Now let's be honest here...

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Most of Arizona where the people live is nothing but rocky, barren soil with a few scraggly bushes adorned with shredded, white Walmart bags flapping in the breeze.

What a visual. It really did make me LOL!

[christiner81]

go look on google maps. we have a lot of forest and mountain areas.

[DogCharlie]

This is a common misconception, but as a matter of fact, AZ is extremely ecologically diverse!

Did you know it snows at the Grand Canyon?

[Zonie5]

Hmmm ! i guess i will have to go outside and see where the Wal-Mart flags are flapping at . i don't have a WM within 50 miles of me .
when i write to forum members that i have snow they are surprised . not often , but it does snow here . few years back Flagstaff had 4 ' of snow . their yearly snowfall one year was 144" .
by road i am 80 miles from the Canyon and there is nothing as beautiful as a sunset in the canyon . even the drive out North from Prescott can be beautiful if you know what to look for . especially when passing by Drake and looking at the rock formations . makes me think what the place was years ago when it was under water .

[Candice - Next Wave]

I live along the Beautiful Colorado River.
Plenty of sandy beach and lots of palm trees . . .
Casino resorts on one side (Laughlin, NV) with 24-hour life.
It's every extreme of heat and cold, barren and fertile, bone-dry and very, very wet.
Not for everyone, for sure. But nothing like it anywhere I've ever been.
We left Southern CA after the LA riots, came here (Fort Mohave/Bullhead City area) for a 3 month 'trial' and never went home. 19 years ago in October.
I stopped missing CA about ohhhh, a year after we left.

[ruready1st]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Most of Arizona where the people live is nothing but rocky, barren soil with a few scraggly bushes adorned with shredded, white Walmart bags flapping in the breeze.

I think you are badly mistaken. You are describing Southern Nevada, the Mohave Desert. Definitely not Arizona, especially the Sonoran Desert. Even a cleared lot in the middle of the city of Tucson has vegetation, maybe only Buffalo grass, but there is something, not just dirt and rock like you find in Vegas.

[dynimagelv]

Originally Posted by ruready1st

I think you are badly mistaken. You are describing Southern Nevada, the Mohave Desert. Definitely not Arizona, especially the Sonoran Desert. Even a cleared lot in the middle of the city of Tucson has vegetation, maybe only Buffalo grass, but there is something, not just dirt and rock like you find in Vegas.

Sounds like someone that has never been to Las Vegas.....

[NotQuiteNative]

Hot, arid desert? Like in cartoons?

Let's see:

About 90 min NorthEast of Scottsdale you're at over 5000' feet and surrounded by mountains, pines, and trout-stocked lakes.

Two hours North of Phoenix (just outside of Flagstaff) you can go skiing on a mountain with 2300' of vertical drop. Alta (a legendary destination outside of SLC Utah) has only about 1700'. The ski area is one of the oldest in North America (1938). If you go South, Mount Lemmon outside of Tucson also has skiing. That's about 2 hours away as well.

Phoenix rates as one of the highest per-capita boat ownership cities in the country. There are large bodies of water surrounding Phoenix: Lake Pleasant, Canyon Lake, Roosevelt, Saguaro, Bartlett, Horseshoe. Tempe Town Lake is big enough for rowing skiffs and electric boats.

The first time I ice-fished was in Arizona. Also, the first time I drove through a blizzard.

Phoenix itself is almost too green to be a desert city. First time visitors notice its surprising verdure. We have lawns, trees, shrubs, and almost too much vegetation.

So no. . . not quite a sandy parking lot with the occasional saguaro.