One of the things I love about being someplace new is the fact that everything is unfamiliar. I've driven through Phoenix before, when I moved from Portland, OR, to Seabrook, but I've not spent any real time here. The Valley of the Sun really is a beautiful place, with a character all it's own- one very different from what I'm used to.
Phoenix is a city that was literally built out of the desert, and one is constantly reminded of that origin. It's very hot, very dry, and dusty. The ever-present misters at restaurants and on sidewalks serve as reminders of what a toll the heat can take on a body. It can be very surprising how quickly one can become dehydrated.
Perhaps the thing that most easily captures my imagination are the 60-foot palm trees. You see them everywhere, and they seem rather incongrous- a tree that seems to thrive in this desert climate. My fascination with palm trees goes back to my childhood. Growing up in northern Minnesota, palm trees were something that existed only in Geography texts. I love palm trees, if for no other reason than they and snow drifts are mutually exclusive. Where you find one, you will not find the other. Personally, I'll take the palm trees any day.
My first impression is that I could live here. Of course, the reality of life in the Valley of the Sun is no doubt somewhat different from initial impression, but I could get used to this. If nothing else, the forecasts are consistent this time of year: highs around 110, lows around 85. Yes, it's hot, but I live in southeast Texas, and I know from hot. This is hot, but absent the Gulf Coast's stifling humidity, it's not bad at all. As strange as it may seem, 110 is pretty livable. I could learn to like this....
