Oregon Desert And Arizona High Mountains (Phoenix: ski resorts, live, land)

[Magnum Mike]

I know when you mention Oregon to somebody who has never been there, or only heard about it from other people, they would automatically associate rain, snow and gray skies with it. When I lived there for the short time 11 years ago, I saw the beauty the rainy weather leaves after it clears for 4 months from June until October.

There's also the other side of Oregon many people don't know about, and that's the Alvord Desert on the southeastern part of the state, and I believe it takes about 30% of the land in the entire state. I've only flown above the Alvord Desert numerous times on flights to and from Phoenix. I've also seen pictures of it, which basically looks like the typical desert landscape of Nevada or northern Arizona.

Many northwesterners also don't realize that the tallest mountain in Arizona stands over 1,000 feet higher in elevation than Mt. Hood, which I believe is the tallest mountain in Oregon. The San Francisco Peaks just west of Flagstaff, AZ stand at 12,633 feet ASL, and on days when it's 105 degrees 100 miles further to the south towards Phoenix, it can be a chilly 45 degrees at the 11,000 foot elevation, where the ski lift takes you in the summer. Yes, I said ski lifts, that's the Snow Bowl ski lodge at 9500 feet ASL, one of the 2 ski resorts in Arizona. So not the entire land in the state is desert, as some people tend to think.