December 18, 2008: It Never Rains in Sunny Arizona

Oh yes it does! We had a trip scheduled for yesterday, a visit to a mine, and it had to be canceled because of rain. You see, when it does rain here in the desert it rains hard. Very hard. Our desert trips almost always require some driving through washes, and that's not where one wants to be in a rainstorm. For instance, our very own Bouse Wash, that runs right through the middle of this small town, is nothing but dry sand for about 99% of the time. But when it rains hard, this is what it looks like:



It can be treacherous driving through the washes, as well as on the highways. In many places the water from the washes will flood the road, and have been known to run so hard and fast as to drown occupants of vehicles that may get caught in them. A couple of years ago I was driving home from Phoenix when we experienced a cloudburst. Visibility was nearly zero on the freeway, thanks to the many trucks whose drivers felt the need to pass everyone, spraying solid walls of water on our windshields. I decided to take a secondary highway the last thirty miles or so, and not being familiar with the route I found myself driving through flooded dips in the road time and time again. We began counting how many washes were flooding that highway, and I remember it being well over 50 times that I drove through water that was probably 6-12 inches deep. That was minor flooding compared to what sometimes takes place. Two lives were lost just this year due to autos being caught in the rushing water of nearby washes....one right here in our little town.

So while many of you are experiencing snow and bitterly cold weather right now, I'm waiting for the sun to shine again.

"Sunny Arizona" from my front porch!