Phoenix: Didn't expect that!
 

Just got back...I was underwhelmed, to say the least, as it was so unpredictable...108 the day we arrived and temp. dropped to 56 the next day...never been so cold, as none of us were prepared for the change and didn't dress for it. Pretty mountains, but sooo dry...Lots of traffic, and time spent getting to and fro...Must say, I didn't have a good first impression, like I'd love to live here, or anything..Too hot for my blood.

Well Clara it's pretty funny saying that Phoenix was too hot because it was cold while you were there.

We had the exact temperature changes here in So. Cal and I actually posted that on your hair color thread.

Really all you had to do was look at weather.com to see that storms were rolling in and that the weather during your stay was not going to be hot.

Yes traffic in the Phoenix area is bad but since I live in So. Cal, it doesn't bother me. And of course you expect it to be dry after all it's the desert. Did you get rain there? We had quite a bit here in the last few days.

Hope you had a good reunion and next time remember to check the weather channel.

Paula...nope, I confess, I didn't check the weather channel...and I have lived in New Mexico, Utah, Saudia Arabia, Calif., and New ORleans, amonng other places, so I am pretty flexible. Yep, we were all caught...and it rained like crazy for at least 24 hours..guess they needed it, but the reunion, as such, was sorta washed out, since it was outdoors, with no other options.

Guess I've learned something about myself....I don't like big cities of any sort anymore...just too much trouble. Give me the damp northwest anyday...although today, as I type this, it is glorious outside.

The problem with Phoenix is that they aren't building highways fast enough there for the development occurring on the edges of the Valley of the Sun. That would be the traffic problem.

Sometimes, the weather there can get frustrating, even if it isn't as drastic as your change. For example, even when a front doesn't move through, the temperature can change over 25 degrees between day and night.

What was the purpose of your trip? Touring, business? I have been told that it is not a very interesting vacation destination, altho I have heard that Scottsdale is nice, but still I am not sure that one would go "on vacation" there. Rather it seems to be more of a place to escape the cold and snow of winter in the colder parts of the US.

I was in Phoenix once for a couple of days to visit someone and would have been quite disappointed if I had gone there as an end in itself. This is not a slam of the place at all! Many, if not most, places do not exist to be visited but as places to live and work.

Visiting relatives, I believe.

I don't get it. A week ago you lamented that you were going to Phoenix and it was going to be too hot.

You don't look at the forecast, go there, and end up complaining because it was too cold.

I bet you're a bundle of joy to travel with. Makes my hm wife look very low maintenance indeed.

Yep, suze, we were there for a grand family reunion, and, expecting it to be hot, we packed accordingly (although, as you know, we don't have too much really 'hot' in Seattle, so didn't have much in the way of clothing), and after we got there, were situated pretty far out on the rim of town, the weather turned suddenly very ocld. I guess, from what some have written, it is prone to do that. So we were unprepared. I agree, Phoenix is not a destination in itself, although we did go to the Zoo, which is world class, and to the Heard Musuem, which was incredible...shivering all the time. Sunsets were magnificent, and the evenings were bright (except for the 24 hours that ir rained)..guess they hadn't had rain for awhile, for the highways were slick and there were lots of accidents....anyway, was good to see all the branches of the family, and we did get some good Mexican food.