Flat Stanley Comes to Arizona!

There you have it, folks. Mr. Stanley has braved the summer heat and visited the fair state of Arizona. Most visitors come in the winter when the weather is a comfortable daytime-shirt-sleeve temperature and a balmy evening-light-jacket temperature. But, no, not Flat Stanley. He wants all Arizona has to offer.

Our hats go off to this gentleman and our invitation goes out to all stalwart fans: come experience the real desert first-hand; come enjoy the lighter crowds due to a lack of tourists; enjoy phenomenal prices on exotic resorts; bring your arthritic bones to dry out in the desert heat. Bring chaptick and water, too.

Welcome, Flat Stanley!

• The saguaro cactus is the largest cactus found in the U.S. It can grow as high as a five-story building and is native to the Sonoran Desert, which stretches across southern Arizona and northern Mexico.
• A saguaro can store up to nine tons of water.
• It is a protected species and you could spend more than a year in prison for cutting one down.

• Arizona's disparate climate can yield both the highest and lowest temperatures across the nation in the same day.
• The hottest temperature recorded in Arizona was 128 at Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994. The coldest was 40 below zero at Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.
• Rainfall averages for Arizona range from less than three inches in the deserts to more than 30 inches per year in the mountains.

Let's hear it for Stanley!!

Photo by Jeannal Baker

Just had to share a friend's photos of a blooming cactus in their yard in Sun City Grand, AZ. The flowers are large and waxy and last only one day. Spectacular!

Jeannal Baker