Arizona is HOT!

Imagine living 40 plus years in a rather damp, certainly rainy, very green enviroment. Suddenly, you awake one morning to 100 plus temperatures that continue to berate you over and over for the next seven or so months. Its like coming from the refrigerator, and being thrown in a HOT oven.
Sand, rocky hot foothills and an occasional cactus replace the splendid greenery that Washington is known for. Instead of a woodstove, you make sure your air conditioning is working....
Forget chopping wood for the winter, there isnt any!
Forget about 'mudpuddles, and worry about duststorms, and those little wind devils that look like minature tornados.
Suntanning in Washington is a joke....you may get a few days in late summer that would actually produce some color, however in Arizona, a fast 10 min. sit in the morning is all you need......
Actually, you worry about turning to leather rather than growing mold on your back.
This is the world that my son and I arrived to, after the long journey down Interstate 5, and three states away. It feels like the end of the world though.
This is Climate shock. And it is real!
Some people experience heat stroke and actually die from this extreme exposure.

Well, I didnt actually die, though many days I thought that a sudden death might be an actual relief from the day to day battle to stay cool and hydrated.
I couldnt believe that the heat would melt my plastic clock on the dashboard of my car..... and my tires seemed to want to pop!
In Washington we only worried about the occasional flat, in Arizona you know a blow out is due at least every 6 months or so.
Arriving in Arizona is like arriving in an alien planet. Even the locals look different. They are brown and speak a different language................. and they are everywhere.
Some have lived in the area for generations, and some are just arriving, usually by jumping over the border fence, crossing the Colorado River, or trying to just dash across customs. It all takes some getting used to. Climate and Culture shock at the same time are a bit overwhelming.
But, this was our destination. Our new state, our new life.
So, chin up and onward. We never expected the many life changing adventures and hazards we would meet, on our first day in what felt like the heat of Hell.