Sunday, April 12, 2015

Photo-of-the-Week #206 The Desert in the Mazatzal Mountains, Arizona, April 2015


What's to say? There is nothing more majestic than Nature's work. The desert and mountains of Arizona are a perfect example. I took this photo while traveling between Payson and Phoenix, Arizona. It was a beautiful drive.

Photos like this one are serendipitous. I shoot them from My McVansion while I'm driving. I set the camera and the zoom and aim it in the general direction I want to capture a photo. I shoot numerous shots and hope to capture one useable photo. Most of the time I am reasonably successful, as with this photo.

I've been to the southwest numerous times over the years, so I'm familiar with some of the terrain. I find the desert to be a very interesting environment. I've been in southern Arizona many times during the late spring and summer. I know it is hot, very HOT, during the days. I've only been through parts of the northern region of the state once. It's quite different up there. I've also learned that there is a several degree difference in temperatures between the lower desert areas and the higher mountain areas. So, as a mobile vagabond, one knows to go to the lower altitudes during the winter and up high in the mountain country during the summer.

Apparently a lot of people like the climate out here in Arizona. When I made my first trip to Phoenix in 1981 it was during the summer, the temperature reached 115 degrees at the Biltmore Hotel and there was an estimated population of 1.5 million people in the metro area. Apparently, the summer temperatures still reach around 115, but currently the metro area population is 4.5 million. Way too many people for me, but I guess there are a lot of people who like the region enough to endure the extreme heat. It's like upper New York State and other northern states only in reverse. The temperatures are sub-zero during the winter, but there are still a lot of people who live and thrive there. 

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