Arizona

Our final destination on our road trip across the USA last year was Tucson, Arizona.  My husband, Cameron (aka Eric to his family and co-workers), is from Arizona.  I lived there with Cameron for about 2 years before we moved back to Kentucky to be near my family.  If you don't know the story of how I met my husband, just click here. 

I love Arizona and I miss it dearly when I'm not there.  If I could only convince my family to move there with me, I'd go back there in a moment's notice without hesitation.  Of course, if I moved back to Arizona, then I'd miss Kentucky (as was the case when I lived in Arizona).  I'm caught between the love of two cities about 1800 miles apart from one another. 

Each year my husband and I travel to Arizona to visit his parents and his brother, who live in Tucson.  Every year we talk about going to California to visit my sister-in-law, but we always go to Arizona.  I think both of us get a little homesick for Tucson, so it always wins out.

One of my favorite things about Arizona is the sunsets.  When the sun sets behind the mountains and the skies light up in pinks, oranges, and reds, it is just spectacular.  The only sunset that can compare is when the sun sets over the ocean (at least that is my opinion - I'm sure you may have your own choice of the most beautiful sunset).  Here are just a few of some of my favorite Arizona sunset moments:

Sunset Looking at the Santa Rita Mountains

The Santa Rita Mountains are at the southern edge of the city of Tucson.  The city is surrounded by four mountain ranges.  The Santa Catalina Mountains to the north, the Rincon Mountains to the east, the Tucson Mountains to the West, and the Santa Rita Mountains to the south.  When I took this photo, I was at a scenic lookout on the Santa Catalina Mountains looking south.

Sunset in Northern Arizona

I took this photo in northeastern Arizona.  We had just left Colorado and I think we were driving west on Highway 160 somewhere near Red Mesa, Arizona.

Sunset over the Mountains in Northern Arizona

I think this photo was also taken somewhere on Highway 160.  We were driving west to get to Highway 191, which goes south to I-40.

Sunset over Tucson with a Storm Moving In

In Tucson, from July to September, the monsoon rains come in every day sometime around 5 pm (sometimes later).  This photo was taken from my mother-in-law's backyard (facing northwest) as a summer monsoon storm was moving in. 

Storm Clouds Spilling Over the Rincon Mountains

These clouds were just amazing!  I could literally watch the storm moving in from the east and spilling over the top of the Rincon Mountains (looking east).  The sun was setting to the west and the effect was spectacular!

Stormy Sunset with a Rainbow

 
This photo was also taken from my mother-in-law's backyard, looking northeast.  The sun was setting and storm was moving in.  You could feel the humidity in the air and hear the thunder rumbling.  Rainbows are a fairly common occurrence in the desert because you have such a clear view for miles and miles as the sun sets.

We are hoping to get back to Arizona this fall.  We typically go in February, but since I had just started working again, we didn't think it would be advisable to take a vacation.  These photos make me nostalgic and I hope we can get back to Arizona soon. 

I'll be posting more photos of my home-away-from-home, Tucson, Arizona, in my upcoming blog entries. 

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