Tag: arizona

This is my Arizona election season summed up in press passes. A collage of 2016 election season press passes. Now that they’re scanned in and the paper is about to be thrown out this is the first time I’ve looked at them all together. I’ve also noticed a few things that I didn’t see before. Ted Cruz didn’t even get his name on the pass. The Keep the Promise PAC took top billing.

Last month I took a trip to Southeastern Arizona. Other than a few trips to Tucson, it’s part of the state that I’ve never explored, and because of the elevation, it’s a little cooler than in Phoenix. The original plan was to visit the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum on the west side of Tucson, then visit Tombstone the next day. But with a late start leaving Phoenix we decided on seeing Tombstone first.

Sometimes “over there” is much more interesting than what’s right in front of us. I’ve been guilty of that recently. I’ve spent countless hours looking at airline tickets and destinations with the end result being wasted time. It’s fun to idle away time thinking about exotic adventures in a far-away land. But the reality is much harsher. The three Fs (family obligations, finances, and free time) put a limit on just how much adventure we can dive into.

In March, for the first time in a long time, Arizona mattered in a presidential primary. The 2016 campaigns descended on the state with all the candidates but John Kasich making an appearance. The Trump rally in Fountain Hills made the national news because of the protesters that closed the roads into the small suburb. I passed a few of them on the way in. The road was still open at the time.

Sometimes it’s a matter of seeing smoke and following it to the fire. [instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BEkWsXzBZ61/ width=700] I was on my way home from the local World Wide Instameet that was at the ASU Art Museum. I saw the smoke in the distance and followed it the best I could. Once I got close, traffic was so bad I had to park and walk the last three-quarters of a mile to the fire.

Out my front door this afternoon. For some reason here in Arizona we’ve been having the strangest winter. Usually in February we can count on needing at least a light jacket. But I don’t think I’ve seen it hit 85F this soon. So far March seems to be looking at more of the same. The National Weather Service says the earliest 100-degree day is March 26, 1988. We’ll see what happens this year.