Monsoon Season

We're setting record highs here in Arizona and I have to admit that the heat is intense.  There's a reason they describe Arizona as the place Hell goes when it needs to warm up.

I find myself doing anything outside as early in the morning as possible.  It was 86 at 5:30 this morning when I took George for a ride in the stroller.  Gracie politely hissed her preference not to join in the fun.

This season is known for its extreme weather and it's kind of fun to be here to witness it.  It hasn't really stopped me from doing much and people are still hiking in the mountains...but you won't find me out there!

As I've been told the monsoon season is here and we can experience severe dust storms called haboobs.  Here are some photos of these walls of dust that can reach miles high.

 Then there are the flash floods that cause further damage. 

This is an older photo of one such case to demonstrate the power of water in a state where you don't usually see much of it.

The full-timers in the park tell me that the storms in Mesa are not generally this severe.  Apparently the rains can come so hard you can't see the house across the street.  This tends to last about a half an hour and then the flooding in the streets is gone in about an hour and you'd never knew it rained.

Long Live the Queen