Arizona Pride: The Past Year

Since I randomly threw out the idea of "Arizona pride" in my last post, let me take you on a picture tour of some of the things in Arizona I have enjoyed in the past year. (Not that any of these are brilliantly good pictures, but you'll just have to excuse, as usual, my lack of photographic skills.) All the pictures are marked with the month in which they were taken. 

First are these yellow desert daisies. During spring, they crop up on their own and make the world ever so much prettier and brighter. (5/11)

Then there are the friends you can go visit. What's wrong with small towns? And what's wrong with chickens that you can hold as if they're dogs or cats . . . ? (5/11)

But drive a little and you can come to pine country like in Strawberry: (7/11)

Or you can drive up a bit to the historic mining town, ghost town, funny little town Jerome, which sits precariously on Mingus Mounain: (10/11)

For a short afternoon's hike, Montezuma's Well does nicely. Besides the section overlooking the well, there is also a short trail shaded by trees. (1/12)

For an outing in spring, try out a boat ride on Tempe Town Lake. (3/12)

And of course we must not forget about the lovely Sedona. (3/12)

There is more than a multitude of trails there to keep you busy for weeks.

If you like, you can head to Jerome afterwards for dinner.

Be careful in March, though: the weather can be nice, but it can also be bizarrely unpredictable (until, that is, the point that its unpredictableness begins to feel predictable). This is what I found to welcome me into Spring Break: (3/12)

(of course, a week later, it was much warmer)

On the other side of the mountain from Jerome, you will find the not-as-small-but-still-with-some-small-town-feel Prescott. Visit the square for a quiet walk in the shade, some of the best pizza, and an entire row of antique stores to sift through. (5/12)

Since this year celebrates Arizona's 100th as a state, there were some Arizona flags set up.

One hundred years? Though the official day was on Valentine's Day (how fitting, eh?), I say we celebrate all year. I only wish they sold little Arizona flags in the stores like they sell U.S. flags for the Fourth of July. I would put one up in my room next to my mini, vintage, silk U.S. flag (which was one of many used to welcome Theodore Roosevelt to the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA).