Winter in Arizona

Wasn’t it me who once said “we don’t do winters?” Well, I think that people all over the United States will agree that this has already been one doozey of a winter, and we’re finally getting our share of the nasty stuff here in the Verde Valley of Arizona.

Wind, rain, sleet, snow, blizzards, dust storms, tornadoes, and every other horrific form of winter weather has been pounding Arizona for the past few days. We found snow on the ground when we got up a couple of days ago. Of course, it melted as soon as it warmed up (within the hour) and rain came pelting down. Still, who can complain when the weather is fine most of the time? The day before it snowed, we were out pruning bushes around the patio. How many places is it warm enough to go outside in shirt sleeves and work on landscaping in January? We can look out our windows and enjoy the snow, which is very low on the mountains today. I don’t have to be in the middle of it to enjoy it!

This was to be Quartzsite’s big week of the year with a huge RV show and dozens of other smaller shows featuring everything from fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies to Indian jewelry, hardware to handcrafted artistic treasures, and bamboo linens to rocks. The show went on as scheduled, but heavy rains and tornado threats have probably shortened the annual show since it’s unlikely that some of the tents and booth covers held up during Thursday’s storm.

We went there on Monday because we had heard the weather was going to be nasty for most of the week. The huge tent was packed with people shopping for bargains, many of which can’t be found in other places except, perhaps, on the Internet.

As usual, we stopped at our favorite restaurant, the Kofa Café on Hwy. 60 near I-10. Their food is delicious and homemade, and includes fresh squeezed orange juice and made-from-scratch chocolate malts. Now that’s my kind of place! There is plenty of parking for RVs. We’ve even seen a couple of small planes parked in the parking lot. They flew in and landed across the road, then taxied to the restaurant.

If you plan to winter in Arizona, don’t despair. Florida even had really cold weather this winter, and we’ve been in South Texas when it was so cold and miserable that we definitely headed back to Arizona for its warm sunshine. Today, it was beautiful. The temperature was only in the mid- to upper 50s, so a little cool, but there was no wind and the sun was shining, and a coat wasn’t necessary.

Unfortunately, I doubt that this was Quartzsite’s busiest year, but maybe they’ll go back to scheduling their shows a couple of weeks later, like back in the early nineties, when the weather typically warms up. Meanwhile, I’m betting that most of the desert areas in Arizona would look mighty fine to some of you stuck in unseasonably cold weather. Here’s hoping that you’re all snuggled up and warm wherever you may be this winter.