

Photo above of Tonto Creek behind the Kohl's Ranch Timeshare in Payson, Arizona.

Payson, Strawberry, White Mountains, Flagstaff and Grand Canyon are all areas which will have four seasons. Pass out of Cameron, east of Grand Canyon and head up to Monument Valley and you go back into desert land. Monument valley is the only place in Arizona that I have ever seen any sand dunes! The iconic images you see in the old tv and movie westerns were filmed in Monument Valley, Old Tucson Studios in Tucson and a few other areas.

Our desert doesn't have sand, it has dirt. Just plain old dirt! Lots of dust and dirt, scrub which dries up and turns into tumble weeds and lots of Cactus. All things prickly grow in the desert. If it has pickers, it probably grows here! We have road runners, scorpions, tarantulas, hummingbirds and lots of cactus. The Saguaro Cactus grows only in Arizona as a native species and is protected by law.

Photo above and below, taken in Sedona, Arizona

Most visitors to Arizona come to see Sedona and Grand Canyon. There are so many other things to see besides these two beautiful areas. If you are ever lucky enough to visit our beautiful state, give yourself at least two weeks to go from north to south! Visit Grand Canyon, Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater with the ruins all around the loop. Visit Sedona and take some roads off the beaten trail so you don't just see the main road and get yourself some really awesome photos. Come down to the Valley, drive out to the Superstition Mountains and beyond and hike. Find the Peralta Trail in Gold Canyon. Enjoy our awesome sunsets. Make a trip to Payson, drive up the rim and stop at a lake. Go to Tucson and on the way, stop at the Ostrich farm along the freeway to feed the ostrich and the lorakeets! Drive through Saguaro National Monument, go to the Desert Museum in Tucson. If you know anyone in the Air Force, see if they can take you through Davis Monthan to see the plane grave yard. Go farther south to see the gorgeous Dove of the Desert, Xavier Mission, a very old Catholic Church.

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