Planning A Visit

Hubby and I are planning a visit to AZ in August (of all months, I know). I'll be able to stay 2 weeks because that's the longest break I'll have from school. What would you recommend seeing/doing during the first two weeks of Aug? I can't wait! I'll finally get to see AZ and that will definitely determine whether we can begin to plan our move there.

What would you recommend seeing/doing during the first two weeks of Aug?

That's usually a question that someone living here would ask.. and the answer would be -- Leave :-).

Imagine what the State of Arizona looks like on a map. Start on the western border at about the center, but more towards the top, about two -thirds of the way up from the southern border. Now picture something similar on the eastern border, but instead it will be only one-third of the way from the southern border. Now draw a line between these two points. What you've done is drawn a line from the western border of the state a bit north of center diagonally down to the eastern border of the state a bit south of center.

In actuality, this line isn't straight, but this is the best way I can describe it without a picture :-). This line is called the Mogollon Rim, and is the southern border of what is called the Colorado Plateau. The Mogollon Rim is about a 2,000+ foot drop. So if you're south of the rim, like in Tucson, Yuma, or Phoenix, the elevation ranges from almost sea level up to about 2,000 feet. North of the Rim, like Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona, Holbrook, and the Grand Canyon, the elevation ranges from 4,000 feet to 12,000 feet.

If you're going to live in the Phoenix area when you move here, you'll definately want to spend some time here to see what it's like. But if you're coming here in August for recreation, I would spend more time up north where it is 20-30 degrees cooler. In the southern part of the state, you can expect that while you're here in the August, the temperature will not drop below 110 degrees, and may easily rise above 120. Flagstaff is much more mild in the summer, with highs in the 90s, and down to the 60s in the evening. Many of the evenings in the Phoenix summers don't drop below 100.

Bring lots of water :-), (no, I'm kidding)!