Arizona: Home is where the heat is.

[Rasix]

And ftr: I have relatively large hands for a woman. My span is 8" (pinky to thumb)

Could be worse..

[Hanzii]

If you want to go for a swim north of about Brisbane during summer (when its hot n stuff), no good, or you could die from the box jellyfish which will give you a fatal sting from its tentacles.

When I went to Australia I told my companions, that I refused to go in the water unless I had an Australian in plain sight directly in front of me.
The on this one hot day in Airlee Beach we had a pristine beach to ourselves and my friends talked me into going in.
When we returned, it turned out that the big ass poster, we thought was some advert and put our towels and clothes by, was the sign informing that the beach was closed and telling who to call and how to do CPR while you waited for the ambulance...

I've been less than 2 meters from the jaws of a Great White Shark... and it's still the Aussie creepy crawlies that gives me nightmares.

I killed one of these suckers,



which was the size of my hand, and on the pillow of the girl I was staying with in a hut in a wildlife park in South Africa... only to find out, that Africa didn't really have any dangerous spiders - it was the carjackers and the hippos I should worry about.

[naum]

Have lived in Arizona for nearly 20 years, in Glendale, AZ for the last 7, Phoenix and Tempe before that.

Some notes for newcomers:

* Housing prices have recently escalated madly, doubling if not tripling in some locales. Still, it's cheaper than CA and you get a decent home on the outskirts for an affordable price.

* Tempe/S. Scottsdale is where the nightlife is, though I'm pleased to live on the outskirts of N. Glendale desert and mountains are just to the north of me, along with the coyotes, coydogs and rattlesnakes.

* Scorpions are clustered in certain areas, NE Scottsdale (NE of Phoenix) mostly, but some other mountain sides also but if you look at color coded map of infestation, NE Scottsdale has the bright color. Nothing you can do about it except get a cat or two (rumor has it cats are immune to scorpion venom). Scorpion bites may be lethal/critical or not, depending on your allergic reaction.

* Where I'm at, rattlesnakes are spotted too.

* Killer bees can be a horrific problem for some. IF you are attacked by killer bees DON'T jump into your swimming pool, they'll converge on your head when you surface and you will die as individuals in Cave Creek and other Valley locales tragically discovered. Not a frequent everyday occurence, but at least once a month there is an killer bee incident where someone gets stung a lot badly, though at times they get injured running away into traffic or twisting their ankle as a recent Phoenician golf course out of state tourist experienced.

* The place to go in Mexico is not Nogales (well, unless your only interest is cheap pharmaceuticals), but Rocky Point, a 4 or 5 hour drive where you can vacation at a sweet beach spot, eat on the cheap, but do take pains to stay out of a Mexican jail, as concepts of rights and justice there are a tad different than in the States...

* I have a grass yard, and it makes things so much cooler in the summer. Rocks, concrete, asphalt absorb heat and make it really unpleasant hot even in the evening. Before the concrete jungle totally enveloped the area, you could drive a few minutes and feel the coolness difference. Many lawn owners seed rye grass in winter but lazy sorts like me just let the Bermuda die off in the winter (which means you'll need to do the chemical thing in the spring to ward off weeds - or occupy every weekend pulling them manually).

* Mid-July to Mid-September (thought it can vary) is the monsoon season where many late afternoons are visited by dust storms, lightning storms (lightning storm in the desert is a visual treat, as many here can probably attest to), thunderstorms, mini-squall bursts and other sporadic intervals of inclement weather. Sometimes it even extends to early morning/days where the temperature then dips into the 80s or below.

* Restaurants of every type simply suck except Mexican where you have your pick of excellent fare (and not so excellent fare). When they were building the railroads in the old west, I think they lined up all the Chinese dudes who couldn't cook and sent them to Phoenix.

* In the 110+ degree summer heat, many take refuge in the mountains a short 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive north - into Sedona, Payson, Prescott (yea, Whiskey Row!), etc...

* Oak Creek Canyon > Grand Canyon. Route 89A from Flagstaff to Sedona is spectacular, a 5K drop/rise in elevation over a 15 minute stretch.

* We like guns.

* It's a spreadout metrolipolitan area like no other in the world I think — it can take 50-75 miles to go from one corner to the other (i.e., Sun City/Surprise in NW to Gilbert/Queen Creek in SE). If you believe in "Peak Oil", settling in this area may not be the best lifestyle move for you…

[naum]

Couple more things:

* Avoid flat roofs. Guaranteed you will have to get a new roof in the time span you occupy the dwelling.

* Utilities arn't too bad if (a) you have modern AC gear (i.e., older compressors are very energy intensive and will cost $300  a month or more in summer), (b) supplement regular AC with swamp (evaporative) cooler - even in the summer, we spend < $200 a month and we like it cool (78 degrees or lower).

[WayAbvPar]

(rumor has it cats are immune to scorpion venom)

Not so sure about that.

However, meercats are immune.

[SuperPopTart]

Oh, boo. I have a collection of mounted insects from around the world. And one tarantula.
You are scaring me :(

[Signe]

Oh, boo. I have a collection of mounted insects from around the world. And one tarantula.
You are scaring me :(

I think she's a biologist, so it's ok.

[SuperPopTart]

It's never okay to own buggy things with sticks in them.

Never ever.

Think Dawn of the Dead meets Arachnaphobia.

[voodoolily]

They're just mounted onto cotton in picture frames. No sticks. Although I do have a giant walking stick insect. She's 7" long and is from India. I call her Sally.

[SuperPopTart]

They're just mounted onto cotton in picture frames. No sticks. Although I do have a giant walking stick insect. She's 7" long and is from India. I call her Sally.

...

Voodoolily :( You poor thing. Buglady.

[voodoolily]

Naw, it's not like that. You know when people usta keep big frames of butterflies and shit like that? My house looks like a natural history museum. It's cool, especially with all my skulls and African sculpture.

[schild]

What's wrong with you? Get some stuffed animals in a net over the corner of your room and stop creeping me out.

[voodoolily]

...'cuz girls are only 'sposta like teddy bears?

Speaking of which, did you ever check out this site?

[Merusk]

That site is fantastic.

Well, except for Shmoo.  Shmoo has no skeleton, as everyone knows.  They're just a gigantic amoeba.

Voodoo's decor almost makes up for that whole 'not wanting to speak English' thing.  Almost.

[voodoolily]

That artist is from Portland and his shit was up at my favorite coffee shop awhile ago.

I just took a bunch of snaps of my skulls 'n stuff and am posting them on my blog now. They'll be up in a few moments. I wanted to get pics of my bugs, but the glare from the flash ruined it. I'll try in the daylight tomorrow.

Hey, why am I the only one who types phonetically anyway? 

[stray]

Have you've ever been to Roc La Rue? It's up in Seattle. I think he's been showcased there. Lots of cool artists you might like (i.e. Pop Surrealism, etc..).

[voodoolily]

Never been there, but I dig the pop surrealism (and graphic illustration in general). Thanks for the link.

[Merusk]

That Owl skull looks more like a Hawk from the photo, small as it is.  The eyes look to be too far apart and more to the side of the head than the front.  So are you finding just the skulls, or hauling dead poodles and muskrats around like your horsehead story implies.

Also, I find it disturbing that you found a 'mostly decayed' horsehead near where you parked in any instance.

[voodoolily]

No, I didn't say "mostly decayed" I said "nearly completely clean", which means I only had to scrub off a little dried horse hair and dirt, although horses have very greasy meat, evidently. I had to soak it in hot, soapy bleach water to get the oil stains out (I was doing field work near a farm - some other bones were there, too, but no the whole skeleton). Usually when I find skulls they still have moss and little beetles rattling around in the cranium and I end up having to bag them and leave them outside so the little buggers can finish their work. Usually I only keep the skulls, although usually the rest of the bones have been scattered by scavengers. Sometimes you'll find just a leg bone and some ribs. I would just throw the skulls in the back of my vest and take 'em home.

Finding dead animals in the woods is NEVER as chilling and creepy as finding, say, a teddy bear next to a bunch of beer cans. /shudder

[Daeven]

Fucking Christ, this thread made my skin crawl. I don't think I'm coming back because I know someone is going to repost that damn spider pick on every page.

Have I ever mentioned that I love living in the Pacific Northwest? Hmm, lets see, what bad things do we have here?

Coyotes? yep, lots in my old neighbourhood. My dogs out weighed em by about 5x, so no worries. Kinda cute.
Spiders? Yick. None poisonous though, biggest being our wolf spiders, find em in woodpiles - about an inch across.
Snakes? Garters - harmless and cute. Some rattlers in the interior - never seen one. I like snakes.

No scorpions, or crazy flesh melting spiders, or poisonous newts or frogs, or baby snakes that can kill 20 grown men. No tornados, no locusts, no tsunamis, no big sharks, no flood plains, and we consider a 4.5 a major earthquake.

I love where I live.

Hmmm. Now where did I put that pyoclastic flow diagram for Mt Raineer. The one that goes through Olympia, Tacoma, etc....

[voodoolily]

Fucking Christ, this thread made my skin crawl. I don't think I'm coming back because I know someone is going to repost that damn spider pick on every page.

Have I ever mentioned that I love living in the Pacific Northwest? Hmm, lets see, what bad things do we have here?

Coyotes? yep, lots in my old neighbourhood. My dogs out weighed em by about 5x, so no worries. Kinda cute.
Spiders? Yick. None poisonous though, biggest being our wolf spiders, find em in woodpiles - about an inch across.
Snakes? Garters - harmless and cute. Some rattlers in the interior - never seen one. I like snakes.

No scorpions, or crazy flesh melting spiders, or poisonous newts or frogs, or baby snakes that can kill 20 grown men. No tornados, no locusts, no tsunamis, no big sharks, no flood plains, and we consider a 4.5 a major earthquake.

I love where I live.

Bunk, we do have poisonous newts. The pic I posted is of the commonest newt in the PNW (and the deadliest animal we have). But, like I said earlier, they're so laid-back that they don't release their poison unless you like chaw on 'em or something. And where were you in 1996? The Great Flood of '96 is one we'll be telling our kids about for generations. Most of our wetlands are floodplain wetlands (which is why we rarely have devastating floods, but still).

But yes, we have it pretty damn good here. As long as our volcanoes keep their mouths shut, we'll be fine.

[Bunk]

Bunk, we do have poisonous newts. The pic I posted is of the commonest newt in the PNW (and the deadliest animal we have). But, like I said earlier, they're so laid-back that they don't release their poison unless you like chaw on 'em or something. And where were you in 1996? The Great Flood of '96 is one we'll be telling our kids about for generations. Most of our wetlands are floodplain wetlands (which is why we rarely have devastating floods, but still).

But yes, we have it pretty damn good here. As long as our volcanoes keep their mouths shut, we'll be fine.

I do remember that flood in '96, I can remember the TV footage of people rowing canoes past thier roofs, but it didn't effect us up here in Vancouver.  I've never seen a flood beyond a couple feet deep here, and only in very limited areas. We occasionally have the odd mudslide issues, but those are usually in North Vancouver where all the rich folk live, so who really cares.

Daeven: still would have to go a long ways past Tacoma to reach us.  Baker blowing up might be a problem though - would ruin our southern view. :P

[Lanei]

* We like guns.

Speaking of which, if anyone wants to go shooting sometime...

My boss and I are both members of Scottsdale Gun Club, with guest passes available.  Plus there is Ben Avery up a little north of Phoenix on I-17.  Or if you are really not into spending cash on anything but ammo, we know a few spots out in the desert, and we have a history of using suitable targets.  Video, 4.8 MB

[schild]

* We like guns.

Speaking of which, if anyone wants to go shooting sometime...

My boss and I are both members of Scottsdale Gun Club, with guest passes available.  Plus there is Ben Avery up a little north of Phoenix on I-17.  Or if you are really not into spending cash on anything but ammo, we know a few spots out in the desert, and we have a history of using suitable targets.  Video, 4.8 MB

I don't know how far that is from Glendale. But I'm game. I do hate guns outside of gunclubs though.

[schild]

Ya know, given all the people that live in Arizona. We should have a gettogether of sorts every few months.

[voodoolily]

But then you might find out that you're all not as witty and charming in real life as you are when you have time to think and google between responses. 

Don't mind me, I just feel left out. 

[WayAbvPar]

If you can get to Seattle, we can do a PNW gettogether. Between you and my wife, our party will definitely have the best food!

[Yegolev]

Bunk, we do have poisonous newts.

[Signe]

S-child made V-Lily cry.   

[voodoolily]

Aw, Signe! You're so sweet and empathic. Now I'm gonna cry again. 

Now I'm happy! It's my birthday (on the east coast, anyways)!  :-D

[Signe]

On the 22nd of this month, I will not be having a birthday yet again.   

[stray]

On the 22nd of this month, I will not be having a birthday yet again.   

Err...So does that mean you're a homebody too?

[Signe]

Are you threatening me?

[stray]

Are you threatening me?

Hmm.....That depends on how you look at it, I guess.

[HaemishM]

On the 22nd of this month, I will not be having a birthday yet again.   

Your not-birthday is the same as my wedding anniversary.