First of all, I have say that the intensity of heat is beyond description. It's HOT, like.... oven HOT. Just a few minutes in the sun will make you medium-well. The air itself is hot, and it doesn't really cool down at night either. It's not humid, but not as dry as I thought. It really makes me wonder how it is like to be working outdoors as a profession here? Is it fatal?
Another very interesting side of this part of the country is the weather elements. How can I describe this...... it's like a party of random elements of extreme. First of all there's the intense heat, then there's the dust storms that are basically mini tornadoes. These tornadoes are everywhere although not damaging for the most part. They can be far away or right across the highway. People are used to them so they don't really care. Then, there are lightnings in clear sky because of the dryness. Lastly, there are regional rains that you can see far away, in this heat and the clouds are not really low. So nothing here meets the norm of what I was used to, even though I've lived in both tropical and temperate climates where there's either extreme humidity, heat and rain as well as icy and snowy conditions. The desert environment is entirely different, and it's not clear cut either.
Scottsdale is also like the high end of this entire area, the Beverly Hills if you will. All the ladies are well dressed, all the shops are well kept up and all the cars are expensive. The downtown area is very neat with interesting contemporary architectures, million dollar apartments with unique architecture and planning, as well as homes built into the desert hill slopes that no one can afford. The rest of the city is very clean, everything looks new like a very young city. It's almost too perfect, until you factor in the heat. I guess people are willing to tolerate the 6 months of intense heat for the other 6 months of paradise.
Will I want to live here? It's a dilemma. Weather wise, I cannot stand the heat. It's just too brutal. Environment wise, there's too little green for my liking. I like the randomness of the weather, makes life a bit more interesting. The city is clean, but I do like some grit to diversify the experience a bit. I also find the demographics a little too narrow. It seems that most people are.... well-to-do to say the least.
Phoenix reminds me of the trade towns that are formed when desert nomads meet in the middle of no where, somewhere along the ancient trade routes that their ancestors have established. They bring their own products, meet and exchange, then leave. That's when the "town" disappears, but the cycle happens annually. In the case of Phoenix, it's more like a permanent trade town in the middle of the desert. Geographically, I don't see any reason why there's a city here. I mean, there's no apparent water source, no apparent energy source (other than the obvious solar and wind), no apparent opportunity for food production. So why here? Plus, there are plenty of flat desert land else where, why this exact spot?
I guess I need to do more research. In Chinese, the Phoenix is often the female counter part to the dragon. It's a bird that is reborn from fire( or something like that). May be Phoenix city has the same meaning, a city that thrives among the heat.
I think Phoenix and Miami NBA teams should trade names. Phoenix Heat and Miami Suns. That's more appropriate I think.
Not many photos today, just not the right time of the day, may try to get more another time.
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