Thursday, June 08, 2006

Arizona Adventure

Arizona’s hot. You all know that, right? Well, you think I would have remembered before I stepped out on our second-story deck that had been baking in the sun all morning. I was just going to lower the sunshades that I had raised yesterday afternoon before the dust storm came blowing through (more on that later). I expected the deck to be warm, but I wouldn’t be out there long. Um, I haven’t felt sand at the beach this hot. I hopped over to the parapet wall surrounding the deck to sit down and get my feet off the deck. It was hot too. So by the time I had hopped back inside, I had some nasty welts on the bottom of my feet. It hurts to walk. Sometimes I’m blonder than I pay to be.

Yesterday we had a dust storm. This unique phenomenon happens when it rains either to the north or south of here. The sudden downdraft of cool air pushes the hot air (and the accompanying dust) toward the valley. The good news is, after nearly an hour of choking and hoping you remember to lock everything up tight, the air is a good twenty degrees cooler. In the monsoon season, which officially starts July 7, the dust storms are usually followed by rain. Just enough to turn the dust to mud.


This is a picture of the wall of dust headed for us while we were at swimming lessons. It’s really neat when you see it on TV from a news chopper. It's not so fun to watch from the middle of it.



This is what we had to drive home in. You can see how little visibility there is even at 5 in the afternoon.



This is the cornfield a block from our house.


And this road leads home. There’s actually a freeway overpass up there that you can’t see because of the dust. Apparently, this storm actually shut down Sky Harbor airport for a while. And guess what? It's pouring right now as I'm typing this.

Finally, we went to the mountains north of here this past weekend. I took pictures with the video camera, so when I get my Mac back (hopefully Friday) I’ll try and pull some stills off and post them. It was a ton of fun.

9 comments:

Jeanne Damoff said...

"Sometimes I’m blonder than I pay to be." 50 points. :)

Sorry about your feet, blondie.

Malia Spencer said...

I think the true blondes laugh at those of us who like to be blondes. Like it's a reversal of the blonde joke and they make sure there are no exceptions. Even for those who have dark roots.

I think I'll go red again. I have less blonde moments that way. Of course blonde moments could just be a nice phrasing for those who have had too much dye leak into the brain. Right and if I really believed it I'd stop coloring right now. Not going to happen. :)

Sorry to hear about your feet. I hope they feel better soon.

michael snyder said...

I second the 50 points.

That sand storm thingy looks scary. In case you didn't know this already, you should try to stay out of them! (Don't you love helpful advice like that?)

Sorry too about the feet, but you know I've logged it away to add to my list of impressions. Imagine burn-foot-hopping across a blistering deck to dive headlong into a pool for some stiff-elbowed swimming.

Unknown said...

Well, I think the 50 points should go to Beth Moore who I stole the line from. I've used it so much I probably owe her royalties.

Mike, pretty soon you're going to be able to build a whole routine out of doing impressions of me. I'm sure Peter has plenty more fodder for you. Anyhow, it's so much funnier watching you be me than actually being me. What you really need to pull it off is to go blond.

Oh and the dust storm put another crack in the Expedition's windshield. I think we're on the third one. In Arizona, it is so common that it's just an automatic part of your insurance coverage. No deductible. They even come out to your house to replace it.

And the feet are better today, just a little sore. And no dust storms. Though we did sit out on that accursed deck last night and watch the lightning show. Very cool.

Unknown said...

And as if that last comment wasn't long enough . . . I got my Mac back today. The hard drive was wiped completely clean. I wanted to cry.

Camy Tang said...

Awwwww, sorry about that. That's awful!

I never knew about the dust storms. My husband (he's from Phoenix) told me about Monsoon season, though. Yuckos.

Camy

Malia Spencer said...

Awww...Jen I'm so sorry they had to wipe the hard drive. That really sucks and I'm sorry to hear it. :(

I'm glad you got it back though. I know you were missing it.

Georgiana Daniels said...

Sorry to hear about your Mac. Computer problems stink!!! But I have to say that the dust storm looked really cool on the news, probably not so fun in person.

Dineen A. Miller said...

Hey girl, how're the feet? Amazing pictures, btw. Never been in a dust storm.

I won't hold the blonde thing against you. LOL!