AZ Birds

It's that time of year again. Visitors from the chilly north descend upon our sunny state in droves. Snowbirds, we affectionately call them.

Note to Snowbirds: welcome to the sunbelt. We appreciate your fondness for our state and the boost you give our economy. It's fun to meet you and hear you go on and on about the place we call home.

It's time to do a little refresher course on the unique place called Arizona

• Arizona became the 48th state and last of the contiguous states on February 14, 1912. President William Howard Taft was ready to make it official on February 12, but it was Lincoln's birthday. The 13th was considered bad luck, so they waited until the following day. That's how it became known as the Valentine State.
• Even though much of Arizona is desert, it has 3,928 mountain peaks--more mountains than any of the other mountain states in the west (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming). Who counted them? Twenty-six of those peaks are more than 10,000 feet in elevation.
• The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse desert in North America.
• If you're driving from the north, you will pass through incredible scenery. Oraibi, a Hopi village located in Navajo County, dates back to before A.D. 1200 and is the oldest continuously inhabited community in America.
• Four Corners allows you to put your hands and feet in four states all at once: New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, & Arizona. You have to bend a little to do this but it's a great photo op.
• The Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona contains America's largest deposits of petrified wood. It is the official state fossil. (I didn't even know we had a state fossil.)
• The best-preserved meteor crater in the world is located near Winslow, Arizona. No doubt you've heard the song about Winslow. Click here to read about it.
• On the drive from Flagstaff to Phoenix, take a little detour to visit incredible Sedona with its red rock formations. I gasp every time I visit. It's as awe-inspiring at the Grand Canyon (which you won't want to miss). Then slip over to Prescott--a mile high city. It is home to the world's oldest rodeo, as well as the world's largest to-scale collection of miniature airplane models. The collection is housed in the library at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
• Speaking of rodeos, Payson, Arizona, is home to the world's oldest continuous rodeo, dating back to he 1880s.

A serenading cowboy on the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon. First the cowboys "rob" you, then they sing.

There you have it--some interesting and some not-so-exciting facts about my state. We residents pay our dues each summer by enduring ridiculously hot days and very warm nights. Now is our time to enjoy our incredible climate and boast a little--or a lot!

Come and enjoy!