I would choose a dessert over the desert

My oldest sister graduated this past weekend from Arizona State University. We are all so proud of her, because we thought she never would after she took a year and a half away from her studies. But not only did she graduate, but she graduated with cum laude honors, which is more than I will be able to say.

The only other time I had ever been to Phenix was for her high school graduation. We went to the Grand Canyon, rode horses and took a Jeep tour in Sedona, and slid down the natural water slide in Oak Creek Canyon (known as Slide Rock). It was a good trip, but I vividly remember bleeding from my cuticles from the dryness. I was not looking forward to experience that again.

Our entire trip, there was not a cloud in the sky. The bright desert sun loomed above in the sky as I left the airport. I could almost feel the sun burning my pale, white skin. I was convinced that this would be a bad omen for my trip as a whole.

This is my fifth day here, and am proud to say that I am not the slightest bit pink. As I sit in the airport, writing this blog post, the accomplishment of this feat is almost awe-inspiring.

Do you know how many kinds of cactus there are? It seemed like every time I looked out the window of our rent-a-car, I would see a new breed. And let me be the first to say how weird cacti can be. At times it looked we were in a dry coral reef, that is how bizarre the landscape was.

In Phenix, there is no natural grass, only rocks and sand. I love walking through damp, soft grass on a hot summer day, but here that is not possible. People don't have to spend their weekends with a lawnmower or hunched over in a garden, instead they get to enjoy a hassle-free rock garden. There is something to be said for this perk, but I would still choose grass.

I asked everyone that I met who lives here, why they chose the hot desert as their home. The best answer that I got was they, sure they dealt with the sweltering heat, but they don't have to worry about floods, or tornados, or hurricanes. He said that you just become smart and stay inside as much as you can in the summer, and that by evening it will be manageable.