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Old 03-05-2008, 11:51 AM
 
172 posts, read 253,651 times
Reputation: 61

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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim View Post
I thought I was going to be heading up north on I-17 every weekend. I've found that road to be an extremely long drive and a major pain in the ass. It's very unpredictable; some times you can get all the way to Flagstaff and back without a hitch; other times you can be backed up for literally hours due to accidents blocking the road. I've had a number of close calls on that road, and I'm a defensive driver. By the time I get to Flagstaff or Sedona I'm so stressed out half the fun is ruined. I've timed it several times; going from Tempe to Flagstaff without making a single stop, driving the speed limit (unlike many other posters on this forum such as people who claim they can drive to San Diego in 4 hours, I actually follow traffic laws), takes no less than 2:30. Getting to the Katchina Trailhead on the San Francisco peaks, one of my favorite hiking spots, you can round that up to 3:00.
I-17 can be quite a challenge, fortunately there are numerous other roads to access high elevation areas of AZ. The Mogollon rim is easily accessed via Highway 87 or Highway 60 through the Salt River Canyon if you are headed to Show Low or Pinetop. There's also Four Peaks Wilderness Area, Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, The Pinal Mountains in Gobe etc. etc. If you want to beat the crowds you're going to have to be a little more creative than jumping on I-17 with the rest of the herd heading to Flagstaff on the weekend.
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Old 03-05-2008, 11:57 AM
 
Location: Detroit
36 posts, read 103,781 times
Reputation: 33
I hear ya' Vegas. I'm not sure how/why people are drawn to the Phx area, but it seems to be happening more & more & in huge #'s I'm sure you would agree. I think theyre saying 1000 people a day to the Gilbert area?? Crazy!

If I had my druthers I'd probably choose SD over Phx but, with the super-high cost of living & being that more than half of my wife's fam migrated to Gilbert/Mesa, I might have a fight on my hands! LOL!

People here in MI like to escape the crazy city in the summers too. We call it going "Up North". Its a mad dash up I-75 at 5pm on Friday & back Sun afternoon!! 200 plus miles of gridlock, brake lts, & stress galore!! Its a trip I rarely take anymore, mostly because there's really no change in temp & no real landscape or mountains to view. Good camping, fresh air, lakes & pines are the claim to fame, which are not bad, dont get me wrong. Just not a dramatic change like PHX to Flagstaff.
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Old 03-05-2008, 12:11 PM
 
Location: Phoenix metro
20,004 posts, read 77,505,266 times
Reputation: 10381
Quote:
Originally Posted by G.P. Steve View Post
Its a trip I rarely take anymore, mostly because there's really no change in temp & no real landscape or mountains to view.

Going from this.....
http://http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/147/DETROIT~Comerica-Park-Detroit-Michigan-Posters.jpg (broken link)


to this....
http://epod.usra.edu/archive/images/main_100_0671.jpg (broken link)



...isnt a change in landscape, then I dont know what is!

Its just as drastic as going from this:
http://arac.com/images/locations/phoenix.jpg (broken link)

...to this, if you ask me!
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Old 03-05-2008, 12:13 PM
 
Location: In the North Idaho woods, still surrounded by terriers
2,179 posts, read 7,031,388 times
Reputation: 1014
City-dwellers (Phoenix, Tucson, etc) probably don't get as many bugs as suburb and country dwellers but we have a LOT of biting, stinging, nasty, ugly bugs in AZ. Steve-O knows of whence he speaks! Those blasted whiptail scorpions (vinegaroons) and centipedes are the worst, and they bite like crazy! I will never forget my first night in my Prescott-area home when I was watching TV and felt something slither across my foot...it was a centipede that measured 9 1/2 " long!
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Old 03-05-2008, 12:16 PM
 
Location: Phoenix metro
20,004 posts, read 77,505,266 times
Reputation: 10381
Quote:
Originally Posted by esselcue View Post
City-dwellers (Phoenix, Tucson, etc) probably don't get as many bugs as suburb and country dwellers but we have a LOT of biting, stinging, nasty, ugly bugs in AZ. Steve-O knows of whence he speaks! Those blasted whiptail scorpions (vinegaroons) and centipedes are the worst, and they bite like crazy! I will never forget my first night in my Prescott-area home when I was watching TV and felt something slither across my foot...it was a centipede that measured 9 1/2 " long!
Frickin awesome! Ive found a few in AZ that I was tempted to bring home, but they were still young and I didnt feel like waiting around for years for them to mature. You see, where most people freak out about AZ's fauna, I find it incredible and would LOVE to live around them everyday. But the only problem is that all the cool bugs are in the PHX area, and I hate PHX with a passion. Dang it PHX, ship your bugs up to Santa Fe or something! And watch the vinegaroons, dont get that spray in your eyes, I hear it burns like the devil.
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Old 03-05-2008, 12:20 PM
 
Location: Detroit
36 posts, read 103,781 times
Reputation: 33
Steve - O,

I know AZ's got a lot of creepy-crawly, spider, insect, snakes & stuff, but my inlaws have been in the area for over 10 years & have never seen any of the above. My b-i-l is a home inspector & rides quads in the desert near the Superstition range and has only seen a few. We know theyre there, but out of sight, out of mind. Most areas are treated for these bugs & usually a non-issue. We have the West-Nile mosquito scare every year on the news. As for killer bees, whats with that? How are they handling this?


Ah, that is a nice change, but thats the Upper Peninsula & hell of a lot longer drive! Try about 9-10 hours (over 500 miles) from Detroit to where your pics are from. The Porcupines are not really mountains either. Yes, nice landscape but most people dont travel even half that far. Not even close to the PHX to Flagstaff, I've done both.

Last edited by G.P. Steve; 03-05-2008 at 12:28 PM..
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Old 03-05-2008, 12:27 PM
 
Location: Phoenix metro
20,004 posts, read 77,505,266 times
Reputation: 10381
Quote:
Originally Posted by G.P. Steve View Post
Steve - O,

I know AZ's got a lot of creepy-crawly, spider, insect, snakes & stuff, but my inlaws have been in the area for over 10 years & have never seen any of the above. My b-i-l is a home inspector & rides quads in the desert near the Superstition range and has only seen a few. We know theyre there, but out of sight, out of mind. Most areas are treated for these bugs & usually a non-issue. We have the West-Nile mosquito scare every year on the news. As for killer bees, whats with that? How are they handling this?
Man, this thread is going off-topic, big time. PM me if you want some info.
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Old 03-05-2008, 12:30 PM
 
172 posts, read 253,651 times
Reputation: 61
Aren't most of those pictures from the UP Steve-O ? That's about an eight to nine hour drive from Detroit. Seems strange to compare that to Phoenix versus Flag.
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Old 03-05-2008, 01:02 PM
 
435 posts, read 1,577,725 times
Reputation: 330
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve-o View Post
For Heavens sake, its not 94 degrees with 95% humidity, more like 94 degrees with 50-60% humidity, and only for short stretches. And the heat in AZ doesnt just hang around for a few days with nice breaks in the middle. Its consistently HOT from April until mid-October. Are you prepared for that? If you think a handful of 90 degree days in NY is bad, are you prepared for several straight months of 100 degrees and up? Last year PHX had 33 days that were over 110 degrees and almost 4 months worth of 100 degrees and up. Sure the allure of more sun sounds nice, but come the middle of summer, youll be like everyone else down there--praying for clouds and some cool temps, which sometimes dont come for a few more months. Some people dont grasp the severity of Phoenix summers and end up despising them and whining about them just as much as a bad winter. Ive seen it happen a gajillion times. Vacationing somewhere and living somewhere are two totally different things, alot of people dont realize that. Just make sure you do before you move.
I think you really hit the nail on the head- it isn't necessarily that it's hot, it's the sheer relentless and consistent, prolonged heat for so many months on end w/o any break at all, even at night, that makes the summers in PHX so oppressive. In upstate NY, you'll get a few days of awful heat, but then a cold front will roll through, it'lll thunderstorm, and then be pleasant again. Don't count on that happening in PHX- it doesn't. The heat will start in mid to late April, and it absolutely will not stop for at least 5 months. People visit for a few days in June or July, and think, "well, it's not so bad, at least it isn't humid", but if you have to put up with it nonstop for such a prolonged length of time, trust me, it gets to you. I know, b/c I thought the same thing once, coming from MI.
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Old 03-05-2008, 01:05 PM
 
435 posts, read 1,577,725 times
Reputation: 330
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick754 View Post
Aren't most of those pictures from the UP Steve-O ? That's about an eight to nine hour drive from Detroit. Seems strange to compare that to Phoenix versus Flag.
It actually takes less time to drive from Detroit to Washington, D.C. than it does to drive from Detroit to Houghton, at the northern tip of the UP, if you can believe that. I know, I've done both & timed it.
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