2003-06-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows I live in the Valley of the Sun as the Phoenix, Arizona area has been popularized sums up the dominant feature in this area - year round sunshine. Often stiflingly hot in the summer months - air conditioning is essential - the winter brings pleasant warm weather while much of the rest of North America is shivering. The Phoenix area is any golfer’s paradise, the desert landscapes are mesmerizing and the area has an array of other attractions to make it a great travel destination.
Phoenix represents the Southwestern lifestyle perhaps better than anywhere else in the United States. Images of deserts with earthy colors, and native arts and craft come to mind when one thinks of this booming city and its surroundings. The city’s very name is associated with fire, and when one considers the heat that rises from the ground for much of the year, it is very apt. The city’s highrise structures seem to be at one with the flame toned canvas painted in the skyline at dawn and dusk.
The Greater Phoenix Area actually is comprised of over 20 separate communities. The city of Phoenix itself lies in the center of the Valley of the Sun, the resort town of Scottsdale to the northwest, Tempe (home of Arizona State University) and Mesa (the state of Arizona’s third largest city) to the east, and Glendale (the fourth largest) to the north.

Nowhere has benefited more from the invention of air conditioning than the Phoenix area. The onetime seemingly suffocating summer weather is made quite tolerable nowadays, and the infrastructure of the area is designed to enable people to keep out of the hot sun during the high summer. Temperatures can reach 105 F. in July, dropping only to around 80 F. at night. The winter months are warm and sunny - even in December and January the average high is a pleasant 66 F. perfect for golfing, hiking, biking and any number of outdoor activities. The Phoenix area is usually dry year round. A light coat or jacket is all the outerwear that should be necessary in the winter months. In summer some people find a sweater or wrap useful to counter over-efficient air conditioning systems.

Phoenix High Flights