"Arizona, USA" Arizona by DrewV

Arizona Travel Guide: 10,349 reviews and 27,945 photos

Arizona -- Where the canyons aren't just big, they

A wise man once said, "The grass is always greener on the other side." He should have added, "unless that other side is Arizona." I have no proof, but I think it's no coincidence that Arizona sounds a lot like "Arid Zone." It's just a really big, hot desert.

(At least it's a dry heat, they say... sure, but 130 degrees is nasty no matter how dry you are.)

Still, Arizona is beautiful. There's a savage beauty about the desert, the colossal boulders, the endless rock and sand, the lone saguaro cactus standing sentinel on the windswept plain, the sunset red of the rocks carved with the sweat of ancient cultures.

Of course, there is more to Arizona than the desert. There's metro Phoenix, which has really gone out of its way to use up every drop of water it can find to create extraordinary lush golf courses and lawns for Scottsdale. In spite of the vast amounts of green in the city, they haven't quite figured out the idea of green traffic lights, specifically left turn signals. Be prepared to make a lot of left-on-red turns.

The other cool attraction about metro Phoenix is Cactus League baseball. Every spring, some of the best teams in Major League Baseball (including my beloved Cubs) come to Arizona for Spring Training. They play in small stadiums located around the metro Phoenix area. It's a ton of fun to watch the Cubs, Giants, A's, Mariners, Brewers, Rockies, and Angels for a couple of bucks on a gorgeous March evening.

As for the rest of the state, they've got some great ancient pueblos and other Native American cities carved straight out of the rock. There's also the red rocks of Sedona, and of course the Grand Canyon (which is, surprisingly enough, grand).

Arizona gets a thumbs-up from me, but go in the Springtime, because the summer can get a bit warm, and dying of heat exhaustion is never a priority.

Last visit to Arizona: Mar 1992
Intro Written Sep 8, 2002
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Comments (6)

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robby_csrn Mar 15, 2002 at 6:34 AM

Such an amazing place!
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stelladc Mar 11, 2002 at 4:40 AM

It looks AWESOME!!!!
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Sharrie Jun 25, 2001 at 7:12 PM

That`s it, Andrew! IT`S LIKE LOOKING AT GOD!!!!!!! W O W !!
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Geoff_Wright Jun 2, 2001 at 3:45 AM

Nice page, great photos, and `food for thought` too.
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Mirellaboer May 14, 2001 at 11:20 PM

I can`t wait to go there!
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buzzz Nov 23, 2000 at 12:07 PM

Thought provoking page!